مجموعة ٢١٢/٣٠ "تعهدات أساسية بشأن: شركة نفط البحرين وغيرها، اقتراح منح حق السفر لزوجات وخطيبات موظفي شركة نفط البحرين، وتأشيرات. وتعهدات أخرى." [ظ‎‎١‎٦‎٥] (٤٠٦/٣٣٣)

MINUTE.
In his Express Letter of December 24th (Ext. l86/43> flagged)
the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf sifpported the recommendation
of the Political Agent, Bahrein, that, in order to check deterioration
in morale, wives (with children under eight) and fiancees of employees \
of the Bahrein Petroleum Company should be allowed to leave the United
Kingdom for Bahrein at the rate of not more than four per month.
Since these papers were last submitted we have received an Express
Letter from the Government of India supporting this reconmendation,
but it contains no evidence that the External Affairs Department have
considered the question in consultation with their colleagues who deal
with the question of passages to India.
2* In accordance with Mr. Crofts note of January 25th, the Political
Resident*s recommendation will not be submitted to the Overseas Travel
Committee until some decision has been reached on the Government of
India* s suggestion that the ban on the grant of passages to the families
of Service men in India should be relaxed in hard cases. But Mr. Croft
suggested that if the Petroleum Department were willing to sponsor the
recommendation before the Overseas Travel Committee in our stead, it
would be possible for the case to be dealt with without fear of
repercussions upon the question of passages to India. This suggestion
was passed on to Mr. Bridgeman of the Petroleum Department, who is
especially well qualified to advise in view of his recent visit to
Bahrein (see paragraph 11 of the Political Agent's letter of December
12th at Ext. 186/43). His reply of February 2nd (flagged) shows that
his Department cannot treat the Bahrein case except as part of the
general problem of securing passages for the wives and families of the
employees of oil companies generally. So far the Petroleum Department
have been unable to make any progress in this direction; but, if the
position further deteriorates i.e. if evidence is forthcoming that the
lowering of morale due to the absence of womenfolk has impaired production
at any oil field, they may have to take up the matter with the Oil Control
Board. Meanwhile Mr. Bridgeman suggests that the Bahrein Petroleum
Company should institute a compulsory leave system.
3. The Secretary of State's telegram No. 2553 of February 11th to the
Defence Department of the Government of India (copy flagged) does not
seem to indicate that any definite decision will be reached in the near
future on the question of passages to India for hard cases among Service
families; indeed it proposes that consideration of this question should
be postponed for a few months. Before we had seati a copy of this telegram
we had consulted the Military and S. & G. Departments (whose notes are
flagged), who saw no objection to an interim reply to Colonel Prior
pointing out the difficulties and passing on the suggestion made by Mr.
Bridgeman. Both these Departments considered, however, that even if
the Secretary of State should hereafter agree to a relaxation of the
ban on passages to India, the Political Resident's recommendation will
have to be submitted to the Overseas Travel Committee.
4. It has been necessary to modify considerably the drafts^ submitted
to these Departments in consequence of our receiving a copy of a cable
to the Company's Head Office in New York from Mr. Anderson ; their Manager
at Bahrein. This states the case even more strongly than the Political
Authorities did in their letters of December. Mr. Anderson anticipates
" serious labour troubles" and he adds that local leave is becoming
increasingly difficult to arrange (presumably owing to the universal
shortage of transport) ^ thus confirming the impression that Mr. Bridgeman's
suggestion is unlikely to satisfy anyone. In these circumstances Mr.
Anderson asks that the Authorities should be asked to agree that the
Company's employees are entitled to special consideration owing to the
isolation and climate of Bahrein and the monotony of life there.
5. According to Mr. Anderson, the Political Agent concurred in his
statement of^the position, if not in his recommendation. Mr. Wakefield
is evidently/jnbre disturbed at the situation than he was when he wrote
his letter of December 12th. But it is clearly impossible for us to take
up the matter on the stfa&Lfttkof his concurrence unless and until we are
satisifed that the Political Authorities and the Government of India are
fully aware of the difficulties involved, and that they are nevertheless
prepared/