Page 651 - Belgrave Diaries(N)_Neat

649

1931

Prior, Parke was there, he held forth a great deal about politics and Prior was, and appeared to be extremly bored. They are
putting up the income tax in India and raising much of the customs tarif as their Budget shows such a deficit. Parke told us
about a couple of queer Austrians who came up on the boat doing a world tour on foot, living by what they can cadge from
people, they have a passport visa from Muscat. They live like Arabs, and poor ones at that and pretend to be Mohamedans.

Monday [16 March]

Court. Took the Siadi case the whole morning and didnt get much further with it. It is a terrible affair. The old blind man who
is the wakil of Abdulla Siadi got very angry about it all. Very long court, it seems even more boring than usual when it is one
case all the time and no variety. In the afternoon Prior and I went out to Senian, he had not seen the date propagation and we
took some photos of it. It is very pleasant out there stayed a long time and then motored back at sunset.

Tuesday [17 March]

Office, a lot of people came in, Rashid bin Mohamed as usual asking for something, this time he wanted land to build a house
as he says he dislikes living with his in laws. Rather a hot day, south wind and very stuffy, I have a heavy cold in the head. A
most amusing thing happened. Last week the three big shaikhs and I and Prior had a solemn conclave to discuss what reply
should be sent to a letter from the High Commissioner Irak about the return of Shaikh Khalaf who applied to be allowed to
come back for three months only to arrange his affairs. It was decided that he was not to come and a letter to this effect was
written. Today, on the down boat, there arrived Shaikh Khalaf with a perfectly good passport from Irak, a new young wife and
a baby. Nobody had any idea that he was on board. Jelal al Din sent me a telegram from the ship but it didnt arrive till the
afternoon, too late. The old man landed, took a taxi and went straight out to Draaz, near Budeya. Yesterday Prior got a
telegram without any signature warning him to go out and meet the boat, from Karachi, so we think that had something to do
with it. It amused me extremly, all the Baharnas are in a terrific stew and the other Kadis are terribly fussed. It is bad
management on the part of the people of Iraq. Goodness knows what will happen about it now, once here it is very difficult to
dislodge the old man. The queer Austrian traveller came to call on me and wasted a lot of my time in the morning, he asked
for money, I didnt care for him. Slept in the afternoon and then went to the D.Gs for Bridge and dinner, rather boring. Very
poor dinner, they have taken on my servant Mohamed Omar as sort of assistant boy, I was glad to get him a job. Prior is very
angry about Shaikh Khalaf having been allowed to come back here by Irak.

Wednesday 18th March 1931

Went to see the Shaikh at the Joint Court before breakfast, he had not arrived but Mohamed and Abdulla were there, talked
about the Shaikh Khalaf affair, Mohamed was very excited and I think alarmed, Abdulla thought it a great pity and both agreed
that Irak had behaved very badly over it. Very likely he got the passport by bribing someone as he is described in it as being a
British subject. The Shaikh came in later and didnt seem in the least disturbed about it, very different to the others, I think he
was rather amused, he said "Inshallah the old man would do no harm" and left it at that. Went back to have breakfast at the
Agency and then with Abdulla to a meeting of the Shia school committee which was rather a lively affair and very long.
Abdulla is very good on these occasions and very clever in his speeches. A telegram from Ibn Saoud at the time of the Eid
seems to have been mislaid and the Shaikh is rather fussed about it, I dont know what can have happened to it. It was merely