Page 111 - Arabian Studies (II)

The Powers and Mineral Concessions in the Idrisi Imamate of \Asu 101
obtained a permit from Sayyid Muhammad al-ldrlsl not to exploit
the petrol but to fish for mother-of-pearl off the Farasan Islands.1 3 5
He had the support of the French Minister of Colonies but the
Foreign Ministry warned him against undertaking such an enterprise.
The difficulties he would have faced from the British sloops of the
Red Sea patrol finally decided him to renounce the scheme.136
Italy, while not obtaining any concessions in IdrlsT-administered
‘Aslr, was sufficiently disruptive to rob British companies of the
possibility of exploiting the concessions they had won. Yet there
were other factors too: British policy in regarding its 1917 treaty as
having lapsed alienated the Idrisi — as the Idrisi Sayyid ‘All’s
behaviour was a contributary factor also. To all this must be added
the very character of Sayyid Muhammad’s successors: neither was
stable and their opinions could be swayed by unscrupulous advisers.
Thus when ‘Aslr was full of Italian agents and the ministers
themselves were selected from among the pro-Italian section of the
population, there was little hope that British companies would be in
a position to exploit their concessions. Italy’s policy in both Yemen
and ‘Aslr can be considered as having achieved considerable success
at the expense of British strategic, political and commercial
ambitions. It was not until several years after he had captured the
Tihamah that Imam Yahya permitted any company to exploit the
salt mines at Sallf — proof enough that British fears were unfounded
that he was only too ready to grant Italian companies concessions in
the Tihamah.

The Salt Mines of Sallf
Prior to the World War the Sallf salt mines were worked by the
Ottoman Public Debt Administration to which the Turkish Govem-
ment 1 3 7 had ceded the salt revenues of the Empire. In 1910 several
Europeans were employed at the mines and the manager himself was
an Englishman. At that time the salt was exported to India.138 In
1914 the Europeans employed in Sallf were interned in SanV by the
Turkish authorities: the British and French consuls at Hodeidah
received similar treatment. 1 3 9 Before the War Messrs. Alexander
Lawrie of London acted as sole chartering and commission agents for
the sale of Sallf salt in Calcutta and Chittagong. Their contract with
the O.P.D.A. expired on 1 January 1917 and in that month the
Company expressed the wish that they should continue to act as sole
agents. 1 4 0
But on 25 March 1917 at the request of the Indian Government
the funds held by Lawrie and Co., on behalf of the O.P.D.A. were