Page 695 - PERSIAN 5 1905_1911

08 ADMINISTRATION REPORT OF THE PERSIAN GULF

Lutas n (6ce last year’s report) who had transferred their domicile from
Debai to Ajman, in enticing away divers from Debai. Later in the year he
ceased to pay attention to friendly remonstrance, and even proceeded to
ignore the Residency Agent’s communications, and on the Resident’s arrival
at Maskat from India, in March, reports which reached him from the Resi­
dency Agent made it evident that Shaikh Horaeid needed to be brought to Ilia
bearings without delay. A visit was, therefore, paid to Ajraan in the
R. I. M. S. “ Lawrence ” en route to Bushire. The Shaikh was ordered on
board and called upon to show cause why he should not be fined under the
Diving Code. For some time he maintained a demeanour of bluff and
antagonism, but eventually gave it up and expressed contrition; paid the fine
of Rs. 2,500 imposed upon nim, ana promised to turn over a new leaf. It
will be interesting to see how lie shapes when the projected wireless station
is installed at Zora, a project which will need cautious handling.
Relations with Shaikh Sagar have been satisfactory, and he has been
tractable in connection with Abu Musa
arg ‘ affairs and such other business matters
as have had to be transacted with him. Unfortunately the epidemic of
plague, which visited Debai so heavily at the commencement of the hot
weather, spread to his port, and it is believed that 400 or 500 deaths occurred
during the outbreak.
The Abu Musa dispute with the German Government pursued the tedious
tenour of its way during the year and was still unconcluded at the end of it.
In May, the Resident submitted his reply to the German rejoinder and this
was forwarded with the endorsement of the Government of India to His
Majesty’s Government. It is understood to have been communicated to the
German Government in December accompanied by a memorandum proposing
settlement by a compromise, the effect of which would be, while safeguarding
the Shaikh's rights, to restore Messrs. Y/onckhaus, as far as possible, to the
commercial position occupied by them at the moment when their operations
were stopped by the Shaikh of Shargah’s action. There the matter stood at
the end of the year. Meanwhile, in order to convince the German Govern­
ment that we were ready to meet them in any reasonable way, His Majesty's
Government acceded to a request from the latter that Messrs. V/onckhaus
should be permitted to remove more of the oxide already mined, with the
proviso, however, that the time limit of December 1912 should be placed upon
their operations.
Except for the connection of the principality and others with the Arms
Traffic, which will be dealt with sepa­
Abu Dhabi.
rately, the affairs of Abu Dhabi have not
been in evidence, and the behaviour of the Shaikh has been satisfactory.
The following development has taken place during the year, in connec­
tion with the time-honoured Taona Piracy Case. The pirate “ Gaithoo,”
whose capture was chronicled in the Administration Report for 1909 (page
67), was detained in custody at Bahrain through two pearling seasons in the
hope that the repeated endeavours of His Majesty’s ships and Political
Officers to capture his two brothers would be successful, and that, it would be
possible to arraign the three brothers together. All efforts, however, proved
jkorUve, and as Gaithoo’s conduct, during a confinement of over two years,
had been exemplary, and it appeared difficult to continue it indefinitely, it
r?S e<^’ October, in communication with the Government of India and
His Majesty’s Minister at Tehran, that he should be released and that we
must content ourselves with the hope of eventually making good the claim
for pecuniary compensation against the Persian Government.
It is convenient to take up the thread
Debai
of Debai affairs from where it was left
by the Report of 1910.
The feud between the Shaikh and the Bin Luta family seems to die
hard and has continued to be a source of
The Bin Luta Family.
inconvenience and friction during the
year. An interesting coincidence in connection with this case is noticed.