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'Government of Bahrain Administrative Report for the Years 1926-1937' [18v] (36/86)
The record is made up of 1 volume (43 folios). It was created in 1937. It was written in English. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
20
The Government then appointed Seyed Adhnan of Jedhafs as Shia Kadi. He was a progressive
young man of a well-known family, with more education than most of the Shia Alims. He was
interested in education and had travelled abroad. Through his influence the Government was
able to start the Shia Wakf Department, and he himself compiled a list of the Wakf property in
Bahrain. Unfortunately he died suddenly in 1928.
For some months no successor was appointed, but finally the Government chose Shaikh
Ali bin Hassan al-Mousa and Shaikh Abdulla bin Mohammed Saleh; the former was appointed
Kadi for the villages and the latter as Kadi of Manamah. Shaikh Ali bin Hassan still retains his
position and is one of the three Shia Kadis who are now officiating.
Shaikh Abdulla acted as Kadi until 1935, when he was dismissed from his post in disgrace,
having been prosecuted on a charge of criminal misappropriation. While he occupied the post
ot Kadi he was helpful and intelligent, but he became a rich man during the period of his office
by stealing the property of orphans and minors.
After the dismissal of Shaikh Abdulla, Shaikh Ali bin Hassan was transferred to Manamah
and two more Kadis were appointed. Shaikh Ali bin Jaffar and Shaikh Baqer al-Asfur. This
arrangement is not very satisfactory as the three Kadis are all on bad terms with each other and
the local political parties among the Bahama continually stir up trouble and play off the Kadis
against each other in order to further their personal interests.
It is not surprising that the prestige and influence of the Shia Kadis has declined to a
remarkable extent during the last ten years. The Kadis in the past, whatever their faults, had a
tremendous influence over the Shia community; now this influence only exists over a few of the
country people. The decline of influence is due partly to the change in the mental outlook of
the young men in Manamah, but the main cause is the dishonest and unsuitable behaviour
of certain of the Kadis.
These conditions will continue until men can be appointed as Kadis who are properly
educated and versed in Shera law and legal procedure. The present Kadis, both Shia and Sunni,
possess less general education than the present generation of young Arabs, and even their knowledge
of the Shera law is, in the case of some of them, very slight. The only way to improve the status
and reputation of the Shera Courts is for the Government to arrange for the education abroad
of some suitable young men who will eventually become Kadis. The Government is at present
trying to arrange for the education of the son of Seyd Adnan with this end in view.
The Mejlis Tajara The Mejlis fajara is probably the oldest judicial institution in Bahrain,
and Diving Court. excepting the Shera Courts. Originally it was known as the Mejlis al
Urfi, and consisted of two or three local merchants who dealt with
commercial cases. At that time it was not connected with the Salafieh al Ghoos, or Diving Court,
which was a notorious institution consisting of one or two old pearl merchants whose judgments
were invariably in favour of the merchants and Nakhudas and against the divers. This diving
court was abolished at the time of the reforms, and for some years it ceased to exist. About ten
years ago the Mejlis al Urfi was put on a different footing, and a shaikh of the Ruling Family was
appointed as President of the Mejlis. Previously there had been no president. A year or two
later further changes were made; the number of members was increased from eleven to twenty-two,
divided into two committees, of which one committee sits once every fortnight. At the request
of members, the Mejlis became known as the Mejlis Tajara, and on each of the two councils two
or three members were appointed who belonged to the diving industry and were capable of dealing
with diving cases. Thus the old diving court was amalgamated into the Mejlis Tajara. Anothe7-
innovation at this time was the introduction of foreign members on the committee which had
previously consisted exclusively of Bahrain subjects. Shaikh Rashid bin Mohammed al Khalifah
was for many years President of the court until about a year ago, when he was appointed to the
Bahrain Court and his place was taken by Shaikh Mohammed, the eldest son of Shaikh Abdulla
bin Isa. The court is governed by regular rules, the President has the casting vote in cases of a
divided opinion, and occasionally in important cases all the twenty-two members appear together.
The increase in the members was made to ensure more regular attendance. The members, all of
About this item
- Content
This volume is an administration report covering the years 1926 to 1937 (though in some subjects the report goes further back than 1926) and deals mainly with the activities of the Bahrain Government. It includes text, photographic images, graphs and tables. The report was based on annual reports of the financial and government departments which are made every year. A contents page can be found on folio 3, followed by a General Review by Charles Dalrymple Belgrave, dated December 1937 (folio 4).
