ملف 19/116 VII (C 21) استبداد الأسرة الحاكمة ضد الرعايا البحرينيين: مراسلات مختلفة" [و‎‎٧‎٠] (٢٥٠/١٤١)

It
yttl ;■
side with th9m,& th«y are too auspicious of hia t# act unltss he dpenly
comiaits himself,he has now again turned his attention to Manameh
Municipality, if'roa its inception,when he had a violent quarrel with
Shaik Abdulla over it t Y.K. has been opposed to the Municipality.He
swore he would never have anything to 4o with it & so is net a neaber
of the Council & can no longer meddle in everything that happems in
Maumeh # te the extent that he formerly could.He only acquies^d in
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its formation,because he could net frustrate it.
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I have ^ust learnt that he has.togethei with Abdul Aziz Qesaibi
^ Yusuf i» 4 a]cru f got various people to sign a petition to Shaik Hamad /
as head of the Municipality,demanding removal of the landing tax on
goods,which was agreed upon when the Municipality was formed,^ has
been collected ever since,& is the mainstay of the Municipality.
Without it ,the work could not possibly be carried en. Its collection
was approved by the Ruler at the time & by H.M.S. It is perhaps
significant that the three persons who kcve been getting up this
petition are those who have t in the past,had a working arrangement
with the Customs,whereby they escaped a large amount of the custias
dues & as the tax bears a direct relation to the Custoas,probably
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also escaped paying their full share of the tax. In any case the
importing merchants,merely pass the tax en to the consumers^ by
increasing their prices.The three merchants in question probably
sold at the increased rate & did not pay the full >ax.
When the petition comes up I it may be stooped at the last moment
when Y.K. realises that I ^a aware of its preparation) I propose to
tell Shaik Hamad that it is a mattar which I could not agree to /
without first taking the orders of the Resident,for it is unlikely
that Government would agree to such revolutionary tactics which
would cause the ruin of the Municipality of Manameh f aost of whose
tants
inhabit are Britsih subjects or protected persons ,& by whose
money it has been built up. I shall only take this line if 3haik
Hamad seems inclined to give way.Probd) ly ^usuf fcanoo has squared
most of the Council members to support the proposal. His ob;act is
twofold- (I) To wreck the Municipality if possible It) To convince
the Agehey that there will be troublesof this nature urla s he
be once more consulted on all matters.