Page 277 - Records of Bahrain (3) (i)_Neat

British influence and foreign interests, 1904-1906 267

No. 33r, dated Bushire, the 16th (rcceivod tho 34th) July 1903.
From—Major P. Z. Cox, C.I.E., Officiating Political Renident in the Persian
Gulf,
To—S.M. Fraser, Eoq., C.I.E., Secretary to tho Government of India in tho
Foreign Department.
I have the honour to forward copies of the letters marginally noted, addressed
roiiticai aK<int, Bahrein, io Reiident, No*. 3o« to me by tho Political Agent, Bahrein, on
No. ,005. receiving a copy of Foreign Department
dtiej idbJuly 1905. letter No. i873-E. B., dated 17th May
1905. A copy of my reply to Government to the latter communication' had. not
then reached him. My letter No. 781 to which he also refers, covered my written
message of 7th June for delivery to the Sheikh. A copy of it was forwardod . to
Government with my No. 359 of 1 ith Junc.
a. Now that the Government of India have at Bahrein a Political represent­
ative of some standing and experience, I take for granted that they would wish,
especially at the present juncture when the affairs of Bahrein aro sub fudice, to bo
placed in possession of his views first hand in all important matters, irrespective
of the question whether the Resident can entirely endorse them or not. It is on
this supposition that I submit his present communication for consideration.
3. After a careful scrutiny of his recommendations I am inclined to think
that the Political Agent's zeal for reform has a tendency to carry him too fast
and too far, and that his present proposals arc mainly of a nature which is. only
compatible with a declared and effective British Protectorate.
In their letter No. i873*E. B. to which Captain Pridcaux’s present com­
munication (No. 204) refers, the Government of India explained to me with some
emphasis that they had set their face against any such extreme measure as
being altogether opposed to the policy of His Majesty's Government. They
went on to express the view that they might reasonably hope that such other
reforms as were necessary would be brought about by the gradually increasing
personal influence of the Political Agent,
The declaration of a Protectorate being out of the question, I fully concurred
with the Government of India that as soon as coercive measures were held to
have come to an end, our only course was to rely on the personal influence and
friendly advice of our Political Agent to further our policy in other respects.
When replying on this point in my letter No. 244, dated 14th Junc, I ventured to
indicate the nature which that influence must in my opinion possess in order to
have any chance of success.
4. Apart from such further reforms as this dominant influence may be able
to bring about in the future, l doubt if there is any middle course open to us
between the extreme ones of treating Bahrein (rr) as a British Protectorate, and
(£) as an independent principality. I grant that if King Log docs not give
satisfaction there is presumably nothing to prevent us from changing him for
King Stork, but it seems to me that we cannot at one minute insist that the
Ruler is an independent sovereign and expect him to assume responsibility as
such (as we did in connection with the Fracis-Timcs lawsuit arising, put of
p„,..... . , . ... ... . .... the “Baluchistan" seizure, vide the. cor-
. «\
>11
' .
Enclosure, doted 16th I'-bruafy l8co, to India
,
onico, n«»P.uh No. 7*sccrct, .f.ted i-.ih Miich rcspondencc marginally noted), and at
»pondence.ve,nm'n* ,nd i,r,vioul cg"0, another treat him like a petty Indian Raja
and intervene in his internal administration
to the extent suggested by Captain Pridcaux.
Lest I should appear at all inconsistent in making these observations, I
would reiterate here that the reforms advocated in my letter No. 133 .dated i i\h
March 1905, were proposed essentially as component items of our punitive mea­
sures against the Sheikh, at a time when I doubted whether Government wofild
consider those already taken as sufficient. Since then several months have elapsed
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