Page 21 - Personal Column (Charles Belgrave)_Neat

and lying on her desk a note, which she naturally read, referring to prob­ of the British Government, which was often, from his point of view, quite
able attempts on my life. Although I assured her that it was absolute incomprehensible. One of his difficulties was the incessant demands for
nonsense it was rather disquieting for her. All the time there was no money from everyone around him. In theory the Shaikh, as head of the
trouble or signs of trouble among the men in the fort. tribe, was responsible for providing for the members of the family, who
We spent several very uncomfortable weeks in the overcrowded received allowances, but they and other people—merchants, heads of
Agency, which was full of naval officers, legal experts from the Residency, Arab tribes and visitors from other Shaikhdoms—expected generous help
and finally the Resident and his staff. Marjorie was the only woman in the from the Shaikh whenever they were in-need—and they were always in
party as Mrs Daly had gone home for the summer. We slept in a comer need. Their requests were difficult to deal with as the Shaikh’s share in the
of the veranda, surrounded by the beds of the male population, con­ Civil List was small. The first Budget which I produced was for about
stantly overhearing conversations notj intended for our ears. Everybody £75,000, derived almost entirely from Customs dues which were then
was determined to believe that the affair was a widespread anti-British 5 per cent ad valorem on imports. This sum had to provide for the ad­
plot, though there was no evidence to support this theory. The Baluchi, ministration, such as it was, the police, the Civil List and for major works
being a foreigner, was tried in the Agency court, but the result was a such as drilling water-wells, making roads and the completion of the new
foregone conclusion. It was then suggested, and urged by the Navy, that palace, which had been begun before I arrived. It was a modest building,
he should be hanged, and it was assumed that I, as Commandant of the rather like an Indian railway station.
Levies, would make all arrangements, but here I went on strike. ‘If there The Shaikh bought some furniture and fittings for the palace when
is any hanging to be done/ I told them, ‘someone else can do the job.’ he was in England, but for some reason there were too many baths and \ f
Finally the wretched man was executed by a firing squad, on a grey two had been put into each bathroom—though there was no water laid '•
morning in front of the fort, in the presence of a large crowd. After that, on. An old Arab Shaikh from down the Gulf visited Bahrain and was
any executions which had to be carried out were done by shooting. On shown over the palace. Not surprisingly he said, ‘Why are two baths in
an average there was one murder every two years, so these unpleasant one room?’ He had already asked several rather inconvenient questions.
occasions were infrequent. Shaikh Hamed looked at him for a moment, then, leading the way to
The Levies were disbanded and the men were repatriated to Muscat, another room, said, ‘One for hot and one for cold, of course.’ I watched
but in a few years many of them filtered back to Bahrain and found work the old gentleman ruminating over the reply. Apparently it satisfied him.
there. As a temporary measure two platoons of Indian infantry were In October there was another dramatic incident. One night Shaikh
stationed in Bahrain and for a time there was a period of quiet. Daly left Hamed drove out with two of his sons to his house on the coast, followed
in September, after five years in Bahrain, a long time in those days when by a car containing a few servants. At a narrow place on the Budeya road,
there were no amenities. He did more for Bahrain than any other Politi­ between date gardens, there is a steep, twisting bridge over a water
cal Agent. The diving reforms and many other progressive measures channel. As the car mounted the bridge there was a burst of firing from
were due to his initiative, although when they were introduced by the behind the fence on the side of the road. Shots hit the car but missed the
Shaikh they were strongly opposed, yet in later years their value was occupants. The cars raced on, not stopping till they reached the house;
appreciated. Few Arabs came to say good-bye to Daly; gratitude is an only at dawn did they send a messenger to me to say what had happened.
uncommon trait among them, they are by nature unsentimental, cynical The Shaikh was sitting in front, beside the driver, but he never did this
and materialistic. They are impatient of control and resent: anything which again. I believe he owed his life to the car’s powerful headlights which,
restricts their individual liberty,.even though the object is for their own as the car swung round the comer, dazzled the four would-be assassins
_^__gQod^[Years later Daly’s reputation was very much higher than when he behind the fence and put them off their aim.
left Bahrain, for by then people appreciated how much he had done for It was a carefully planned ambush; we found gun-rests and peep-holes
the country.. in the fei^ce and a quantity of ammunition on the ground, but the delay
I used to see the Shaikh two or three times a week and he soon talked enabled the men to escape. We searched neighbouring villages and houses
to me with complete freedom, even to the extent of discussing the attitude occupied by suspicious characters and issued a proclamation offering a
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