Page 246 - Records of Bahrain (3) (i)_Neat

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Records oj Bahrain
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m glit be appointed. With regard, howovor, to itoma 1 and i of tho ultima,
turn ho stated that ho had so far boon unabloto lay hands on any of tbo 10 mun
rcqmrod, and ho bad obtainod no furtbor nows of Shoikh Ali os bis brothor
Kband bad not y«-t roturnod. Ho novorthclcss expressed liia dosiro to oomply
with Mio ordors of Qovommcnt and agroed to assist ua in annoxing suou
attaobablo proporly as lus nophow might have loft bobind.
A little later Sheikh Kbslid roturnod, but bis appoaranoo ovidonood no
traco of Iho oxhaustmg efToot whiob bin all-night oxortions might Itavo boon
cxpectod to produoo on a man of his ago. Ho roportod that ho bad ascertained
that Sheikh Ali, with 8 or 10 followers, had O'Caped to tho mainland in tbo
boat of Bomo lishormon which thoy had commandoorod at a yillago on tbo
castorn oxtromity of the island, opposito ltatr.
'Iho Sonior Naval Ofliqor, Captain Pridcaux, and myself in consultation,
now cauio to tbo conclusion that ovon presuming that 8hoikh lisa lmd
oounived at Sheikh Ali's ikscapc, bis oomplbmcc with throe of the demands and
Ins agrocmcnt to hand ovor the fugitive's proporty made it hardly justifiable
for us to proo-.cd to extremities, but it was docidod to oall upon him forthwith
to eoud his fon Haniod on board ono of Iho moii-of-war, both as a hostago and'
as a proof of his own faith.
After coiibidorubiu demur on his own part and that of his son ho finally
accepted tho situation, and Shoikh limned was at once sontolf in a man-of-
war’s boat to IT. M.S. on tbo understanding that if found ncco'sary
he should bo detained tlioro pondiuir rccoipt of furtbor trlcgraphio in­
structions from Government. Tho Sheikh was alw assured on our own part
that it was not part of our iutonlion to deport Hamod to Maskat or clsowhoro
iu lieu of Shoikh Ali.
G. Shoikh Hamod having ombnrkcd steps whoro tlion taken to annox
on behalf of Governmont Shoikh Ali’a houso and realisable proporly, after
allowing sufiioient timo for bis zonana to bo romovod and suitably housed
olsewhoro with tboir immodiato personal and housohold necessaries. They
wore taken chargo of by Sheikh Khalid. A detaobmont of Marinos was landed
by tbo Seuior Naval Offio3r to surround tbo house and koop order during its
attachment, and tho samo oourso was followod tho noxt day whilo Shoikh Ali’a
offoots where being removed. As soon as tho houso was complotuly eloured ou t
it was placed in charge of a sopoy guard from the Agonoy, whiob will now bo
oonvcmontly housed tlioro ponding tho orcction of permanent quarters for
thorn. I m iy mention that whilooo-oporating with us in tbo atlacbmont of tbo
homo Shoikh Ifsa asked me to takccognizaucoof tbo fact that it was not, accord­
ing to him, Sheikh AH's absoluto proporty but was in fact' tbo " Government
Houro ” of Manama, aud part of tho ancestral possessions of tbo Al-kbolifa
family. I shall discuss this point, howovor, in a separata communication
and morely mention it inoidontaliy bore.
Jfwo nativo orafts, pointed out by Sheikh Esa as belonging to bis nophow,
woro burnt whoro thoy lay, and tbo romnindor of his property, consisting of per­
sonal cffeols and livc-stook, wero collected at tbo Agency for distribution and
sale in duo oourso. I shall address Government subsoquontly with rogard to
tbo disposal of tho prooccds of tbo ollcots confiscated, whiob it was obviously
not desirable to kcop in Hahroin.
7. On 28th Fobruary tbo Shoikh dofinitaly intimated that Sheikh Ali
and tbo 10 culprits bod escaped from Huhrein torritory to tbo mainland and
that bo was altogether unable to produoo thorn. At tho samo timo ho under­
took to publish notifications proclaiming tboir banishmont and olforing a re­
ward of 30,000 rupoos for Shoikh Ali’s arrest and 200 rupoos for that of caob
of the 10 hooligans. Translations of these notices form Enclosures 3 and 4.
So for, tbon, d8 tbo aotual torms of tbo ultimatum woro oonoornod, all tbo
moasurce that woro rondorod prootioablo by tbo ciroumstanoes had now boon
taken ; tboro romained to bo considered, however, tbo oaso of tbo Mullah brothors,
Jaaim and Ahmod-bin-Mahzi, whoso sinister influence in Manama had boon
brought into markod rolief during tho recent incidents.
•During tho proaoDt proceedings thoy bad boon wiso enough to abstain,
outwardly at all ovents, from any apooial intriguo whiob would in itsoli n«ve
warranted tbo taking of drastio'measures against thorn, but I was quite ai ono