Page 192 - The Origins of the United Arab Emirates_Neat

if) 8 The Origins of the United Arab Emirates

weakened considerably. Shaykh Sa‘id, who realised that there was
a movement to depose him, told Weightman that lie was willing
to accept any terms the opposition laid down. Weightman and
‘Abd al-Razzaq negotiated at length with both parties, and an
agreement finally was signed on 20 October.
The agreement provided for the existence of a majlis presided
over by Shaykh Sa‘id and with fifteen members, selected by the
‘principal people’ of Dubai. The financial affairs of the state had
to be managed in the name of the slate, and any decisions to
be taken regarding them had to be taken by the majlis, on a
majority vote. An allowance of one-eighth of the total revenue
of Dubai was to be allocated to the ruler. Weightman made it
clear to Mani‘ bin Rashid, who signed the agreement on behalf
of the Al-bu-Falasah, that the British Government would continue
to deal directly with Shaykh Sa‘id, as the legitimate ruler, and
would not allow the majlis to stop him from fulfilling his treaty
obligations.33 Weightman was warned by Fowle not to guarantee
the agreement, which was an internal matter and did not concern
the British Government. Thus the movement was given no official
British sanction or encouragement; it was left to its own devices
and warned that it had to function within the political framework
of Shaykh Sa'id’s existing treaty obligations.
Once the agreement had been accepted and the fighting was
over, the majlis began to set up an administration and concern
itself with reforms of a commercial, political and social nature.
First of all it concentrated its attention on the commercial life
of Dubai and factors that could enhance its growth; political and
social improvements were dealt with later. People to regulate the
customs service were elected, and a proper list of all employees,
with their respective salaries, was formulated. The income of the
porters of Dubai and Dayrah was fixed, and a list was drawn
up naming the only men who were allowed to be porters. A
tax on imported goods was decided on, and a council of merchants
was set up to operate it; it w'as further decided that the money
should be used to finance municipal and educational projects.34
A municipal council was set up. Mani‘ bin Rashid was elected
Director of Education, and three schools were subsequently opened,
the first on the Trucial Coast after the depression. In order to
maintain the internal security of Dubai, the majlis appointed men
to patrol the desert and others to guard the market-places.
This administrative organisation in fact represented only a small
part of what the majlis washed to do. Even the British authorities,
who in 1929 and 1934 referred to the Al-bu-Falasah as the ‘wicked
cousins’, described them as the ‘popular party’ in 1938 and 1939.
The members of the majlis were ambitious in their plans for total