Page 399 - PERSIAN 5 1905_1911

AND THE MASKAT POLITICAL AGENCY FOR TIIE YEAR 1900. 97

from the Agency steam launch, landing at each of them in company with Sub­
lieutenant Prideaux-Brune, R.N.
On the 17th October 1908, the Polictical Agent proceeded on' six weeks’
privilege leave to India, at the conclusion of which he was deputed to
Poona for 10 days to hand over 20 eases of pottery, bones, etc.,
excavated from the tumuli at Ali, to the Superintendent of Archaeology,
Western Circle, India, and to assist the latter in sorting the contents of the
cases. The Agency Head Clerk, Mr. D. X. Lobo, held efficient charge of the
current duties of the Political Agency during this period of nine weeks as
he had similarly done in the previous year.
On the 3rd April 1908, Mr. R. E. Holland, I.C.S., and Lieutenant
C. II. Gabriel, His Majesty’s Consul at Bunder Abbas, landed for a night ind1"
in Bahrain. other
tiaveller* of
On the 10th April, Mr. W. A. Hirst, late Principal of the Guzeratnote-
College, Ahmedabad, who was proceeding to England via Baghdad and
Aleppo and collecting material for articles to the newspapers on political
and commercial subjects, landed at the Agency for a night.
Captain M. F. White, I.M.S., Mobile Assistant Quarantine Officer, paid
two brief visits to Bahrain in April and July.
On the 25th July, Monsieur V. Rosenthal paid his third annual visit
to Bahrain, putting up as before with the Agent of Messrs. R. Wonckhaus
& Co., and departing for Lingah on the 24th October. He came at a time
when money was very scarce in Bahrain and was particularly needed for the
continuance of the pearling industry in the height of the diving season. He
was therefore enabled to buy a much larger quantity of pearls than ever
previously, and is said to have invested 10 or more lakhs of rupees at a most
profitable rate. It was estimated, one month after his departure, that M.
Rosenthal’s purchases were worth at least 5 lakhs more than he had paid for
them, and at the present time it seems that their value must have increased
nearly 100 per cent.
Messrs. R. Wonckhaus & Co. were joined in September by a young
assistant named Bohnstorf and also received brief visits from the firm’s
employes Messrs. Brown (of Lingah) and Eisenhut (of Basrah) in August and
November respectively. The German Consul from Bushire, Dr. Listemann,
also put up with the firm for two short periods in December.
The changes amongst the 'personnel of the American Mission have been
the departure of the Rev. J. Barny to Maskat in July, and the arrival from
the United States of the Rev. J. Moerdyk and G. J. Pennings and Dr. (Miss)
T. H. Josselyn, m.d., in December.

F. B. PRIDEAUX, Major,
Political Agent, Bahrain.

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