'File 5/18 Lesser Members of Al Khalifah Family' [‎47r] (93/186)

II.
latter has anv judicial powers over uim. It was only under
a threat of tht most serious consequences tiuxt iie was
induced to attend the hearing of a case in which he w ^s
concerned about a year ago.
I trust tixat it will be clear from the above that the
refusal uf Sheikh Hamad bin liohammad to si^n a sumnona
from the Court in Lhe present case was not the reau.it of
any fit of an^er at the seizure of his animals, but merely
a further example of the refractory and contumacious
attitude he has persistently adopted in the past.
It was impossible there-fore for JheiKh Hamad bin
Isa to disregard it. Kot wishing however to precipitate
matters too much by the despatch without previous warning
of a letter caxiing upon him to attend the Court, Sheikh
Hamad bin Isa arranged for his brother -heikh -uDduilah
and his son Sheikh Salman to visit the old man and endeav-
-our to prepare him for what was coming.
Although the unfortunate result was to a large
extent due to his own perversity, I strongly suspect Sheikh
Abdu .lah of de-uiberate^ frightening him and suggesting to
him that he should jieave Bahrain and join his son in Tehran,
i-vbduj-lah had been very friendly and hei'pful since
his return from iiurope, but this incident, I think, shews
that he is as unstable and as unreliable as ever.
The departure of Sheikh Hamad bin JLohammad is not
likely, I think, to revive an v old dissensions among the
A1 Khalifeh as he was intensely unpox)iilar with all factions
equally, but some capital is bouna to be maae out of the
incident by those lesser members of the ^1 Khalifeh
(foremost among whom is -heikh Abdullah's son Mohammad)
who make it their business to carry on a desultory intrigue
with Persia.
In regard to the confiscation of Sheikh Hamad's
property, Sheikh Hamad bin Isa will no doubt be ready in
deference to your wishes to convert the order to one of
attachment by the Court pending some settlement of the