TALE OF A CITY 48 Sharjah. They took a steamer and then got on board the Fowey to meet the General Commander of the British Forces in East Asia. Before the Sheikh disembarked, he requested some medications, as was his habit every time he visited the English. Ceremonial shots were fired in his honour as he left the ship, and some photographs were taken, too. Absent from this meeting was the Political Agent, Eissa Abdullatif, who sent his apologies owing to an illness. The secretary in the Agency House, Mr Hussain Imad, was also absent, because he was paying farewell to the Bahrain Political Agent leaving to Bahrain on a seaplane from Duabi Creek. In the afternoon, the General Commander of the British Forces disembarked and came down to Sharjah in reciprocation to the Sheikh’s visit, accompanied by a Second Lieutenant. When the steamer arrived at the Sharjah creek dock, there was Hussain Imad waiting for the General Commander, who took him to the Sharjah Fort where they met the Sheikh. Hussain Imad pointed out the house of the Sharjah Political Agent, Eissa Abdullatif. The General Commander was keen to meet him, because the Gulf Political Agent and the Bahrain Political Agent were suspicious about the veracity of his illness. They both had sent him inquiries full of complaints about his not making more frequent visits to the Sheikhs of the Coast. Eissa decided that the best way to respond to those complaints was to do so in person by visiting the British official in Bahrain, which he did. When the General Commander, however, visited Eissa in his house, he found him more seriously ill than he had been two months before. Eissa informed the Commander that the aforementioned Political Agents believed the news about his illness after the saw the effects of his illness on his body. He also said that Dr Holmes was only able to do very little regarding his illness. On 12 September 1935, Eissa Abdullatif passed away after a long health struggle. It was not clear until then who was to succeed him. His tasks for that year were already being handled by his assistant, Khan Sahib Hussain Imad. During his term of office, Eissa had done his work with remarkable efficiency. The Gulf Political Agent decided to appoint Hussain Imad as Sharjah’s Political Agent. However, before informing Hussain Imad of this decision, which was relayed to the Indian Government, Colonel Loch,
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