'File 14/201 I B 32 Trucial Coast Miscellaneous' [‎23r] (47/214)

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entirely concurs, and at the present time it would be worse than useless for any
person other than His Majesty's navy to visit the Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. unless invested with
plenary powers to settle the whole matter.
13. On the 9th August the senior naval officer in H.M.S. " Triad " returned to
Debai, and, in the presence of the residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. agent, interviewed the Sheikh of Debai,
accompanied by his two brothers; it was clear from the outset that they took a very
grave view of the matter and that their patience was suffering a severe strain. Their
attitude is best shown in the following notes of the conversation made at the time :—
The Persians are claiming everything in the Gulf now; if we were not
bound by the treaties we should send armed parties and deal with them
properly, as our fathers did; but we have the treaties and we may not deal with
another nation except through the Great Government; you have punished us
quickly enough in the past when we have not kept to the treaties, now let us see
you keep to them and help us as quickly as you used to punish us; we applied to
you for help in the case of our blood relative, the Sheikh of Hen jam, three
months ago, nearly, and so far as we can see you have done nothing about it.
These matters are the first in which we have asked the British for help.
The British Government until now has had its rights and privileges from the
treaties, now let us see how it regards its responsibilities, and if it does not act
in the way we say it ought to, then we will finish with the British Government
and finish with the treaties. If you give way before the Persians it means that
you are becoming a weak Power, and for a weak Power we have no use.
When asked what they would do if they finished with the treaties they at once
got very excited, and shouted : ' Never you mind ! That is our business. We
have our plan all ready made up, and it will be all right, but it is our business
and not yours, and we shall not tell you anything about that.' They pointed
out that the whole Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. was watching events to see what the British
Government would and could do. They said : ' So far we have had only
promises from you—promises—promises—promises. When are we going to
see some actions." The difficulty of working through diplomatic channels was
again explained to them, and they promised to be patient a little longer, but
pointed out that a sheikh rules by personality and not a powerful police force,
and if they cannot show results to their people very soon their power will go, and
in spite of all their efforts their men will break out and probably leave the port in
dhows at night."
14. On the afternoon of the same day Khan Sahib Salem (the senior naval
officer's interpreter), who is well known and well liked in Debai, went on shore to
pay visits to his friends and so attempt to gauge the feeling of the people. He
reported a general feeling of excitement, contempt for the Persians and doubt of the
British. Among others, he met a certain Mohamed-bin-Ahmed-bin-Delmuk, who is a
pearl dealer of great wealth, living in Debai; he has great power in the councils of
the sheikh, and has a personal bodyguard of about twenty Bedouins; it appears
that all his life he has been consistently anti-British, and if trouble occurred now he
would be able to produce and pay a considerable armed force of Bedouins. He ,
addressed his bodyguard, in the presence of Khan Sahib Salem, with a short
anti-British harangue, ending by asking where they would follow him, and the reply
was shouted : "To the mountains of Persia ! "
15. The residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. agent showed the senior naval officer a letter he had received
from an Arab just returned from Lingah, in which it was stated that the people
from the dhow A term adopted by British officials to refer to local sailing vessels in the western Indian Ocean. were only released in Lingah on petition from the merchants; that
the Customs officials confiscated all they had, including their boxes of clothes and
private possessions and 400 rupees Indian silver coin also widely used in the Persian Gulf. ; that later on another petition was successfully
presented by the merchants that the women should be allowed to have one extra
outfit of clothes each out of their bundles or boxes; they were dispersed in Lingah in
a state of beggary; some begged passages to Khasab or Salak.
16. Remembering the assurance given by the commanding officer, H.M.S.
" Lupin," on the 4th August, and having intercepted the message from the political
resident to the consular agent at Lingah (paragraph 8 above), which showed that
nothing so far had been done officially at Lingah, the senior naval officer considered
it imperative that he should proceed there, so that, if no message should arrive from
His Majesty's Government to communicate to the Sheikh of Debai on the seventh
day, the senior naval officer might possibly be able to satisfy their expectations by
producing some definite information from Lingah. On the 10th August, senior
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