'Administration Report of the Persian Gulf for the Year 1936' [‎31r] (61/74)

49
Shaikh of Abu Dhabi could not attend as he was away at Baraimi. His
Excellency the Commander-in-Chief, accompanied by four Senior Officers,
landed and paid a visit to the town. He was given a friendly reception.
7. Shipping. —During 1936, fifty-five British steamers and three
German steamers called at Dubai and Sharjah.
8. Medical. —Smallpox broke out in Epidemic form along the Trucial
Coast in the month of December 1935. A vaccinator and a large quantity
of vaccine were sent by air to the Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. from Bahrain and a large
number of people were vaccinated in various towns of the Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. .
The Medical Officer, Victoria Memorial Hospital, Bahrain, visited Dubai
by air in January and during his stay at Dubai he vaccinated a number of
people. Among the deaths from smallpox was Shaikh Humaid bin Shaikh
Rashid bin Sultan, son of the Shaikh of Dibah. Mr. W. C. Janes, the
former Staton Superintendent, Imperial Airways, at Sharjah, visited
Dubai, Ajman, Hira and Khan at the request of the various Shaikhs in
order to vaccinate the people. The epidemic abated and ultimately ceased
towards the end of October.
9. Raids and Disturbances. —Some petty tribal raiding, camel steal
ing and occasional crimes of violence occurred in various places near the
Coast, but there were no serious disturbances.
On 27th January 1936, an Indian, name unknown, travelling from
Dibah to Has al Khaimah on a hired camel was murdered at a place called
Alshaghi about 7 miles from Ras al Khaimah. Strong circumstantial evi
dence pointed to the fact that the murderer was one 'Abdullah bin Salim
bin Malkash of Shihuh, who is believed to have shot the Indian dead while
he was performing his prayers.
As the Shihuh tribe inhabit Muscat territory the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. ,
Muscat approached the Muscat Government on the subject and asked what
steps they proposed to take in order to deal with the murderer.
The Muscat Government instructed the Shaikh of Shihuh tribe to
surrender 'Abdullah bin Salim for trial. The Shaikh, however, refused
to take action before he was proved guilty.
Negotiations for the surrender of 'Abdullah bin Salim were still being
carried on at the end of the year. Exhaustive enquiries throughout the
year failed to elicit the name of the murdered Indian.
10. Oil.— (1) British Interests. —(i) During the year under review the
Shaikh of Ajman granted to the D'Arcy Exploration Company, Limited,
a two-year option to explore for oil within the limits of his territory.
(ii) Major Frank Holmes visited Sharjah in May in connection with
oil negotiations with the other Trucial Chiefs. His visit met with little
success.
(iii) Major Holmes returned to Sharjah in September to resume nego
tiations with the Shaikh of Dubai. Although the Concession was not
actually signed, Major Holmes is reported to have paid the Shaikh of
Dubai Rs- 30,000.
(iv) The Shaikh of Ras al Khaimah also visited Sharjah in September
in connection with the Concessions but nothing definite was decided. He
realised that Concessions for the Southern Shaikhdoms were not being as
eagerly sought for as those for the Northern Shaikhdoms of Dubai and Abu
Dhabi. He therefore tried to bring about a combine and demanded a con
solidated concession from Petroleum Concessions Limited. He appears to
have succeeded with Sharjah but the Shaikh of Dubai realised that Dubai
and Abu Dhabi would lose by this and so refused to have anything to do
with the scheme.
(v) The Geologists of Petroleum Concessions Limited explored Dubai
and Abu Dhabi during the two last months of the year, but up to the end
of the period under review no report was received.
46(0) ExAffaireDept.