مجموعة ٥٢/٣٠(٣) "ملخصات استخباراتية عن البحرين ١٩٤٦" [و‎‎٤‎٥] (٤٧٢/٨٩)

3
Officer and the establishment of a postal and telegraph
agency,
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On August 20th letters were exchanged with
Shaikh Abdullah whereby he abdicated in favour of his son
Shaikh Ali and was formally released from his obligations
which Shaikh Ali took over. In return His Majesty’s
Government formally recognized Shaikh Ali as Ruler of Qatar.
Shaikh Ali made a written request for the appointment of
an Adviser.
The exchange of these letters took place in
the morning of August 20th and the news was announced by
the Acting Political Resident to the Shaikh's assembled
family of over 50 relatives before noon. In the afternoon
a public declaration of the abdication and accession took
place in the open space in front of the palace at Doha.
H.M.S. "Flamingo" (Lt. Commander D.J. Godden, R.N.) pro
vided a guard of honour and a bugler and the ship's guns
fired a salute. This was stated to be the first public
ceremony to take place at Qatar.
The change of Ruler passed off without incident
although a small naval landing party was set ashore on the
20th from H.M,S. "Flamingo", subsequently relieved by H.M.S.
"Wren", (Commander G. Afflick-Graves, R.N.) as a precautionary
measure and withdrawn on the 29th.
The Acting Political Resident returned to Bahrain
on the 21st leaving Mr. Gethin of the Bahrain Residency in
Qatar. Mr. Gethin returned to Bahrain on the arrival of
Mr. Wilton from Kuwait to assume the new appointment of
Political Officer, Qatar.
Shaikh Ali was living with his father at Riyan
a few miles inland from Doha but was able to get the Doha
palace from his father and is being persuaded to break
away from the parental wing and set himself up permanently
in Doha.
The retiring Shaikh is over 80 years of age,
Shaikh Ali is about 56 and unused to exercising authority.
The new Shaikh's first act was to write a friendly
letter to the Shaikh of Bahrain. His second was to ask
Petroleum Development (Qatar) Ltd. for money. He has been
given an advance of royalties.
The Shaikh of Bahrain sees in the change a chance
of regaining his properties at Zubarah in Qatar which have
been the subject of a quarrel between him and Shaikh Abdullah
since 1936. The Shaikh of Bahrain's reply to Shaikh All's
letter was thus very cordial.
The Petroleum Development (Qatar) Ltd. report
that Shaikh Ali paid a visit to the oil company's installation
at Dukhan on the 27th.
On the 24th Mr. Grant of the Eastern Bank Ltd.,
Bahrain, obtained provisional permission to open a branch
of the bank in Doha. No suitable premises have yet been
found there.
Abdullah