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'Government of Bahrain Administrative Report for the Years 1926-1937' [‎23v] (46/86)

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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. .

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26
Manamah in shops and offices who had to leave their houses in Muharraq and live in Manamah owing
to the difficulty of crossing to and fro are now able to live in Muharraq and to cross the channel
and come into Manamah by bus.
In addition to the convenience of the road, it has provided work for thousands of men, who
cut stone from the sea and bring it ashore in boats during times of unemployment. Everything
in the road, except the cement in the parapet and the wooden beams in the culverts, is produced
locally. In my opinion, it can be reasonably supposed that not less than 75% of the money expended
has been spent in the Bahrain bazaars by the labourers who earned the money and has stimulated
local trade.
LAND REGISTRATION
Survey. This department began its work about twelve years ago, and for the first
six years it was mainly occupied in making a survey of the villages and
cultivated area in Bahrain. The work, with the exception of two small areas, was completed before
the financial depression necessitated reduction of the staff of the Land Department, which put
an end to the survey.
When the survey first began it met with considerable opposition from the Shia villagers, who
were suspicious of the Government's intentions, but after a short time the object of the work
was appreciated by the people and no further difficulties were made.
The results of the work are contained in a quantity of maps showing gardens with their
boundaries with reference numbers to registers which contain particulars of owners, water rights,
and details about the property. At the time of the survey, information about boundaries, water
rights, etc., was obtained from the landlords and from their tenants. Usually in Bahrain the landlords
know very little about their gardens and rely almost entirely on the tenants for information about
boundaries and water rights. In cases where original documents existed these were examined
and checked, but in a great many cases property owners have no title deeds. Before completing
the records, the Land Registration Department published a proclamation calling on the public
to notify the department if the particulars for registration were not correct.
In addition to the survey of villages and gardens, the department made a survey and a large
scale map of Manamah town, and also Hedd and Muharraq; the work in the case of these towns
did not include registration of rights. The map of Manamah was made when the electric scheme
was first considered and the map was used for planning the layout.
Reports on In addition to general survey work, every year the department provides
Land Cases. plans and reports to the courts on cases of land disputes. During some
years several hundreds of reports have been made, and these reports
are usually the decisive factor in settling cases. The Land Department deals with cases in the
Bahrain courts and also in the Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. courts.
Registration of The registration of property in Bahrain is not compulsory, but every
Sales and Titles. year there is an increase in the number of people who apply for the
registration of their houses or gardens. The public now realise the value
of a Government title deed, and they appreciate the fact that when the title deed has been issued
nobody can contest it. The only people who during the last ten years have attempted to set aside
a Government title deed are certain members of the Ruling Family. Their claims failed, but if
they had succeeded the valuable work of the Land Registration Department over many years
would have been seriously affected.
Mortgages. The registration of sales of property was made compulsory in 1929, and
in 1931 a proclamation was issued to the effect that no claim for foreclosure
of a mortgage on immovable property would be heard in the courts unless the property had been
previously registered on a Government title deed. The result of this is that nobody can mortgage
property unless he holds a Government title deed for it. The actual transaction of the mortgage

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
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'Government of Bahrain Administrative Report for the Years 1926-1937' [‎23v] (46/86), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/1/750/1, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100024140826.0x00002f> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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