'File 19/175 Bahrain - Pearling' [‎7r] (13/83)

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Gflasfl diving for thorn yasr rftor ye^r,however br-dly he may be treated.
It is fear o -45 " this matter being subjected to some regulation v/hich h*-s
made the ite khud^s so strenuously oppose reforms in accounting.They now
realise thny there is no escape & hf. ve themselves brought up the question
& as/C ' h? t interest they wiJj be allowed to charge,They are pressing for
a decision on this point before they make their financi 1 arrangements
for the pr^sont se son which will begin soon after Ramsdhan.
I discussed the matter with them myself A pointed out th r t
ex^en if 2o ^ were allowed as regards the ^isqam,which the diver receives
or a yer -r in advance,it seemed quite unresaonabl ■ to charge 2ot on the
ialaf which he receives only about 5 months before the fihal settlement
0 which works out to over 4.0 ! per annum. I further s - id th>. t it w? s
a matter on which could not personally give a decision but would have
to write f^r ly to you# They replied that the merchants charged them high
interest^ 0 they could not charge less than that to the divers.
1 f m personally of opinion that 15^ on the Tisqam & 7 1 - fo on the sslff
(being for less than six months) would be l fair interest to a] low &
that such Ha khudas as have to borrow could raise the money without
difficulty at those r tes .The majority of the Uakhudas : inance them
selves^ ©ct as money lenders to the crews & see -going Unkhldas who
serve under them.Of course it would to some extent curtail the quite
indiscriminate amount of advances m^de,which would be all to the good.
In the past itekhud; s hi ve urged divers to take advances * t high rates of
interest, in or-'er to make money out of them( apart from the actual pearls)
& to get them in debt / so that they could not afford to leave.I have ex-
i^ined that such a system will no longer be necessary^ as the court will
in future{provided accounts 1 re properly kept in accordance with instruc
tions) assist them to recover their debts^or failing that,compel the
divers to fulfill their contracts by diving,as long as t ny d^bt,however
senil is satisf ctorily >rov;c^ not paid off / ^ that it will no longer
be necess'ry for them to fake enormous debts aginst their divers,which
they could never hope to recover, mere ly to hold them to their contacts.
Once they have clearly understood the orders of Governmflat in the
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matte r i 4 p a nearly all the divers are British protected p rsons, be ing
Foreigners,Governmnet has some oblig tion to protect their nterests)
H >.
mMk
/c Os.