!['Government of Bahrain Administrative Report for the Years 1926-1937' [‎36v] (72/86)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000193.0x0002d7/IOR_R_15_1_750_0074.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg "'Government of Bahrain Administrative Report for the Years 1926-1937' [‎36v] (72/86)")
'Government of Bahrain Administrative Report for the Years 1926-1937' [36v] (72/86)
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.
44
Until 1348 the Government paid Rs 48,000/- per annum to municipal funds, and the
municipality paid Rs 24,000/- to the Government towards public protection.
Municipal Manamah. It is in Manamah that the work of the municipality is most
Achievement. conspicuous, partly because Manamah Municipality has had more money
to spend and has existed for longer than the Muharraq Municipality.
Roads. The most noticeable work in Manamah during the last ten years is the
construction of roads and the widening of streets in the bazaai area. Ten
years a( r o there were very few parts of the bazaar which could be reached in a car, and even the
most important shops were situated in narrow lanes. Now most of the principal bazaars aie accessible
to cars. The wider streets, which are in some places permanently roofed, are more healthy and
sanitary and are easier to keep clean. The style ot building has changed: people aie no longer
contented with low, dark shops, but build high, airy showrooms with windows in which their
goods can be displayed. Although the first people to set this fashion were foreign shop-keepers,
their example was very soon followed by the local traders, especially as, during the last two years,
rents of good shops and offices, as well as houses, have risen considerably.
Conservancy, For many years a municipal contractor was employed to clean the town;
Sanitation, Water his work was satisfactory in the conspicuous parts ot the bazaai and
Supply, Malaria. town, but not satisfactory in the back quarters of Manamah. The
municipality now does the work itself, with more successtul results. On
the whole, the town is very clean and free from smells. One of the greatest problems which the
municipality has to deal with is the reclamation of low ground behind the town, wheie water lies
stagnant after the rainy season for many months. Originally the people ot Manamah dug mud
from this site for building houses, and now a large area of ground is only a few feet abov e sea
level, so low that all attempts to drain the water into the sea have proved unsuccesstul. Duting
the last two years, special grants of Rs 10,000/- have been made by the Government to the
municipality for filling this ground. The work is not yet complete.
Until a few years ago sanitation in Manamah consisted of cesspits in eveiy house, which were
emptied once or twice a year. The system was satisfactory; the municipal inspectors reported any
leaking drains or insufficiently covered cesspits. Lately, however, many householders have installed
a water supply, and an attempt at modern sanitation. In the case ot houses on reclaimed land and
near the sea, the drains flow into the sea, but the drainage conditions ot houses distant from the
sea is not satisfactory. A sewer which was built from the Municipal Garden to the sea, at the cost
of over Rs 7,000/-, has not proved a success owing to the small difference in level between the
garden and the sea, and drains which empty into this sewer have flowed backwards. At the time of
writing, work is being done on the sewer, and it is hoped that it will eventually serve its intended
purpose.
The water supply in Manamah now consists of a number of artesian wells, some of which
are private property, others having been made by the Government. The Government and the
municipality have issued regulations to prevent waste of water and the collection of stagnant
water where mosquitoes will breed; these regulations are effective in the town. During certain
months of the year, in the spring and autumn, there are a great many mosquitoes in Manamah
and Muharraq. It has, I think, been proved that the main mosquito-breeding place is inside houses
in the large earthenware water jars which are kept in every compound, usually in a dark corner
under a shed. They are never emptied, but are refilled when the supply gets low. Until now the
municipal council and the public have strongly opposed all suggestions that the water jars should
be inspected. In Rafaa and Sakhir there are always quantities of mosquitoes, and these places are
many miles from any gardens or water, which is an additional proot that the mosquitoes bleed
inside the houses. The municipalities spray oil on all standing water and take all possible steps
to deal with breeding places which are not inside houses, but their officials have no authority to
enter houses and inspect them.
At a future time it will be necessary to consider installing a regular town water supply, and
possibly a drainage system as well. It is possible that a water system with a tap in every house
would obviate the need of water jars and reduce the number of mosquitoes.
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
Use and share this item
- Share this item
'Government of Bahrain Administrative Report for the Years 1926-1937' [36v] (72/86), 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_100024140826.0x000049> [accessed 14 May 2024]
https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100024140826.0x000049
Copy and paste the code below into your web page where you would like to embed the image.
<meta charset="utf-8"><a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100024140826.0x000049">'Government of Bahrain Administrative Report for the Years 1926-1937' [‎36v] (72/86)</a> <a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100024140826.0x000049"> <img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000193.0x0002d7/IOR_R_15_1_750_0074.jp2/full/!280,240/0/default.jpg" alt="" /> </a>
This record has a IIIF manifest available as follows. If you have a compatible viewer you can drag the icon to load it.https://www.qdl.qa/en/iiif/81055/vdc_100000000193.0x0002d7/manifestOpen in Universal viewerOpen in Mirador viewerMore options for embedding images
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.