Page 111 - The Pirate Coast (By Sir Charles Belgrave)

dcrwish, who was stationed at the Residency gate. ‘Me began
at daylight, continuing to call out at the full extent of his well-
trained voice, only ceasing, to beg alms of some passer-by. He
was young, handsome, dressed in a white turban and a loose white
garment, bound round the waist with a shawl. Because he was
a pilgrim on his way to Mecca, nobody could touch him, or order
him to go.’ Loch tells the story of a similar nuisance at Bushirc,
when a dcrwish established himself at the gate of the Residency.
Eventually, Rich who was at Bushirc at the time, ‘feigned to be
a maniac, and so frightened the poor wretch, that he got up and
started off at full speed, and was never seen again’.
Loch docs not say much about Colquhoun, who was being
relieved by Captain Taylor. Colquhoun was an army surgeon,
and had previously acted in that capacity during the time of the
late Resident, Mr. Manesty, who was an official of the East India
Company. When Manesty left, Colquhoun became ‘Resident
in Charge’, but, as Buckingham remarks: ‘Colquhoun continued
to draw the emoluments of surgeon as well as Resident.’ As his
principal duty was to look after the health of the Resident, it
appears that he got paid for looking after his own health!
The British Resident in Basra kept great state, with sepoy
guards provided by the Marine Battalion in Bombay; besides
these, he had a large staff of Turkish Chaoushes and servants.
The cost of maintaining his establishment was about £5,000 a
year, which was then a large sum. The influence of the Resident
was considerable, owing to the extensive trade with the British,
the frequent presence of British mcn-of-war at Basra, and the fact
that there was another senior British representative at the court
of the Pasha in Baghdad. Buckingham describes Colquhoun as
having ‘sufficient urbanity to extend his protection to both Jews
and Christians, without fear or favour, and yet sufficient firmness
to resist all encroachments on his privileges’.
The words spoken by King William IV in February 1835, at a
private audience which he gave to Colonel Chesney, who was
leading an expedition to survey the rivers Tigris and Euphrates,
typify the British attitude in those days. ‘Remember, Sir,’ said
the King, ‘that the success of England mainly depends upon com­
merce, and that yours is a peaceable undertaking, provided with
the means of opening trade. I do not desire war, but if you should
be molested, due support shall not be wanting.’
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