'Administration Reports 1920-1924' [‎125v] (255/412)

2
annual eepoet op the
As a set-off tlie Bakhtiaris were allowed to claim arrears of revenue from Char
Mahal, Aqili and, strange to say, Lirawi, which district for ten or twelve years
the Bakhtiari had been attempting to get into their clutches but had been frus
trated by the efforts of the Kesidency and Legation. The fact that the
B ^khtiari had been allowed to claim fourteen years' arrears of revenue from
Lirawi was only known to the Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. long after the evfent, when the Fourth
Quarterly Eeport of the American Advisers came out and the settlement
appeared in it. A protest has been made against this highly objectionable
portion of the settlement.
In November Colonel McCormack visited Arabistan and again, with the
assistance of His Majesty's Consul for Arabistan, made a settlement of arrears
of revenue with the Shaikh of Mohammerah, by which the latter has agreed to
pay tumans 500,000 in cash and instalments over twenty years ; besides this
the direct and indirect revenue for the future was fixed. Subsequently at the
very end of the year, Colonel McCormack, after passing through Bushire and
giving orders about Hayat Baud revenue went to Shiraz and effected settle
ment of arrears of revenue with Qawam-ul-Mulk and Saulat-ed-Dowleh.
At the end of the year troops were sent from Shiraz into Dashti and
Dashtistan to collect the arreras of revenue from the Khans of their districts
who had paid none for years. The column was still operating at the end of the
year.
In September the Qashkuli guards in the Mishun area mutinied and
, ^ ^ threatend the staff—certain members
Anglo-Persian Oil Company. being act , ually fired on . Having robbed a
certain amount of the Company's property, the guards decamped. It is known
that the Saulat-ed-Dowleh engineered this coup in order to break the Company's
agreement with the Qashkulis ; whether he did so at the instigation or with the
connivance of the Persian Government is not known. It is possible, however,
as the Persian Government objected to the agreement between the Anglo-Persian
Oil Company and the Khans. Jt seems probable that the Company's agreement
with the Saulat will also be rendered void by the affair—a result which he pro
bably did not expect, but which is much to be desired. After five weeks a mili
tary guard was sent from Shiraz and the Company's employees returned to
their posts, and resumed work.. Considerable lo'ss wa:s of course caused to the
Company by the outbreak.
II.—A babian Section.
The principal event on the Arabinn side of the Gulf Was the introduction of
„ , . „ „ the long -talked-of reforms at Bahrain in
rain Reforins - June by order of His Majesty's Govern
ment. This was done by Colonel Knox who proceeded to Bahrain and, finding
that the old Shaikh Isa was quite obdurate in refusing to introduce reforms, or
to withdraw and allow his heir-apparent. Shaikh Hamad, to do so, was compelled
to recommend to Government that Shaikh I^a should be put on one side willy-
nilly, and this was done.
The reforms were begun by the reorganization of the Customs Department
for which Mr. G. N. Bower of the Imperial Indian Customs Department was
deputed. Mr. Bower was speedily able to effect great economies and regularise
the recovery of duties and payment of receipts to the Treasury : so successful
in fact was he that by the end of the year, in spite of the fact that prices (and
therefore ad valorem duties) had gone down, Mr. Bower was able to show that
revenue showed an average increase of Rs. 1,150 per diem over the average of
the preceding years. Other reforms in the shape of improved Courts of Justice ;
establishment of a Levy Corps ; Revenue Survey and the improvement of the
conditions of the Pearling Industry have been suggested and will, if and when
approved, be gradually introduced. The present Ruler,^ Shaikh Hamad, is
carrying on the administration well and listens to advice. It is a hard job for
him as he is not a very strong man and very easy going, and to carry on the
reforms he has to run counter to the whole weight of the opinion and wishes of
the A1 Khalifa family.
The next most important matter on the Arabian side was the transfer of the
political charge of Nejd and Kuwait from 'Iraq to the Persian' Gulf Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. .
This took place in accordance with the decision of the Cairo Conference, on ^the
retirement of Sir Percy Cox from the High Commissionership of 'Iraq. Since
June therefore the Resident became the medium of communication between His
Majesty's Government and Bin Sa'ud, and has dealt with the external political
affairs of Kuwait and Bahrain under the orders of the Colonial Office.