مجموعة ٩/٣٠(٢) "تقارير إدارية عن الخليج الفارسي - ١٩٤٥ -" [و‎‎٥‎٦‎٤] (١١٤٨/١١٢٧)

(lii) -Captain Cosmo M. Graham, Senior Naval Officer, Persian Gulf,
arrived in H. M. S. “ Shoreham ” on the 31st May 1^39 and formal calls were ex
changed with His Highness the Shaikh of Bahrain.
24. Visil of Arab Notables .—The outstanding feature of the year was the
visit of His Majesty King Abdul Aziz bin Saud to Bahrain early in May
1939.
On the 1st May the Amir Saud arrived from A1 Khobar by launch and on
the same day the Amir Feisal arrived from Cairo by air, accompanied by
Shaikh Hafiz Wahba and Shaikh Jamal Hu&seini who had been summoned by
Ibn Sand for a discussion on Palestine. On the following morning the Amirs
crossed to Al Khobar in company with the brothers of His Highness the Shaikh
of Bahrain and his eldest son Shaikh Salman, in order to escort the King to
Bahrain. The King arrived in the late afternoon of the 2nd May with a huge
party of relatives, Ministers, Amirs, political detenus and retainers, and was
met on the Customs Pier by His Highness the Shaikh of Bahrain, the Poli
tical Agent, the Adviser and the Assistant Political ^ Agent. After a guard
of honour provided by the Bahrain Police had been inspected the King, His
Highness and the Political Agent entered an open car to drive to the Palace
in Manama where the remainder of the Al Khalifah family had assembled to
greet him. After a brief stay in Manama the King and His Highness left for
Rafa, where a palace was placed at the King’s disposal.
A garden party was given at the Agency the next evening to which the
King, the Amirs and several other sons and members of the entourage,
together with the Shaikh of Bahrain, his brothers and sons were invited.
The Political Agent paid a formal call at Rafa on the King the next morn
ing ; and the same afternoon an entertainment was given by the Manama and
Muharraq Municipalities in the Manama Municipal Garden. The proceed
ings were brief and confined to short speeches of welcome on behalf of His
Highness and the Presidents of the two Municipalities and a reply read on
behalf of the King by Shaikh Yusuf Yasin.
On Friday the King joined in the prayers at the Mosque in Manama. In
the afternoon he visited the Oil Field and Refinery.
A torchlight tattoo was staged by the Bahrain Police, naturs and a num
ber of school children on the night of the 6th after dinner. The King and his
entourage left Bahrain on the morning of the 7th May after a most successful
visit.
(ii) Shaikh Said bin Maktum, O.B.E., Ruler of Dubai, and Shaikh Mana
bin Rashid and Shaikh Rasliird bin Batti, arrived in Bahrain in May to discuss
the Dubai situation with the Political Agent (see Trucial Coast section).
25. Slavery .—129 slaves were manumitted during the year as compared
with 142 during the year 1938.
26. Climate .—The summer of 1939 was mild compared with the previous
year ; but up to the end of the year there had been no cold weather. There
was practically no rain.
27. Qatar. —(i) Relations are, as usual, strained between Bahrain and
Qatar. Travel between Qatar and Bahrain is still restricted and Qatar
visitors are only allowed to land by the Bahrain Government in emergent
cases when medical attention is required.
(ii) During the year, after due deliberation of the evidence submitted by
both Bahrain and Qatar, the ownership of Hawar was decided by His
Majesty’s Government in favour of Bahrain, and both Rulers were informed
of this decision. The Ruler of Qatar appealed for a reconsideration of this
decision but was told that His Majesty’s Government’s decision was final.
(iii) After long and tiresome negotiations during the preceding year the
Shaikh of Qatar had agreed to the necessary transfer to His Majesty’s Gov
ernment of jurisdiction over British subjects and non-Moslem foreigners in
Qatar to enable an Order-in-Council for Qatar to be made on the general lines
of the Kuwait Order-in-Council. The Order was published in the Gazette of
India of the 7th January 1939 and was brought into force on the 9th February
1939.
Inter drafting errors were detected and a final Order-in-Council came
into force on the 29th April 1939.