Page 22 - Records of Bahrain (4) (i)_Neat

12 Records of Bahrain

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support in all lawful exercise of authority, I endeavour to
turn your thoughts to education and the means of earning an

honest living for you are too numerous for all to find places
in the administration and I fear, owing to neglect, many are
not competent.
Gentlemen of the Sunni persuasion and especially
the Dawasir tribesmen!
It is for you to understand that we mean to establish
the rule of these Islands under a Shaikh of the Al-Khalifa

and that the Shaikh's rights are going to be enforced equally
over all to the best of Shaikh Hamad's ability and in such
attempts he will have the full support, You have frequent-
ly met such threats in the past by a counter threat to leave
these Islands 1n a body and go over to Bin Saud or others.
If that is your intention, in God's name, gol but,, if you
resign as a protest, do not be surprised if your lands and
houses are confiscated to the State and given to others, and

I can assure you that there will be no lack of applicants.
These Islands are not date gardens in desert Arabia where
the proprietors roam the desert the whole day year round only
returning to eat the fruit of their garden at the time of
harvest. I do not mean it to be understood that the mere
departure of a proprietor on business to Bombay or pilgrimage

to the Haj or other lawful occasions will be the signal for
the Shaikh to confiscate the the property left behind, but
I do mean that those who behave contumaciously may find them­
selves dealt with stringently. We have no use for absentee
landlords or persons owning a double allegiance. I fear
that in the East this merely means playing off one ruler
against another and consistently betraying both. If you
reside in the Islands of Bahrain, you must, while owning
property there, conform to the rule of the country and pay
\
the customary dues, nor can be tolerate an imperium in 1m-
peri o
Gentlemen

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