The contents are divided into the following sections and sub-sections:
- Finance (folio 5): Revenue;
- The State Police and Public Security (folios 5v-10v): The Levy Corps, Political Disturbances, Attempt to assassinate the Shaikh, Indian Levy Corps, Crime and Prostitution, Drugs and Liquor, The State Jail, The Present Police Force, Administration and Routine, Changing Nature of Duties, Recent Innovations, Police Band, Camel Section, Shooting, Uniforms, Police Training in India, and The Naturs;
- Customs Department and Revenue (folios 10v-13v): Organisation and Establishment, Revenue (Customs Duty, Import Yard charges, Khanchieh, Porterage, Pier Fees, Landing Company, Mainland Cargo, Optional Cargo System, Transhipment Cargo), Transit Cargo, Export Dues, Boat-Building, Customs Improvements, Steamship Lines, and Future Improvements;
- Judicial (folios 13v-19v): Institution of Courts, The Bahrain Court (Criminal Cases, Civil Cases, Diving Cases, Land Cases, Fish-Trap Cases), The Bahrain Small Court, Shera [Sharia] Court (Sunni and Shia), The Mejlis Tajara [Majlis Tijārah] and Diving Court, Small Mixed Court, Laws and Codes, Police Regulations, and Judicial Legislation (Diving Regulations, Wakils Elected representative or attorney, acting in legal matters such as contracting marriage, inheritance, or business; a high-ranking legal official; could also refer to a custodian or administrator. , Mortgages, Appeals, Statute of Limitations, Liability of Government Servants);
- Public Works (folios 19v-23v): Roads, Buildings (Suk al-Khamis [Sūq al-Khamīs] Mosque, Idari Water Channel and Mosque, Manamah School and Workshop, Barracks, Police Station, New Customs House, Shops, Palace Wall, Law Courts, Bazaar Buildings, Jufair Naval Base, and Manamah-Muharraq Road;
- Land Registration (folios 23v-24v): Survey, Reports on Land Cases, Registration of Sales and Titles, Mortgages, Government Title Deeds, Fish-Traps, and Leases and Government Forms;
- Education (folios 24v-27v): Formation of an Education Committee, Muharraq School Built, Jaffarieh [al-Ja‘farīyah] School, Opening of a Girls' School, Appointment of a School Inspector, Strike of Students and Masters, Reforms in the Schools, Disappearance of School Committees, Amalgamation of Manamah Boys' Schools, Technical Education, Bahrain Boys at Beyrout University [American University of Beirut], Education of the Ruling Family, and Future Development of Education;
- Electric Department (folios 27v-29r): Original Installation, Muharraq Extension, Share of Municipalities, Progress, State Engineer, Progress, First Profitable Year, Future Prospects, Telephone System, and Summary of Seven Years' Working;
- Agriculture (folios 29r-31v): Land Tenure, Date Cultivation, Lucerne, Cereals, Cotton, Tobacco, Fruit Trees, and Vegetables.
- Wakf [Waqf] Administration (ff. 31v-35r): Nature of Wakfs, Shaikh Khalaf, Syed Adnan's Administration, Appointment of a Council, Previous attempts to organise Wakf Department, Progress of Administration and Elections, Results, Future Development, and Sunni Wakf Administration;
- Passport Department (folio 35r);
- Municipalities (folios 35r-38r): Constitution and History (Manamah and Muharraq), Municipal Finance, Municipal Taxation, Municipal Achievement, Roads, Manamah (Conservancy, Sanitation, Water Supply, Malaria, Fire Precautions, Markets and Food Regulations, Public Health Measures, Gardens, Cemeteries), and Muharraq Municipality;
- The Pearl-Diving Industry (folios 38r-40v): General, The Diving System, The Reforms, Demonstrations by Divers, The Slump, Diving Mortgages, Divers' Debts, Transfer of Divers, The Catch, and Recent Changes;
- Social and Political Developments (folios 41r-42v): Arabs and Baharna, The Baharna, The Townsfolk, Houses, Games, Class Changes, The Ruling Family, and The Women.
Photographic images appear on eleven folios, and they are labelled as follows:
- Folio 7: 'Sooq Al Khamis Mosque' and 'A Village Dispensary';
- Folio 11: 'An Artesian Well (Showing head of water)' and 'A Natural Spring (Adari [‘Adhārī])';
- Folio 14: 'Meat Market', 'Slaughter House', and 'Metal Vegetable Market (Under Construction)';
- Folio 15: 'Modern Village in Manamah', 'A Street in Manamah', and 'Municipal Garden, Manamah';
- Folio 16: 'A Small Pearling Dhow A term adopted by British officials to refer to local sailing vessels in the western Indian Ocean. ';
- Folio 21: 'New Customs House and Round-about', 'Government Shops', and 'Women's Dispensary';
- Folio 22: 'The Palace Manamah', 'Manamah Muharraq Sea Road', and 'The Road (From the Sea)';
- Folio 25: 'Manamah Boys' School', 'School Workshops', and 'A Village School';
- Folio 30: 'A road in Manamah' and 'Street in Muharraq';
- Folio 32: 'A Policeman' and 'Police on Parade';
- Folio 33: 'Buildings Constructed by Bahrain Government at Naval Base, Jufair [al-Jufayr]', 'Clerk in Charge's House', 'Canteen', and 'Officer's Building'.
Folio 17 is a graph entitled 'A decade of Customs Progress'. A note on the title page reads 'Property of H.B.M. Embassy Bahrain' (folio 2r) and the back cover includes a label that reads: 'Printed at the Dolphin Press, Brighton, England' (folio 43v).
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (43 folios)
- Arrangement
This file contains a page of contents (folio 3) which references pages of the report.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: Folios 1-43.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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- Reference
- IOR/R/15/1/750/1
- Title
- 'Government of Bahrain Administrative Report for the Years 1926-1937'
- Pages
- front, front-i, 2r:42v, back-i, back
- Author
- Belgrave, Sir Charles Dalrymple
- Usage terms
- The copyright status is unknown. Please contact [email protected] with any information you have regarding this item.