Page 134 - The Persian Gulf Historical Summaries (1907-1953) Vol IV_Neat

0
carrying the British, Persian, or Bahrein Hag in
Bahrein territorial waters, as well as Bahrein
vessels in Indian or Persian waters, and to
confiscate all arms and ammunition (weapons of
war) intended for Indian or Persian ports, or for
the Islands of Bahrein.
Tho effect of the prohibition at Bahrein was at
once perceptible in the customs returns, the total
valuo of the imports of arms and ammunition,
which had amounted to 80,819/. in 1897, falling to
313/. in the following year. In October 1905 the
Sheikh of Bahroin addressed a Memorial to the
Government of India, in which, among other
alleged grievances, he complained of the fact that
ho was obliged to interdict the sale of arms,and was
thereby deprived of an advantage enjoyed by all
the Arab Chiefs along tho Arabian coast, lie was Government of
informed in reply, in May 190G, that the rcstric-
tion on the importation of arms at Bahrein had
first been imposed in 1895 by himself on his own
initiative, and his attention was drawn to tho
measures ho had himself spontaneously taken
Irora time to time to stop the traffic. It was also
pointed out to him that tho Sheikh of Koweit
and tho Sheikhs of tho Trucial Coast had simi­
larly prohibited the traffic of arms in their terri­
tory, and he was given to understand that tho
Government of India wouId not consider for a
moment the possibility of cancelling or modi­
fying the Agreement he had concluded with the
British Government on this point.
There seems good reason to believe that a eon- Major Cox to
. i .1 . *.i|. .. * rr> l Uovomment of
siderable amount of illicit arms traffic goes on at Dcccmber 2,
Bahrein. Writing in December 190G, Major 1906.
Cox furnished evidence that the port w'as rapidly
rising to importance as a centre of the trade.
The business in arms there, hitherto confined to
one dealer, had been taken over by a Company,
two of the shareholders being friends of Sheikh
Esa and opponents of customs reform, lie added
that, the business had been largely extended, and
Bahrein was being used as a distribution centre
for supplying Persia.

3. Koweit.—On tho 24th May, 1900, tho Sheikh Government of
_ . ...... India’* letter of
of Koweit entered into an agreement with the July 5,1900.
British Government, by which he engaged *• abso­
lutely to prohibit the importation of arms into
Koweit or exportation therefrom.” To carry out
this engagement he issued on the same day (1)
a Notification declaring that “the importation