Coll 30/9(2) 'Admin. Reports of the Persian Gulf - 1945 -' [‎490r] (979/1148)

3
Affairs, after spending over a month on the spot, which fulfilled
all the Muscat requirements. It remains to be seen at what
expenditure it was obtained, and how long it will last. An
unsettling influence on the situation appears to be exerted by the
personality of Sheikh Humaid bi n Ab dullah, the nephew of the
Regent of Kalba. There were perennial quarrels in the time of
Sheikh Ahmad bin Rashid (before Kalba took over the Husn part of
Dibah); but they were more easily composed.
(ii) . The feud between the Beni Bu Ali and Beni Hassan
tribes in Ja f alan has also continued during the year, and there has
on one occasion been something like serious fighting. The Sultan
intervened in the dispute when on his visit to Sur in September,
and paid out 3,(XX) Maria Theresa thalers to the Beni Bu Ali and
500 to the Beni Hassan. This cannot, however, be regarded as the
end of the matter, the more so as there is now a fresh blood feud
to fight about (the murder of the head Qadhi of the Beni Bu Ali,
last year) 5 and affairs in the interior of Sur are likely to
continue unsettled.
(iii) . The most note-worthy event of the year was the
occupation of Ibri by the Imam in February, when he appointed a
Wali, Mohammed bin Salim ar Raqa'shi, who was still there at ;he end
of the year. The action of the Imam was originally prompted by the
murder of some of his followers by men of the Beni Kalban tribe, who
live near the head of the Wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows. Hawasinah. When the Imam collected
what seems to have been quite a considerable force, and advanced on
Ibri, the Beni Kalban appealed to Muscat for help. Little,
however, was done for them. The Imam's army was eventually
disbanded on Sheikh Suleiman bin Hamiyar (the leading figure of
Jebel Akhdar politics) guaranteeing the good behaviour of the
Ghafiri tribes.
(b). Local .
The following appointments have been made to Wilayats
• •