'File 9/50 (B 16) The Debai Incident' [‎116v] (243/492)

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on each mckaw landed. During the last few years the imports have continued
imireas^nd the primitive aeeo m moda,io D provM Sjadualbe^e
quite inadequate,-specially covered ^ c ° m , ra0 , dat ; 0 ^'^ the mst
frequeat source of complaint from British traders at Debai. Dunng the past
winter? which has been an abnormally wet and stormy one, a great deal
of damage has thus accrued to perishable cargo lying on the wharf and to
mitigate this the drainage of the floor and the provision of more roofing has
become an ur-ent necessity. On my recent visit I was asked to exert influence
with the Shaikh to induce him to meet the merchants' wishes m this respect
and was assured bv the traders that all they wanted could be done for 300
or 400 rupees Indian silver coin also widely used in the Persian Gulf. , but that the Shaikh could not be got to go to the expense.
When I pressed the matter upon the Shaikh his first rejoinder was to the
following effect:— . . .
« The roofed accommodation which I have provided is quite sufficient for
the Debai cargo. It is true that I take warehouse fees on all packages, but I
see no reason whv I should spend money on the preservation of cargo which is
intended for distribution > to other ports. I do not want such cargo here and
if traders choose to bring it that is their look out .
After a ^ood deal of discussion he ultimately promised me to comply with
the representations of the traders in such a way as to remove their grounds of
complaint, but it remains to be seen whether be will carry out his promise
without further pressure.
I must apologise for this diverson, but it supplies a useful illustration of
the type of character with which one is dealing.
5. The appointment of a British Agent.
The only apparent and specific outcome of the recent events is that the
Shaikh has been astute enough to make use of the " Hyacinth incident as a
pretext for a professed inability to answer for the safety of a European at
Debai and thus indirectly to suggest to us that the appointment of any British
official, whether for political or telegraph work, is not feasible for the present.
Thus when just before my visit the British India Company, in the ordinary
course of routine, sent a Eurasian employe to relieve the Persian, who was
acting as their Agent at Debai, the Shaikh, who had received early information
of his coming from the Persian whom he was intended to replace, had him
met on board with a civil letter to the effect that, owing to the resentment
still felt by the inhabitants who had lost relations in the recent fight, he
was unable for the present to ensure the safety of any European and there
fore could not allow him to land. It is of course conceivable that the
Shaikh's statement might have some foundation, but judging from what
I saw and heard myself a few days Jater I cannot help thinking that his
professed apprehensions were not altogether and that he is simply
making use of the incident of 24th December, in order to bring about a post
ponement of the appointment of the European whom he thought Government
might contemplate sending, either to take charge of the existing Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. or
to manage the Telegraph Station.
6 Recent happenings have at all events placed beyond doubt what I
always to some extent apprehended, namely, that the Shaikh of Debai does not
welcome the idea of closer British supervision over the Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. , and that
this sentiment is probably shared by the other Shaikhs. It is naturally a
difficult one for the latter to express frankly to the representative of Govern
ment, especially having regard to the considerations on which it is based, but
the Shaikh of Debai, seeing that the " Hyacinth " incident has provided him
with a useful indirect peg on which to air the sentiment, is making the most
of the opening afforded him. The grounds underlying it were adumbrated in
my telegram No. 115, dated the 3rd March 1909, and are not far to seek.
They are undoubtedly based on the fear that whereas at present we are
represented by an Arab Native Agent Non-British agents affiliated with the British Government. , who, by long residence on their coast
and intermarriage with the daughters of the community, has become more
or less a member of it; on the other hand, if a British officer were appointed
with a more portentious house and flagstaff, the institution would become an
ever present reminder to the negro diving fraternity that in the case of real