Page 708 - PERSIAN 5 1905_1911

POLITICAL RESIDENCY FOB 191L 106
„ jaW»»is at least now known, but it is argued that a general reduction to say
i per cent, would lead to an increase in the volume of Bahrain trade. No
representations have, however, been made as the change would probably
entail, at any rate for 6ome time, a heavy'fall in Shaikh Isa’s revenues,
which he could not afford, and as the means for handling the existing
amount of cargo are so unsatisfactory.
This has for years been a fruitful cause of difficulty and discontent, and
in the past year things were probably
The Landing and Dolirrry of Cargo.
worse than tioy have ever been before.
The natural difficulties which have to be overcome are great, and neither the
Government nor inhabitants of Bahrain can provide the brains or the mate­
rial means for overcoming them.
Any hope of remedy that lay in the appointment of a European Cargo
Landing Agent was speedily terminated by the ill-advised petitions of the
commercial communities against the Wills regime (see last year’s Admin­
istration Report), and the subsequent refusal of Shaikh Isa to renew
Mr. Wills’ appointment on its expiry.
A wave of Arab feeling demanded an Arab management, and two local
Arabs were appointed to the charge. It is said that they were guaranteed
against loss by the oth'er Arab merchants. They have proved totally in­
capable and indifferently honest, and things have gone steadily from bad to
worse. Early in the year a Medjliss of representative foreign merchants
was assembled by Major Knox, and the whole question was threshed out in
detail and opinions expressing some degree of unanimity were recorded in
writing. These opinions could not be turned to any practical purpose as it
was at once objected that they only represented foreign feeling.
Shaikh Isa eventually agreed to the summoning of a general Medjliss
of all merchants to sit under the presidency of an unprejudiced outsider,
Mr. Chick, Commercial Adviser to the Political Resident. When, however,
a month later, in April, Mr. Chick arrived, the Shaikh declared himself
unable to depute Arab merchants to sit in the Medjliss within any reasonable
time. The Lledjliss had therefore to be held without the attendance of Arab
representatives, except at the end when they came and misbehaved them­
selves. They afterwards met separately.
This foreign Medjliss drew up a very clear unanimous report on the
defects existing and the remedies required.
The Political Agent then attempted to get Shaikh Is3 to discuss this
statement with him with a view to determining how far it coincided with the
opinions, of the Arabs and how far its recommendations could immediately
be put in force. The Shaikh, however, refused point-blank to discuss it
verbally, and he gave either perfunctory answers, or no answers at all to
ptters addressed him on the subject. These u negotiations ” were only
anally abandoned in October.
In the meantime.all through the summer, and on till the close of the
jear, the landing service was hopelessly inefficient.
The average rate of discharge from all vessels in harbour has been
under 2,000 packages per day of 24 hours. The cases of the u Fazilka and
the Okhla ” in September, October and November may be mentioned. The
former took 29 days to land 50,000 bags of rice of which 17,700 were landed
52 OOObag* 3 ^ MeSSrS* Gray Paul & ^ and the latter, 23 days to land

Between May and October some 12 mail boats had to sail overcanying
?arg°. The same cargo has in some cases been overcarried two or three times
*n succession. The chief results of constant expostulations by the Political
Agent were attempts to impress foreign boat-owners, which had in their
turn to be combated.
On land the work of the Department 5as been no more satisfactory.
Ihe cargo of “ Fazilka ” and “ Okbla ” and of still earlier boats had not
teen entirely delivered by the end of the year. Lying exposed to the weather
nee had been damaged by rain to the value of many thousands of rupees.