Page 80 - Records of Bahrain (3) (i)_Neat

70 Records of Bahrain
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10. As regards tho lettor to Mr.Frnois from tlio First Assistant Resident
. pint Aiiiitani'* loiior to Mr. Fr»oi« in July in JuLy 1890, it appears that Mr. FYoois,
M®* about tho middle of 1896, that is, several
Months after tho concession was given, mado an application for our good oflloos
Vvitli tho Sheikh; to this tho letter from tho First Assistant i.s a reply. Agha
Mr. Dnoat'i i*tUr of tho 7th July 1800. Moliamcd Rahim has stated that ho novel:
Agent atiui he never imv it. saw or hoard of this letter, and it is possi­
ble that Mr. Fracis may liavo kept it to himself, fearing that if it camo to our
4goiU’d khowlodgo ho might object to acting for thorn at Bahrein. Mosers.
Fracis Tidies quostion tho right of the Assistant Resident to toll them not to-
deal iu 'arms, and fdrther assort that tho lottor iu ’question wns really tho work
of Mr. J. U. Gaskin, tho Extra Assistant and Vico-Cousul, who signed it. Tho
original order on tho application, which is in my offioc, is in Mr. Ducat’s
handwriting, and tho draft of the lottor writton on tho order is in tho writing-
"• Lett., to Mr. Fr.oi. with.01.. ord.r »i °r tl10 ,Uoad Mr. FrAcia, it will bo
note aiiAched. scon, also complains that his 1'irm was not
sO favourably treated in this mattor ns othors who wore not warned against
dealing in arms, when they asked for our good offices. I beliovo this is correct;
but it is, I think, likely that independent information against the Firm of
Fracis Timos, who wore well-known to be largoly ongagod iu tho arms traffic,
and objections, after tho Zobara affair, to tho importation of arms to Eahroin
and tho Arab Coast, woro tho reasons why Mr. Ducat treated them differently
to other Firms, and made a special stipulation about tho trado in arms when
writing to Mr. Fracis. Mr. Fracis asserts that it was dono becauso Mr. Gaskin
was interested in tho other Firms and was opposed to his own. I do not know
that there is any roal ground for this asser­
t Atloohcd.
tion, aud tho statement.! made boforo mo
by Mr. Gaskin, in my opinion, goes to disprove it, as neither ho, nor Mr.
Sequoira, the other TJncovonantcd Assistant, appear to have taken any steps
to bring tho ovasion of tho objection mado in Mr. Ducat’s letter to tbo notice
of my predocos6or, Colonel Wilson. If Mr. Gaskin was ronlly hostile to
tho Firm of Fracis Times, it is not clear why ho allowed thorn to go on
.importing arms to Bahrein in spito of the letter of tho 7th July, which
he is said to liavo iuspired and signed for First Assistant.
20. Apart from tho question of tho reason for Mr. Ducat’s special Warning
Som. oi the Rf.id.no, .infl l<n,w that Fr.oi. to Messrs. Frnois Times, it is clear that
.Timei were, importing arms with tho nmisUuco 60010 members of tho Residency WCrO
of ourigentin ipitflofMr. Duoat's objection. undoubtedly aware of what was going on,
and know of tho connection hctwcon Mr. Fracis and Agha Moliamcd Rahim.
I cannot, however, think that it had ovor bcon brought to tho notico of my
predecessor, Colonol F. A. Wilson, or of his First Assistant, and until that Is
established I considor the Residency canuot he said to have been ooguisant of
the fact that Messrs. Fracis Timos woro using the British Agent to assist thorn
in a traffic which tho First Assistant had requostod thorn not to engage in.
As far as I personally am responsible, I am able to say that I took tho -mattor
in band as soon as I got to know of it; and heard nothing from my prcdeoossOr
wbfen I took ovor charge which would lead mo to think that ho was cognisant
of the real stato of affairs at Bahrein.
21. Tho Sheikh attached tho arms in January whilo I was at Muscat and
. TI. Sh.ikb .umM tho ,™, i„ j.nu.r, tho Mckran Coast. Tho faot lyaamcn-
18P8. Account of my own rUit to Soiirvlo in tioned by Mohamad Rahim in a lettor. to
bis nephew, who was then at Buabiro,
ana he informed Mr. Fracis and Mr. Gaskin, who told my First Assistant,
Mr. Prideaux. Tho latter reported tho
t Copy attaofaed.
. - . ' matter by a telegram,t which I received
1 °cD, t?,e1a8ttl, Jonuary. I arrived at Bahroin on tho 4th February and
”,c! . on board tho Lawrence tho samo afternoon. I laudod tho
, . i a t .ln8Pec^ed tho godowns where tho arms were stored in the
•*.?rn Df* * bought at first of putting tho Rcsidoncy seals on tho doors of
godowns as wo had dono at Bushiro, but soon found that thcro wore
nous objections to my doing so, as a thorough examination of tho arms,
nioli was absolutely necessary if I scaled-the doors, would tako sovcral days,