Page 467 - Belgrave Diaries(N)_Neat

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1929

which Saleh got from the trees round the spring. Caught a big tortoise to join the turtle in the tank. Little wind coming
back but we had the car meet us at Omm al Hassan so didnt have far to go. Very pretty on the island but the village
quite overwhelmingly smelly, it made one feel quite sick to go past it, but I suppose the usual state of things. Lots of
tortoises and lots of green grass which one does not see in many places here. Warmish night.

Monday 12th August 1929

Court. Shaikh Sulman did not come as he went with The Shaikh to the island for the day to see the tank and the little
house which has been built there. Mohamed bin Ali came to Court. He is quite useless as a magistrate. He brought in
a paper from Shaikh Isa to be registered gifting him a certain spring and "the ground near it" so vague. It was dated a
good many years ago. These gifts are one of the of the worst things that Isa did, he gifted away half the island to
various relations who dont do anything with the land but sit like dogs in mangers and wont let anyone else do anything
with the land. Tennis at the Mission in the afternoon. Prior had an Arab tea party, mostly merchants. No ice, the
machine, as usual, has broken down. When the weather gets really hot it always seems to collapse. Dinner at Mespers,
rather dull, Prior left early and we had two rubbers of Bridge, but very hot in their room as it was a hot damp evening
and they had a big lamp. Pack was there. John, the small boy, has been seedy again, eaten some food that has upset
him apparently. Sudden shamaal in the night, it is very tiresome having to suddenly move off the roof, when it blows
up so strongly I always fancy that the light shelter will come down on top of me.

Tuesday 13th [August]

Biladya meeting. Prior didnt appear till late. The mail boat ran into a sailing boat on its way in, some distance out, and
sunk it with all the catch of pearls and some money, so they said. Prior had to go out to the boat to hold an enquiry. It
happened in broad daylight, a very rare occurence. Quite a good meeting. I disclosed to them that we had altered our
idea about letting the public have a finger in the electric light. A very "lively" discussion on it, Prior told them that if
they had anything to do with it the whole thing would be a wash out, they didnt like that. The flying boat or whatever
it calls itself arrived in the early afternoon from Muscat on its way back to Basra from Karachi. A meeting at the
Agency in the afternoon of the Shaikh, Prior myself and Abdulla and Sulman to discuss the question of the trials. We
were there for about two hours, most of the time the Shaikh made efforts to go, without settling anything, but everyone
pointed out that something definite must be settled on. We consider the two cases against Bahranis the most important,
the reason being that the Bahranis will have a real grouse if they are left in mid air. Some very plain speaking. Prior
asked over and over again why the Shaikh would not let us, the Court, deal with the matter entirely, he kept on saying
that it would be better to put the responsibility onto the Kadis, or in fact anyone else. He made some absurd
suggestions, that the general public of Muharrak, Manama and Hedd should be called in to advise the Court, or that the
Kadis should look over the evidence and give an opinion, which of course they wouldnt ever do. He said as the crime
of Ibrahaim Khalid was against him himself he would deal with him, that of course means let him off. Still it is good
that he should have been tried and known to be guilty. Eventually we settled to endorse the Shaikh's previous
judgment in the case of Farsia murders, that is a fine of Rs 7,500, the equvilent blood money, and to order Shaikh
Hamud bin Suban to pay two blood monies in the Tubli case. After all it happened eight years ago and we are satisfied
that the evidence that he was actually at the murder is not sufficient, the only evidence being that of one man who says
Hamud ordered him to do it. Prior told the Shaikhs just what he thought of the Kadis, and a few other things of that
sort, the Shaikh seemed rather surprised but Abdulla and Sulman entirely agreed. On the whole I think the affair has
ended well. The Shaikh talked with quite quite exceptional stupidity even for him. He constantly said that the accused