Page 324 - PERSIAN 9 1931_1940

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certain facilities. The Resident in reporting this to His Majesty's Gov
ernment and the Government of India, proposed that unless* the Shaikh
ceased to be obstructive certain pressure would be brought to bear on him
and his people. His Majesty’s Government and the Government of India
concurred in this proposal, and the Shaikh who was informed accordingly
ceased his obstructiveness and the air facilities were duly constructed The
Shaikh also apologised to the Officer Commanding’ll. M. S. Fowey for a
discourtesy of which he had been guilty on a previous occasion.
During 1934 certain lighters taking cargo from a British India Steam
Navigation Company steamer to the shore at Dibai were upset in a heavy sea
near the shore and goods plundered to the value of Rs. 5,000. In reply to
representations made to him by the Resident the Shaikh professed himself
unable to recover the amount as the plunderers had been the followers of
an opposition party headed by his cousins. The incident in October 1934
(described in the last Review) considerably strengthened the Shaikh’s hands.
vis a vis his recalcitrant relatives, and following on the incident at Abu
Dhabi, referred to above, the Resident informed the Shaikh of Dibai that
unless the amount was paid within a certain time certain pressure would
be employed aganist him and his people. The amount was paid up and
sent to the Underwriters who were the party affected by the loss of the
goods.
Both these incidents had a salutary effect on the Shaikhs of the Trucial
Coast. A satisfactory feature of both incidents was that a settlement was
arrived at by enforcing tribal responsibility on the Shaikhs and their people,
without in any way changing our long established policy on the Trucial
Coast of not interfering in the internal affairs of the Shaikhdoms.
For some years the Shaikh of Ras al Khaimah had assumed a recalci­
trant attitude and refused to call on the Resident and his Political Officers
when they visited his port in His Majesty’s Ships, or on Officers Command­
ing His Majesty’s Ships. In December 1934 the Shaikh went further and
removed his flag from the Island of Tamb which is one of his possessions—
it is believed with some idea of permitting the Iranian Government to hoist
their flag in place of his. On representations being made by the Resident
to His Majesty’s Government and the Government of India, the Shaikh
was informed that if he did not re-hoist his flag on the Island the Shaikh
of Sharjah, the other Chief of the Jowasim tribe, would be permitted to
take possession of Tamb. As a result of this communication the Shaikh
of Ras al Khaimah not only re-hoisted his flag but resumed friendly rela­
tions with Political Officers and Officers Commanding His Majesty’s Ships,
on whom he now calls.
Shaikh Muhammad Sultan bin Saqar of Sharjah was accorded a per­
sonal salute of 5 guns: his dynastic salute is 3.
Muscat.—The Muscat Arras Subsidy was granted by the Government
of India in 1912 to Sultan Saiyid Faisal bin Turki as a personal subsidy in
return for an arrangement come to with him by which he put a stop to
the gun-running from Muscat to the Persian Coast and thence to
Afghanistan and the North-West Frontier of India. On the death of
Sultan Faisal shortly afterwards the Government of India extended! the
subsidy ex gratia to his son Taimur bin Faisar. When Sultan Taimur bin
Faisal abdicated in 1932 the Government of India made a similar conces-
sion to the present Sultan, Said bin Taimur. The ground for this extension
was the grave financial condition of the State which verged on bankruptcy.
By the end of 1935 the State, through the efforts of the Sultan, aided by
the Political Agent, Muscat, and the Resident, was solvent and the subsidy;
was accordingly discontinued.
In February the Sultan left Muscat for Dhofar, an outlying but
fertile and pleasant part of his dominions some 700 miles south of Muscat,
ond to anticipate the events of 1936 has not returned and does not propose
tn do so until the Autumn. During the period referred to above, when
hie State was threatened with bankruptcy, the Sultan worked extremely
harci. but now that the State is once more moderately solvent, is apparently