Page 26 - Records of Bahrain (4) (ii)_Neat

328 Records oj Bahrain

Qatif authoritieo, othorwioo -they would certainly have mado
no dlatinction between thorn and thoir own subjects. of
oome tvjonty othoro who came to boo tho Political Agent only
one could make a real claim to being a Bahrain subject and

in tho case of these three individuals tho Political Agent
has given them informal letters to the Amir of Qatif. The
other members of the deputation, while being members of a
community resident in Hasa and generally known as Bahama
and probably of Bahrain origin, have been settled 30 long
on the mainland that it seems difficult to regard them as

Bahrain subjects and Captain Prior hold out no hopes that the
British authorities v/ould intervene on their behalf.
3. The grievances of these individuals were that kxkkxxxx
excessive taxes were being forcibly collected from them by
the qatif authorities and tho.t they were subjected to every
form of injustice. It would Beera, hoY/evcr, to be the war
3ur-tax which is now being levied that has brought matters

to a. head and has induced them to seek refuge in Bahrain.
As, however, the Najd authorities have prevented them from
removing their families, and as many of them own immovable
property it is clear that they are in no position to migrate.
I 4. As regards the general question of protection to
such individuals,the Political Agent writes: "If a person
5
can show a reasonable claim to recent Bahrain nationality
: by birth, residence or other strong grounds, it would
appear impossible to deny them our protection. The inhabi­
tants of these islands are becoming increasingly critical of
our somewhat half-hearted protection of their interests
abroad, and the criterion of this protection should be not
■ i
the expedience of any particular instance but tho right
that the individual has to it. It is clear from the con­
II
versation mentioned above that the authorities at Qatif are
expecting that we shall support genuine Bahama, and with ymu
j your approval I propose to continue doing so, confining such 1
:: protection, however, to particular instances and only then
after careful scrutiny of the ^credentials of tho claimants".