Page 417 - PERSIAN 8 1931_1940_Neat

7
SECTION 7,,
MANUMISSION,
During 193G the following number of slaves was manumitted : —
Jiuhrain Agency . 17
Muscat Agency
25
Sharjah Agency ,
7
C. C. L. RYAN, iMajor,
Secretary to the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf.

SECTION 8.
TRADE AND TRADE FACILITIES.
General state of Trade.—During 1936 the trade situation of Bushire
gradually worsened and there are few if any signs which might encourage
the belief that any marked improvement will take place in the near future.
Formerly Bushire merchants imported goods on their own account for local
consumption but now that control of foreign exchange by the Government
and a higher Customs tariff have been added to other restrictive measures
on their part merchants have practically given up the unequal struggle
against such Governmental interference with private trade and have become
mere forwarding agents for importers in the interior of the country. Con­
sequently the bulk of the goods landed at Bushire are simply in transit and
extremely little merchandise remains for local consumption. This accounts
for the paradox that the economic condition of Bushire and the Hinterland
is deteriorating whilst the total volume of imports through the port of
Bushire has increased in many lines. Bushire is thus much more of a
channel for trade with the interior rather than a market in itself.
There has been and still is great congestion in the Customs and every
available foot of space is being utilised. Cases are piled one on top of
the other and the resultant chaos becomes progressively worse as every in­
coming steamer discharges its cargo. Extra space has been taken over by
the Customs authorities in an endeavour to ease the situation but without
visible result. The reason for this state of affairs is the great difficulty
experienced by importers in obtaining foreign exchange from the Exchange
Commission in Tehran in order to retire their accepted bills from the banks
and thus clear their goods. The consequence of this lack of foreign ex­
change is to be seen in the accumulation of uncleared goods in the Customs.
A contributory cause is the dearth of labourers to deal with cargo already
discharged due to disputes .about wage rates. Owing to this state of affairs
steamers are sometimes obliged to ovcrcarry their cargo.
Smuggling continues practically unchecked and results in considerable
loss of revenue. Tt is a natural corollary of the fiscal policy of the Govern­
ment and can only be eliminated by a change in that policy in the direction
of reduced duties and abolition of the embargo on various imports. A law
which came into force in July provided that smugglers should be tried
by court-martial and the death penalty inflicted on armed smugglers who
resisted arrest: lighter sentences would be given to those who surrendered.
This law has, however, produced no deterrent effect. The sort of articles
mostly smuggled into the country are tea, sugar, piecegoods, clothing, etc.
The preventive agents themselves are said to connive actively at this traffic
and to this fact' must be ascribed the smugglers’ comparative immunity
from capture and punishment and the consequent thriving nature of the
traffic. However, that may be, the availability of contraband goods makes
living conditions easier for the population than they otherwise would be
and no doubt saves the people from being driven to complete despair.