'File 12/2 Treatment of Baharna in Persia' [‎140r] (279/440)

and could not be subjected to courts whose officers spoke
nothing but Arabic. I also pointed out that since the
act of withdrawing Capitulations could only take place once,
it would have only a temporary effect and that once the
Persians had forgotten about its effect would be lost. I
suggested on the other hand, that in allowing the Pahlavi cap,
a visible sign of raodBrn Persia, and Persian schools leven
one subisdised from Persia) in Bahrain, we were allowing a
valuable concession that Persians would never tolerate in
their territory and which would affect their pride deeply
if withdrawn • It must be remembered that the Persian
Government have few scruples concerning their subjects arid
care little for what lo. s they cause them in supporting their
pride. In fact in cutting off their nose to spite their
face, they are past masters. They would not, therefore, worry
very much about retaliation that only affected their
ressortissants pockets, but retaliation that effected their
national pride would make them squirm. Moreover, such retal
iation would be a continuous one and every Pahlavi cap removed
would be a fresh reminder of the Shaikh’s power over their
nationals in Bahrain. Sir Hugh, however, disagreed with my
views and did not forward my dispatches and his own suggestion/
was abandoned, I think quite rightly, on the ground that it
would do us more harm than good*
3. I would suggest therefore that we should not abandon
the possibility of retaliation. We should allow the Shaikh to
say that if Bahrain subjects in Persian with Bahrain
wifcte nationality papers ( we would understand this as referring
only to persons of the third category) were molested he would
consider the withdrawal of the privilege of allowing Persians
to maintain separate schools in Bahrain and also thethe would
abolish the Pahlavi cap as an emblem which had become intoler
able to him. If this was conveyed to the Persian Government
at the right moment, it would, I think, have a deciddd effect.