"دليل الخليج. مجلد I. القسم التاريخي. الأجزاء Iأ و Iب. ج.ج. لوريمر ١٩١٥" [‎٨‎٩‎٠] (١٧٨٢/١٠٤٥)

890
Expulsion
of Muham-
mad-bin-
' Abdullah
from
Datnmam,
November
1861.
Misbehaviour
of the Shaikh
of Bahrain
in regard to
British
subjects,
1863-65.
previous express sanction, to the Government of India, by whom it
was accepted on the 9th of October 1861, The Resident was at the
same time instructed not to return the " Ilamrah " until the Shaikh, by
his conduct, should show himself worthy of such consideration.
Meanwhile a suggestion made by the Resident in connection with the
attempted invasion of Bahrain in 1859,—that Muhammad-bin-'Abdullah,
who had repeatedly been warned not to disturb the peace and of whose
proceedings the Shaikh of Bahrain had frequently complained, should be
removed from Dammam—had been adopted by higher authority. It
was intended by Government that the exile, on condition of residing at
Kuwait or somewhere in Persia, should receive an allowance from the
Shaikh of Bahrain. The Resident was warned, in case of force being
required, to confine his operations to the sea and not to let himself
be drawn into land operations.
Accordingly, in June 1861, the Resident wrote to the Wahhabi Amir,
requiring him to eject Muhammad-bin-'Abdullah from Dammam; and
in November 1861, no reply to the letter having been received, he pro
ceeded with the squadron to Dammam, from which, after a bloodless
bombardment of an hour's duration, the son of the ex-chief with all his fol
lowers incontinently fled. No opposition to the proceedings of the
squadron was offered by the Wahhabi garrisons at Clatif or Dammam;
and the result was reported to be welcome to the traders of Hasa, and
even to the Wahhabi authorities, whose failure to expel the refugee
was due merely to ordinary Arab notions on the subject of hospitality.
A protest against the action taken at Dammam was made soon after
by the Turkish Wali of Baghdad and was answered by the British
Political Agent at that place; but, as it related to the political position of
Hasa, not Bahrain, it need not be noticed here.
Neither the treaty obligations which he had incurred nor the valuable
assistance rendered to him in the expulsion of Muhammad-bin-'Abdullah
from Dammam availed for long to keep the Shaikh of Bahrain in good
relations with the British Government. In 1863, after the appoint
ment of Colonel Pelly to the Persian Gulf Residency, the " Hamrah "
was returned to Shaikh Muhammad at the suggestion of the new Resi
dent, as the earnest of a policy of conciliation which he intended to
pursue ; but this concession failed to elicit any acknowledgment from the
Shaikh beyond a a remark disrespectful to the Viceroy"; and ill-
usage of British subjects commenced with such vigour that on one
occasion the whole Indian community took refuge as Bushehr, whence the
more wealthy among them refused to return.