Coll 30/200 ‘Persian Gulf. Tour of Political Resident from Bahrein to Muscat in L. T. Nearchus.’ [‎17r] (34/133)

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to Tehran on the subject laet year* inr* hogers has inveeti-
gated the matter but doe* not think that for the present
traffic the arranges.exii£ are entirely unsuitable and will
take up the matter if the port shows signs of being used
to greater capacity* The lack of shipping has largely killed
the trade of the place and what remains hat been ruined by the
shortage of motor transport to the interior*
9* It will be recalled that Mr* Rogers wae taken over
by the Ha^y to Khor Fakkan on the Batinah Coast to interrogate
a survivor from the aubroarinw destroyed near there by the
R.a*F* An account of this hae been sent to the Senior
flfcval Cfficer, Persian Oulf, separately* It is interesting
to note that the Shaikh of Khor Fakkan, Shaikh Abdullah al
Hamadi, ie a recent emigre from the hinterland of lingah 9
a territory which is almost entirely inhabited by persons of
Arab origin* Curiously enou^i Khor Kakkan is in an enclave
of Jawaslmi territory and affiliated to Sharjah and eo under
the Bahrain Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. and not 9 as might have been anticlpated 9
under Muscat*
10* We then proceeded to Muso&t, a nd an account of this
portion of the tour has been recorded separately* We arrived
at Ch&hbar on the 1st of December and went ashore shortly
after sunrise* I was greatly struck with the derelict state
of this town which I had last seen as a flourishing port in
the year i9i6» and was more than ev<?r surprised that it should
have been considered as an appropriate site for a Vice Consul
ate* I firct of all visited the aerodrome, which has now
batn deserted for a landing strip further away and parallel
to the seashore* It was on this landing strip, then entirely
unmarked, that the Ruesi&ft pilot had put down Ur* Rogers
on his recent visit from Jiwanl* The Russian planes are able
to land on the smallest possible apace, but have a short
radius, and cany reserve petrol tine strapped about the
machine* A Russian plane was expected that morning and came
in after we had returned to the ship and its extremely low
landing epeed was clearly noticeable even from a distance*
11* The Persian bureaucracy appears at its worst in
these outlying areas, end since no departments can ever agree
amongst themselves, every thing has to be referred to Tehran
who know nothing about the local conditions* In an area
which would barely support one well paid officer, each
department must have its separate representative and, for
example, the Jtollce and Qendarmerle are everywhere represented
by separate officials tfioee Interests both pecuniary and
otherwise very frequently clash. I observed that although
thfc vast majority of the inhabitants were in rags, some of
the women being scarcely covered, yet there was cloth in the
monopoly ehbp but, apparently, as at Bushire, only for show,
for as the manager said “there was no order for its sale**
Officials who are posted to these areas are sometimes Id*t
sight of for years and the local medical officer is an
Instance in point* We passed this officer's house and
dispensary on our way back from the aerodrome and found an aged
strmenian obviously more than a little cracked, and looking
for all the world like a mediaeval alchemist, living in the
filthiest conditions and with a fly-blown dispensary which
contained only a few empty bottle s* As this part of the world
is threatened with a cholera epidemic the opinion of the local
offiolale regarding his inadequacy was loudly expressed*
They claim that he refuses to eupply them with any essential
drugs and he in his turn eta ted that they only wished to secure
/ *