Page 199 - Records of Bahrain (3) (i)_Neat

British influence and foreign interests, 1904-1906 189

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And his -pgoplo that’I am sorry to sny I cannot at all sharo your.yiows which
you formed on tho caso. Sinoo I have givon.you all tho dotails of tho-mattor •
in my first lottor to you and sinco from your answor it appoara -that .you ha VO,
quite satisfied yoursolf ns to tho litoral correctness, of my narrative,1! dp not
think it .nocussary to montion those happoniugs ovor again ; I only wish. to.
rootify 6omo orrors of yours.
Firstly, you say you “ do not boliovo that Shoikh Ali. himsolf had any
intontiou of causing Mr. 13nhnson to ho beaten." As for this it will not bo
possiblo to asoortnin what roally Sheikli Ali's intontions woro, but Mr. Bahnson
who ought to bo nblo to judgo best by tho Sheikh's bohaviour nt tliat timo and
I mysoif aro absolutoly unshakon in our boliof (which by tho by is slrnrod by a
good many pooplo) that Shoikh Ali was tho instigator of tho assault on
Mr. ]3nhnson.
If you think “ it is difficult to say whothor tho sorvants struck him acci­
dentally or through oxasporotion at his intervention " I think you might tako
it for grantod that tlicro could bo no question of aooident as Mr. Bahnson has
not boon liiddon {sic) onco or twice or ovon throo times aocidontally, but
Mr. Bahnson alfirms omphaticnlly that ho has boon systematically beaton. Tho
question of it having ocourrod accidentally is quito out of possibility. What
thoir motivo9 woro 1 myself have no doubts. 1 do not boliovo either that it
was caused by “ oxasperation at his intorvontion."
Tho largo wound which Mr. Bahnson sustained in this assault luokily did
not provo to bo of serious cousoquonccs, but I oan asauro you that all tho samo
Mr. Bahnson lost pounds and pounds of blood; in fact, boforo I bandngod his wound,
Mr. Baluison on nocount of loss of blood whon lying in tho easy chair nearly
faiutod, but still I agreo with you that his "sonso of dignity was ovon moro
seriously hurt.” If it appears to you that tho ooolio was not very, much hurt,
I and ovorybody with mo, who saw tho man, will bo of difi'orent opinion.
Tho man was sick aftorwavds and was laid up for moro than a wcok boing
unablo to work and ovon now ho is unablo to do heavy work ho had to do before
the assault.
The fragns had just subsided whon I arrived on tho 6oonc and it is quito
truo that Shoikh Ali accompaniod mo upstairs, but if you conclude from that that
ho loft mo again “on gotting somo idea of tho terms which you oontomplatcd
domandiug of him ” and that ho thought thorn unreasonable, you aro mistaken,
sinco neither I nor anybody elso spoko a singlo word to him about torms or
compensation or anything of that sort. I invited him to sit down whioh ho did
for about a minuto or two whilst I bandaged Mr. Bahnson’s wound. I only
nddrossed him with a fow words asking him to toll mo how tho matter had
como about. It was only when Mr. Gaskin had arrived in my houso that tho
question of compensation or torms was raised by Mr. Gaskin by addressing
Mr. Bahnson, and it was only then that tho proposed torms were fixed. I may
add horo that whon tho Sheikh was spokon to by Mr. Gaskin his behaviour
was of such a kind ns to show clearly that ho did not rogrot tho affair at
all and Mr. Gaskia himsolf romnrkcd " ho is not at all apologotio ”.
"While Sheikh Ali was sittiug down I sont a socond man to Mr. Gaskin to
inform' him tho first mossongcr having boon sout by Abdullah boforo
Mr.. Bahnson wont downstairs but was overtnkon by tho second ono.
When tho Shoikh hoard mo mention Mr. Gaskin’s namo ho got angry and
left in spito of my invitations to wait until Mr. Gaskin had arrivod; on tho
contrary, be said if anything was wanted of him thoy would know whero to find
him.
Shoikh Ali bin Ahmod’s bohaviour aftor having oomo upstairs with mo
was not at all apologotio. In fact, he did show an overbearing mnnnor at that
tune.
}• ,now como w^at you call "an orror of judgment committod by
Mr. Bahnson by going down into tho Mdldo”. 'When Mr. Bahnson heard tho
row downstairs it was his duty to go down and to soo what was going on in mv
houso-, when coming downstairs ho saw that an innocont coolio omployod by mo
.waa being brutally beaten by sovoral of Sheikh Ali’s mon, it was again his duty
to mterfero ana toll thorn to stop this; or do you oxpoot Mr. Bahnsoix or
mo