'File 19/126 II (C 29) Bahrain Customs' [‎105r] (225/567)

Jo i's of 1980 . 3 r :
British Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. and Gonsul ate-General,
Bunhiret 23rd October 1920 •
To
Tlie poiitieal Agent,
Batoain •
- > • }. ' :
gomorand'i&u
Your endorsement no •1136 da od 14th October 1920 forwarding
an anonymous complaint against the Bahrain Oustoxs .Directors#
The present adiaini strati on has its faxzits and I think there
is litoio doubt that the Dircctora firm mtikoa zoico profits out^f ^
apart from those which they mako indirectly "by being able to watch
the business ot rival firms etc#
When the present method of adiiini strati on ras introduced,
...\ v '
however? it wp ^s a groat improvement on the old farming arrangement
and greatly increased the 3hai&h*a revanuos#
£ai Sahib Bith Ilacr&indass ^Mahara^ (now dead) himself ran
the business very woll ard honestly as the winter of the letter
admits# But the arrangement was originally only a stop gap the
✓
idea being to try and get the ShaiHi to ro-ox-ganis© his Customs
under a Director lent b^r the dovernment of India# so far he has
K
never agreed to this# Perhaps later on v /hon the Chief Collector
of OustOHS in 5 !osopo - air ^a has scoo wyll trained honest Arab of
ficials, the 3liaiKh would not be ec suspicioua of an Arab Director
if one could be borrowed from Basrah#
I think this object should be Iiopt in view: perhaps meanwhile
■ the proBont direotorato oan ho frig into iaproving their
adnini atration "by throats of change etc a»a even into keeping
duplicate books one set "being to Sindhi or Gugratl and the other
in English or Arabic? the former would *bo preferable from our
point of view as it would simplify trado statistics etc but
bettor
perhaps Arabic would suit tho susooptibilities/ If so
I should thirdfe they might bo rotavined until we oan get the sha~' Ich
to reform the Department properly#
Lieut^Ool
Offg# Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. , Persian Gul