Page 95 - Records of Bahrain (4) (ii)_Neat

Regional relations, 1927 397

23
The acceptance of this advice is the return paid by the State for the advan­
tages which British Protection confers. The British rights were
explicitly stated in the ultimatum presented to the Shaikh on the
24th February 1905. If British advice must he accepted action in
contravention of it, whether it takes the form of vacillation, bad
faith, or open contumacy cannot be tolerated.
4. British Paramountcy is commercial as well as political.
20. After the event of 1904-1905, the Political Agent though not directly em­
powered b an Order in Council assumed jurisdiction over foreigners (An Order in
Council to rectify this was introduced in 1919). Shaikh Isa though he agreed to
the right of protection in the case of other foreigners maintained his own right
over Ncjdis.
In 1917 the Political Agent r.uggcstc we might fall in with this view of the
Shaikh as a graceful concession and this appears to have been acted on unofficially
up to 1922.
21. Except as above the internal affairs of Bahrain do not appear to have
attracted much attention until the end of the Great War.
The Political Agent found himself powerless to prevent the many gross tyran­
nies which were being perpetrated but used his influence as far as he could to pre­
vent certain abuses.
In 1908 the Political Agent attempted to improve trade conditions and in
1910 lie reported that the utmost patience had been exercised in order to get I he
Shaikh to agree without coercion to some compromise to meet the requirements
of traders with regard to landing arrangements, which’ lie leased as a monopoly.
22. In 1911 the Political Resident again gave a gloomy picture of the condition
of the Bahrain principality due to the incompetence of Shaikh Isa.
He said that all progress was hampered by the bigoted incapacity of the
Shaikh, to which was to be added the nationalist sentiment which had agitated Islam
during the past two or three years. Tie was of the opinion that Government would
have to interfere in the interests of our shipping.
In 1912 the Government of India called upon the Shaikh to form a suitable
scheme for the landing of cargo, a reform which was suitably carried through.
23. On the outbreak of war the attitude of the Shaikh and his two sons was
friendly but the inhabitants of Bahrain were, perhaps naturally, affected by their
Islamic sentiment.
The arrest of Wonokhaus’ Agent and the capture of Basrah had a quieting
affect.
During the war internal affairs necessarily received little attention.
In 1912 Shaikh Isa agreed to the erection of a wireless station in Bahrain and in
191G on the departure of the Shaikh’s quarantine officer on leave we took over the
quarantine duties of the place a duty which we have continued to perform.
In 1915 Shaikh Isa was invested with C.S.I. and in 1919 with the K.C.f.K.
24. In May 1919 Captain Bray, who had been for six months Political Agent,
accompanied Shaikh Isa's second son Shaikh Abdulla to England.
Captain Bray considered that there was some anti-British feeling in Bahrain,
that there was no British party and he considered the activities of the American
Missionaries to be anti-British. While this is not the ease directly, indirectly it
must necessarily be so.
25. Captain Bray, the first of a series of officers from Iraq, was very much in i
favour of an up-to-dato Bahrain with waterworks, electric power, industrial
schools, pearl button manufactures, etc., etc.
The Deputy Resident Mr. Bill was not however in favour of these improve’
monls, preferring rather to leave the Arab to develop slowly than to inculcate in him
a divine discontent.
MCG3I1U)