Page 115 - PERSIAN 8 1912_1920

FOB THE YEAR Ifllg. . 105
hat he claims was worth RG,000 or R7.000. Tho latter and his crew then fled
Bahtin abandoning the dhow which was in an unseaworthy condition.
Reference was made to Shaikh Jnsim bin Thani asking him to attach th©
_0 and send it over to Bahrain where any claims of Nasir for salvage dues
uld he enquired into. Shaikh Jasim wrote in August that Nasir proposed to
v'°ul0 over to Bahrain which ho eventually did in November.
On arrival at Bahrain, Nasir, of course, strongly denied having ill-treated
the Nakhoda and crew of the boat; he said he had in fact protected them at
jisidcrabo risk from the Bedouin. The complaining Somalis had by that time
l.ft the place, and it was impossible to arrive at any settlement. Nasir gave a
urcty that ho would attend at Bahrain if called upon to do so, if and when the
Somalis returned.
This is the sc<x>nd case of the kind which has occurred at Fuwairat in recent
years, and as it is impossible to arrive at any satisfactory settlement without a
show of force at Fuwairat, which at the present’.time is not expedient, Shaikh
Nashr will think that he can commit such acts with impunity, and the result
tfill probably be that it will become unsafe for Foreign boats to visit the Katr
ports.
Information was suddenly received on the 7th April that this man who is
the perpetrator of the piracy committed
Ximt of Zair Ali bin Ewat Bn&tani.
near Debai in 1911, and who was himself
wanted in connection with the Arms Traffic, was in Bahrain. Steps were quick­
ly and secretly taken to detect and arrest him and were successfully carried out
by the Agency staff and friends in the town.
Zair Ali was detained in the Agency till June when he was handed over
to the R. I. M. S. “ Lawrence.’*
His arrest evoked a number of semi-threatening letters from his friends to
Shaikh Isa whom they threw into a great state of perturbation. He was alarmed
at the prospect of reprisals being attempted on the pearling fleet, and expressed
his disapproval of the action of the Political Agent in having arrested the man
on his own authority, action which he would not himself have sanctioned. The
Shaikh’s tone was objectionable as well as foolish, and this and his further mis-
conduct in entering into direct correspondence with Muhammad Ali Rais of
Dilwar, Zair Ali’s Chief, earned him a rebuke from the Political Resident.
Considerable attention was paid to the question of the Arms Traffic in the
first half of the year. The result of en­
quiries tended tu show that there is little
if an y illicit landing of arms in Bahrain, though probably several of the local
merchants are interested in the business. It is also extremely probable that
arms are not infrequently brought into the harbour by vessels from Maskat
and Doha and there transhipped to Tangistani boats which take them over to
the Persian coast chiefly between Bushire and Lingah.
What was made abundantly clear is tbat Doha in Katr is now a great
centre for the distribution of arms. The arms appear to be brought across
from Maskat to some point on the Truciai Coast and there shipped to Doha
hy native boats which hug the coast keeping in shallow water. A brisk
business is done in Doha with Persians and Nejdi dealers. It is reported
that Rs. 6 duty is charged on rifles of value up to Rs. 76, and Rs. 10 on rifles
exceeding that price.
One or two searches for arms were carried ont locally but without
success. Arms imported by steamer passengers without permits were on
three occasions detected and confiscated with the co-operation of the Customs
department.
,, In connection no doubt with the Arms Traffio operations, the Senior
"Uval Officer raised the question of taking measures to limit and determine
tue armaments carried by pearling dhows.
. The papers were received from the Residency in October, and in accordance
"*th instructions received, the Political Agent attempted to sound Shaikh Isa
u the subject. His view was that the quantity of arms carried whioh varied
^111 say 2 to 16 rifles, was settled by ola established custom, any interference