Page 488 - PERSIAN 5 1905_1911

78 ADMINISTRATION REPORT OF THE PERSIAN GULF
Bahrain was really plague, the Shaikh issued orders for passengers thence
to be quarantined in boats, but even this primitive measure was freely
evaded. In June the fast mail steamers gave up calling at Kuwait, and as the
epidemic in Bahrain soon ran its course the vexed question of quarantine
dropped and still awaits solution.
The .Customs service has continued in the hands of Abdul Mohsin, and
appears to have worked satisfactorily
Customs Administration.
on the whole.
Relations between the Customs and tfcc local Agent of the B. I. S. N. Co.
have been friendly and conciliatory, and the latter’s requests for lighters are
complied with very efficiently.
The Shaikh has enhanced the duties on several commodities during the
year, thereby causing much dissatisfac­
Enhancement of dutios.
tion among merchants, especially in the
case of dates (a staple food) and tea.
The Shaikh contemplates enlarging the present Customs warehouse as
the present accommodation is frequently found inadequate. The weighing
of all goods before delivery has also been instituted during the year.
H. M. S. “ Perseus ” visited the port in January, and, in the absence of
his father, official visits between Shaikh
Naval and Marino.
Jabir and the Captain were exchanged,
the Political Agent being present.
The I. G. T. S. “ Patrick Stewart " made a flying visit to Kuwait in
November, the Director, Persian Gulf Telegraphs, paying an informal call on
the Shaikh.
Other vessels of His Majesty's Navy and Royal Indian Marine to visit
the port were :—H. M. S. “ Sphinx ” once, H. M. S. “ Lapwing ” three times
and R. I. M. S. “ Lawrence ” five times.
Arms and ammunition are no longer imported by the mail steamers
or the Bombay-Persia Steam Navigation
Arms Traffic.
Company’s ships, the trade having
gravitated entirely into native sailing craft. The arms market was dull dur­
ing the year, importers complaining that they were unable to make profits.
Regular imports have continued, however, in fairly large quantities, the rea­
son given being that the large dealers were bound by forward contracts with
home manufacturers to take certain quantities at specified periods, with de­
livery in Maskat, and they were unable to cancel these. Several new shops
have been opened in the bazaars and arms are now sold openly.
Goguyer’s firm at Maskat again attempted to open business in Kuwait, but
his request for permission was refused by the Shaikh.
The capture of dhows off the Mekran coast by His Majesty’s ships to­
wards the end of the year has, for the time being, practically stopped the im­
port from Maskat. The Shaikh is considerably interested in this import
financially, for every rifle carries an import duty of $6.
It is to be regretted that Shaikh llobarak, in spite of the obviously large
regular trade in arms, still attempts to hoodwink the Political Agent that
very few reach Kuwait by sea, ai>d those few are imported simply to fill local
requirements. A very rough estimate (for figures are difficult to procure) puts
the number of rifles in stock in Kuwait at 14,000 and nearly 10,000 cases of
cartridges, mostly Mausers and Martinis.
Slaves have occasionally come to the Political Agent with complaints
against their masters. Their cases are
Slave Trade.
represented to the Shaikh and the
slaves are usually returned by him to their owners, who are at the same time
severely warned against future ill-treatment. This seems to be suffi­
ciently effective, for only 6 petitions were received in the year and these were
all new cases.
Slaves are said to be sold in the Kuwait bazaars if their masters find them
troublesome or unwilling to stay with them, and on the whole it appears that