Page 204 - Records of Bahrain (3) (i)_Neat

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Records of Bahrain

No. 421, dntoil Uualtiro, llio 17th (rcocivo.l 2flth}_Bgooml>or 1004, _____
From—Major P, Z. Cox, C.I.E., Oflloiaiing /’jHtical Iloiidont in Iho Poriinn Oulf,
To—Tho Seorotnry to tho Govornmont of Indin in tUo Foroign Dopnrtmout.
I havo tho honour to submit tho furthor roport advised in my tologrnm
" Bnhruin AlFnii*a No. 2,” dated 12th Uoombor, and referring to tho reported
attaok by a mob of Arabs and Nogrocs upon certain subjects of IIis Majesty
Gjo 81iah, rosiding in .Bahrein for purposoe of trado.
' 2. Boforo conimonting upon tho oorrespondoneo forming tho onolosuros to
this communication, I Yonturo to rocord a few foots, or observations, whioh may
porhaps bo nocossnry to clucidnto tho gonoral situation at Bahroin.
Tho population of tho Islands is oomposod of two distinct but oqually
important clomnnts, nnmoly :—
(«) Sunni Mahommodnns—Arabs with a sprinkling of Nogroos, keeping
up a constant and more or loss migratory oonnootion with tho
Arabs of tho mainland. Among theso is tho family of tho Ruling
Chief which is of tho Uttooboo tribe.
(h) Shia Mahommednns, namoly, " Bahreinis tint is, tho old Bahroin
stock, of somowlmt uncertain origin. Out of the total island popu­
lation, whioh, if I romciubor right, is estimated at a mill. TOAQfll
souls, the proportion of tho two denominations is about cquST; Uio
Bahreinis boing a little in tho majority.
In tho population of Manama aro inoluded hetwoen DO and 100 Porsian^ •
subjects engaged in unpretontious trade and mostlv~owning "“small-sbopTiirtlic 1 !
Bazuar. They aro, I ucod hardly mention, of I ho Shia persuasion.
It willbo realised that they form an infinitesimal part of tho Manama com­
munity and like our own Indian trndors, wero it not for tho moasuro of Pax
liritnnnica which tho prcsonco of a British representative assures to them , they
could hardly trado or residoin complete security In such surroundings even at
ordinary times.
3. Chiofi st among these .Porshns is ono Ilaii Abdul Nnhi, who conducts
the cargo-landing business on bolmlf of tho person who “ farms " tho monopoly
for that wor.< from tho Sheikh, namely, tho Vazicr Abdurrahman. For so mo
months past tho said Vazicr has boon away on tho Mocoa Pilgrimage, and during
his absence Abdul Nabi bos oouduoted tho work with full powers from his
principal.
IIo is also employed to somo oxtont by Messrs. Gray. Paul & Co.,
and is at the samo time the authorised contmotor for tho provisioning of British
mou-of-war when stationed at Bahroiu. Abdul Nabi may bo neither more nor
less scrupulous than othors of his stamp, but tho British India Company's Agent
informed me that from their point of Yiow ho is a satisfactory man, and that
duriu^Jiis conduct of tho oargo-landing busiuoss, thoy had oxporieuccd much
less of tho potty thieving from paokagos of morohandiso in transit, whioh had
formerly been very prevalent.
Threo months ago it appears that this Abdul Nabi had porsonally traced
and run to earth a gang of Arab house and boat thiovos nud had brought about
tho discovory of a quantity of stolon goods at thoir lodging. Eight Arabs wore
in oonsequenoo imprisoned, of whom llvo wero subsequently reloascd and throo
still remain in confinement. In consequonco of this oacurrenoo Hsji Abdul Nabi
went for sorao days afterwards" in foar of his lifo, and though that apprehension
bad gradually past off, ho wus well aworo at tbo timo that tho present inoidunte
oroso that ho was not a persona grn‘a among tho less law-abiding mombers of
tho Arab population of Manama, in which oatogory it sooms that Shoikh All and
bis retainers bad oomo to occupy a predominant position. ”
4;. Having got thus far I may well leuvo Captain Pridcaux’s original report
to furnish tho details of tho fraoas which ocourred on 14th Novomber lust.
In this communication ho Btates clearly tho dfotaiLs "of"what ooourrod as
ascertained immediately afterwards from tho beat sourcos of information avail­
able; and his account receives oiroumstantial corroboration from tho testimony