Coll 30/9 'Persian Gulf: Administration Reports 1926-1938' [‎362v] (729/1028)

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46
There is a defence scheme in existence against an outside raid, and the arrant !
ments apparently consist of withdrawing all Police to the Fort, leaving the For '
community to have their throats cut by the invaders. ei ^ n
Sunni-Shiah relations improved, and owing to the cessation of complaints
from the Bahama at Muhammera the relations between the Persian Shiahs a d
Baharna more or less became normal. aiK $
Shaikh Abdulla and Shaikh Ali bin Hasan continued to be the Shiah Qadh'
and^he three Abdul Latifs the Sunni Qadhis. A young Alim, Muhammad al
Madani, a former clerk of the late Shiah Qadhi Muhammad al Madani aspires to the
position of Qadhi and has unfortunately been allowed to practise rights which are the
exclusive privilege of the appointed Qadhis.
There was some agitation for the return of Shaikh Khalaf but it was ignored
and subsided.
The sentences on the three Al Khalifa mentioned in last year’s report have un
doubtedly had a good effect and have done much to strengthen the hands of the
Bahrain Government and the Bahrain Court. It may be taken that the power of the
Al Khalifa to commit serious crime with impunity has been, let us hope, broken for
ever.
Oil Concession. —Major Holmes arrived on the 15th April and was followed by
two American geologists, Messrs. Taylor and Davies, a month later. They left
again on the 21st of July, and without making any definite statement, for obvious
reasons, but are understood to have been optimistic in the possibilities of finding oil
at Bahrain.
The Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. detected a clause in’the Oil Concession that gave the Com
pany power to indemnify themselves for any losses of whatever nature by deducting
them from payments due to the Bahrain Government. The injustice of this clause
was pointed out and the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. requested that the Shaikh should be ad
vised not to agree to the Assent transferring the Eastern and General’s concession to
the American interests until this clause had been modified. He was supported by
the Besidency and the Colonial Office obtained a letter modifying the clause from
the American combine.
Artesian Wells—k check has been put on the indiscriminate sinking of arte
sian wells but far too much water is still being wasted. Shaikh Hamad has sunk
a very successful well near the sea-coast at Qarzekhan on the western shore of the
island, but it will be a long time before all the water can be utilized.
The Government sank a well on the open ground near ’Ali but the water was
sulphurous and two other attempts failed. It is unfortunate that the only un
claimed land near Manama is unsuitable for artesian wells.
Agriculture. —On the recommendation of the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. an agriculturist
was engaged from ’Iraq. He appears exactly the type of man wanted, and all the
big date garden owners consult him freely. He gives lectures at the schools and
takes the boys out for practical training. In the days of Ibn Batuta Bahrain was
famous for its cotton, and there is no reason why it should not be grown again.
The Bahrain dates are apparently of good quality but badly tended.
At present the Island is entirely dependent on the pearl trade for a living, and
if agriculture was properly developed it would prove a valuable second string, but
until some opportunity is given to the shamefully rackrented peasantry to enjoy the
fruits of improvements made in their holdings, progress will be difficult.
Customs Revenues. —The total Customs’ collections for the year amounted ta
Rs. 7,90,107.
Municipalities. —Revenue has fallen off, apart from halving the subsidy paid
by the Government to the Manama Municipality, and all suggestions for raising the
house rates (which were recently reduced by half) were met with no enthusiasm.
The councillors are almost all owners of house property and are averse to any form
of taxation on buildings, or indeed any tax that affects them personally.
Much street widening has been done in both Manama and Muharraq, and some
town planning has been done to the south of the former.