"تقرير عن إدارة المقيمية السياسية في الخليج العربي والوكالة السياسية في مسقط لسنة ١٨٧٨-١٨٧٩." [و‎‎١‎٠‎٥] (١٤٦/١٦)

wasit,
2li(|
residency and muskat political agency fotl 1878-79. 7
El-Bidaa and landed for booty on the island of El-Kais. On the whole,
v there were, during the year, more than twenty instances of seizure and
plunder of boats, many of which belonged to Bahrain. Probably the
loss of property amounted to two or three thousand pounds. As the
culprits acted from Turkish territory and retired there with their plunder,
representations were made to the Turkish Authorities in each instance,
and they were eventually moved to take some preventive and punitive
measures. The latter have been, however, ill-directed; and whilst a
handful of unarmed fishermen at El-Hasein suffered vicariously for the
misdeeds of Zaeed and his gang, the latter have continued to enjoy with
impunity the fruits of their exploits, and none of the plundered property
has been recovered. Her Majesty^s Ship Vulture, under Captain Eliot-
Pringle, R.N., rendered excellent service by the capture of a fleet of
boats of the Omeyer tribe and the recovery of stolen Bahrain vessels
under very difficult circumstances.
38. In the month of August a piratical attack on passing vessels
was made under the sanction of the Shaikh of the town of Zobarah on
the Katr promontory, and the Governor of Busrah was asked to punish
the offenders. But before His Excellency took any steps, Jasim-bin
Mohammed-bin-Thani of El-Bidaa, with Nasir-bin-Mubarik, the Bahrain
refugee, appeared at Zobarah with a force, and razed it to the ground.
The inhabitants took refuge in the adjacent fort of Moreyr, where they
were for some time closely besieged and eventually had to accept hard
terms. The destruction of the town rendered any further measures for
punishment of the inhabitants unnecessary.
39. During the year the old Shaikh of El-Bidaa, Mohammed-bin-
Thani, who had always been friendly to the British, died. His son
Jasim had for many years been de facto Shaikh of El-Bidaa under
Turkish patronage.
Vide Appendix C to Part I.
5.—Southern Persia.
Provinces of 'Arabistdn, Fdrs and Persian Beloochistdn.
40. 'Arabistdn. —An account of the topography, government and
population of this province, which has by Europeans been often called
Persian-Arabia, written by Mr. P. J. C. Robertson, Assistant Political
Agent at Busrah, is given in the Appen
dix to this part, and the following par
ticulars of recent occurrences there are chiefly on the same authority.
41. FeldJiiyah. —In the month of May 1878, the hereditary Chief
of the Eelahiyah Section of the Ka^ab (Cha'ab) Arabs, Shaikh Lufti-
bin-Imbadir was murdered by his cousin Ja'afer-bin-Mohammed, and
Shaikh Ramah, another cousin^ was nominated Chief of Felahiyah, the
revenue and pishkash of the district being fixed at 10,00U tomans.
The districts Deh-ul-Moolla, Jerrahy, Hindiyan and Bunder Mashoor,
previously belonging to Felahiyah, were now detached from it, and
Amir Abdullah of Deh Moolla was appointed Chief of the new group,
on agreeing to pay 12,000 tomans, revenue and pishkash, in addition to
9,000 tomans already due by him for Deh Moolla. As the year proved
a bad one from want of rain. Amir Abdullah only succeeded in paying