PZ 4841/1937 'Persian Gulf: Haji Williamson & Major Holmes' [‎18r] (35/136)

Minute Paper.
Tiiese papers deal v/ith the activities of
Major Franf Holmes, who at one time acted on behalf
of American interests in the lersian Gulf, but latterly
nas been acting as the representative of Petroleum
Concessions Ltd. He nas always been rather troublesome,
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as may be instanced from the fact that when ne was
acting some years ago as Chief Local Representative
for the Bahrein Petroleum Company he n&d to be removed
because he approached the Sheikh behind the back of
the Local 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. .
During the last two or three years Major Holmes
has been employed by Petroleum Concessions Ltd. as
their Negotiator on the Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. ; and although
the Company have had a "clear field" they have only
succeeded in obtaining two concessions. The Political
• r.
Resident puts this down to the dilatory and unsatisfactory
methods adopted by Major Holmes, and Sir Trenchard
Powle has tola us tnat even as regards the two
concessions, it was as mucn due to the efforts of
himself and the Local Political Authorities, as to
tne efforts of Major Holmes that the agreements were
signed.
That was tne position last June, when^perhaps
fortunately. Major Holmes had to leave tne Gulf owing to
ill-health; but on receiving information last December
that Petroleum Concessions Ltd. were thinking of
sending Major Holmes to Bahrein to examine tie situation
with regard to the "Bahrein Unalloted Area" the
Resident telegraphed to say that ne had the strongest
objection/