61 iii. t he refusal of Shaikh of Sharjah to write the proper letter accepting the Sharjah Political Agreement. iv. t he refusal of the Shaikh of Abu Dhabi to arrange for a party to visit Buraimi. v. t he demand by the Shaikh of Abu Dhabi for the same oil concession as was arranged with Ibn Saud of Arabia. vi. a n attempt, fortunately detected, to import revolvers and rifle ammunition into Dubai, as the result of which we are now demanding the deportation of the man (involved in the attempt) vii. the failure in the preliminary stages of the attempt to arrange a visit to Jabal Hafit. viii. the recent agitation at Dubai in regard to the deportation of the arms smugglers and the manumission of slaves, followed by the threat to prevent the removal of the Civil Air Agreement . 4. Quiet apart from all the above which is common knowledge, I have the following information from various sources which I cannot disclose. a. one informant states that some 400 slaves passed through Abu Dhabi territory on route to Hasa, or Najd in a period of about five months recently. (Note, this figure, I think is an exaggeration but the general story is probably true.) b. A suggestion is being discussed in Dubai that the Al Falasah, that is the Shaikhly family, should subscribe the sum received by the Shaikh of Dubai on signing the oil concession, compel him to refund it to the company and cancel the concession.” 7 “ c. a “growing resentment “ is being engineered along the coast against the alledged inference of His Majesty’s Government in internal affairs. d. a verse from the Quran to the effect that “the Roman Empire has been defeated. In a land close by; but they, (even) after (this) defeat of theirs, will soon be victorious. Within a few years, with Allah is the Decision, in the past and in the future: On that day shall the believers rejoice” is being commonly quoted. The Quran year being equivalent to a thousand years, this verse is being used to make people believe that the time has come for the fall of the British Empire and the revival of the Roman Empire. e. the story is being put about that the late Residency Agent was deliberately poisoned by us and that we are ready to poison any Shaikh who displeases us. 7 Ibid., L.P.&S/12/3747,P.Z.2367, pp.89−90. SHARJAH AND PALESTINE
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