Page 23 - Records of Bahrain (4) (ii)_Neat

Regional relations, 1926-1931 325

Page 3.
suicide• They said that those whom they had left behind were
besieged in their vi'luges hy the tax collectors who were
demanding a far greater 3urn than they could possibly pay, and
that they were subjected to every form of injustice, I
again asked how the British Government could help them against
their ruler, and they merely repeated that we should go there
and protect them, as we had protected people elsewhere. I
told them that I had no private army with which I could in­
vade the territory of a friendly power, and finally as they

would not leave, I told them that I would represent their
case to you, and th”t if you could help them you would. They
then left.
6. I have never seen an seen a body of men so dispi­
rited and dejected, and there is no doubt that they have reach-
ed the limit, of human endurance. They fully understand that
c&nno
whatever their nationality has been in the past, thcylclaim
protection as Bs.lirna now, end they are simply awaiting 3ome
mimclc to occur and save them. I do not .enow whether it
is possible for any action to be taken on their behalf, and

it is quite probable that any reference to Bin Suud might
hove the effect of making their lot evon harder, fot it is
clear that the order* for the collection of this war-
tax has emanated from him and no one else. I would be
glad to know whether it in possible to hold out any hope to i
those unfortunate people.
7. I cannot agree with the concluding paragraph of

my predecessor’s letter T 2 mentioned above, and it appears
that Sir Lionel Haworth afterwards withdrew his approval df
the proposition outlined therein. The crux of the matter
seems to me to be the test for Bahrain nationality, If a pere­
son can show a reasonable claim to recent Bahrain nationality,
by birth, residence or other cogent reason, it xkhbix would
appear impossible to deny them ouruprotection. The inhabi-
tants of these islands
urc becoming increasingly critical of