Page 211 - Records of Bahrain (3) (i)_Neat

British influence and foreign interests, 1904-1906 201

8
thodofonsivo in this rccont mattor and form
rmd thnt for this roason our diainfajj^lnr-il might btt-flilgXi£Ctol tha
taking over of his Customs wnTuIIowbd to bocomo an itom of our pututivo treat-
mont of him in tlio prosent conucotion.
I admit tint tlioro is forco in this. On tho othor hand, if wo nro going to
coorco tho Chief, ib.wo.uld save a good dual of tmublo to inoludo tho Customs
I quustion and liavo done with it-, seeing that If has ucon troubling us so long,
I i must leavo tho question in tho lianas of tho Gomnniont of India,
23. I now only liayo to discuss tho nrnus of cooroioa. Tho position in
this eouucction is not quite so simple as it was whon cooroivn notion was
last taken nt Bahrein. Thoro is now a considerable community of Europeans
in Manama, viz., 12 or 10 Missionaries and two or threo European traders,
besides our l’o'.itical Agont. In connection with tho prosont oaso, tho Shoikh
who has no doubt boon instigated all through by tho Mullahs Jnssim and
Ahmed, could if ho liked arouse a good deal of fauatical fooling in tho mattor
aud this has to bo taken into account.
I do not thiuk it would bo advisable to proposo any frosh torms or
sottlomont to him without haying nt hand tho menus to ouforco thorn on tho
spot, and at prosont wo havo not gst thorn, H M. 3. Redbreast, maunod as sho
now is with a lasoar crow and cnrryiug only sevon or eight bluojackcts, would
bo of no uso for any work on shoro.
In my opinion if it woro intonded to cocrco tho Shoikh or doposo him it
would bo adyisablo and necessary to havo a socond ship of war presont and to
Bond a bnttnliou of nntivo infnntry or at all ovonts four oompanics to Bahrein
to oamp for tho ro*t of tho wintor on the opou ground outsido tho Agenoyi for
the roassuranoo and safeguarding of tho Europoan oommunity and of British
subjects iu general, until maitors had settled down.
24. Although ns I obsorved boforo I cannot forcsco what viow Government
will tako of this caso ab initio I have thought it advisablo to writo fully on all
points which scorn atoll likoly to be iuYolvcd.
I may add that Captain Pridcaux’s viows coincidod ontiroly with mine
throughout in rogard to tho atiitudo of tho Shoikh, and whon wo parted noithor
of us had any hopo that any solution short of coercion was possiblo.
Writing to mo tho day after my departuro ho montionod that ho had
nothing fresh to roport,
" only that tho Sheikh has closed all tho coffeo shops in tho coutro of
tho Bazaar, professedly to losscn tho chanoes of disturbance, but
notually bccauso thoy aro
• M,, on our advico oo 7th December.
I , T. Z. Cox. all ruu by Persians who
havo only just* oponed aftor
n olosuro of tliroo weeks. Tho Arab ooffoo shops aro noaror the
outskirts of tho town and havo bcou allowed to kcop open.”
This is only anothor instance of his hostilo attitudo towards tho Porsian
community.
25. There is one aspoot of tho question which I forgot to indicato in its proper
Ml—“• *>— «■

tho bonds of His Mnjesty s Logation, in pressing olaims of ours and a,
"

to tho Gorman Arm, whioh, I trust, Bottles tho cruo." ' J°Ur °m°‘QutholP
\ SNationupon «ouTflwt