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'Government of Bahrain Administrative Report for the Years 1926-1937' [26v] (52/86)
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.
30
Most of the parents of the boys disapproved of their children's behaviour, but they said that
they could not prevent them from doing what they wished. Parental control in Bahrain is almost
non-existent, and boys of twelve years of age and older usually act independently ot their parents
wishes. Fathers frequently complain that they would like their sons to go to school, but as their
boys do not wish to do so they cannot make them attend school.
Reforms in In 1349 (1930-1931), Rs 61,000/- was spent on education, which included
the Schools. the cost of completing the new Manamah school. The school was a
large, handsome building capable of accommodating about five hundred
boys, with a central hall, the largest room in Bahrain, which will seat over six hundred people.
At the beginning of the year some trouble was caused by the Shia school committee and the
members of the old education committee. An attempt was made to combine the Sunnis and Shias
on one committee, but although the Sunnis agreed, the Shias refused to sit on a mixed committee.
The presence of the Government's inspector was still much resented by some of the masters and
by people who previously had undue influence in school affairs and finances. The curriculum of
the schools was entirely re-organised and a simpler range of subjects was taught in all schools:
subjects such as physics, music, and advanced mathematics, which were previously part of the
programme and which were badly taught by unqualified teachers, were omitted. English lessons
were given only in the higher forms. Several new masters were recruited from Syria, and three
young Bahrain men who had been educated at Government expense in Beyrout were taken on as
masters. The pay and the contracts of all masters were placed on a proper footing, and their salaries
were made to depend upon their abilities. Shaikh Abdullah bin Isa became Minister of Education
and was responsible for all matters concerning schools and education; the committees continued
to exist, but instead of being an assistance they continually hampered the progress of education.
By the end of the year there were over 500 boys and 100 girls attending the Government schools
and, owing to the proper supervision of accounts, the monthly cost of running the schools was
Rs 3,600/- instead of Rs 5,600/-.
Disappearance of During the following year, 1350 (1931-32), the expenditure on education
School Committees, was Rs 45,000/-. Owing to the internal disputes among the members of
the Shia school committee the attendance at the Jaffarieh school dwindled
to about fifty boys. Many of the Shias removed their boys from school because they objected to
a Sunni school inspector. During the year the Sunni committee gave up any pretence of taking
an interest in the school because they were no longer able to appoint the masters and to decide
their salaries, so eventually this committee was allowed to disappear and, after a general quarrel
among its members, the Shia committee was dissolved. The control of the schools remained in
the hands of Shaikh Abdullah, assisted by the inspector of education and, when necessary, myself.
Amalgamation The year 1351 (1932-33) was a lean year financially. The salaries of all
of Manamah Government servants, including the staff of the education department.
Boys' Schools. were subjected to a cut, and economies were made in every possible
direction. The expenditure on education was reduced to Rs 34,000/-,
but in spite of this the number of students increased, and from an educational point of view the
year was satisfactory. The most important change was the amalgamation of the Sunni and
Jaffarieh schools. The Jaffarieh school became the Manamah boys' school and the old Sunni school
was taken over as a girls' school. The change was resented by most of the Shias, who adopted
a dog-in-the-manger attitude. Although they refused to send their boys to the Jaffarieh school,
they objected to its being used by Sunnis. At the same time another school was opened by a young
man, Ibrahim al Arayadh, who had been dismissed from the department of education after the
disturbances in the previous year. This school was financed by some of the wealthier Shia families
in Manamah, and for a year or two it served a useful purpose.
During the next two years progress was satisfactory and undisturbed. In 1352 (1933-34),
expenditure was reduced to Rs 22,000/- by means of combining classes under one teacher and
various other methods of economy, but at the same time attendance at the schools increased from
828 to 966. During the following year there was a further increase in students, and a number 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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Copyright: How to use this content
- 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 copyright@bl.uk with any information you have regarding this item.