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'Government of Bahrain Administrative Report for the Years 1926-1937' [‎41v] (82/86)

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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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54
in the case of the younger generation, who have passed through the schools. This generation
has <;rown up under a regime of settled government and accepts as a matter of course the existence
of regular law courts, regulations, schools, municipalities, and other governmental institutions,
though many of the comparatively recent innovations are still resented and occasionally opposed
by the old conservative element, which looks back regretfully to the days of the past when, by a
little influence with important people and a little judicious expenditure, they would usually get
their own way and do as they liked. Education, facilities for easier travel, contact with toreigners,
both at home and abroad, and the effect of newspapers, books, and broadcasting, which stimulate
an interest in foreign affairs, are some of the chief causes of the changes among the people of
Bahrain. Most of the changes are for the better, but the sudden influx of large numbers of
Europeans belonging to the Oil Company, many of whom are unaccustomed to Eastern countries,
has had minor but unfortunate results. Beggars, who in the past were comparatively unobtrusive,
now throng the bazaars and thrive on the misplaced generosity of white people; and the Arab
children in the streets of Manamah, who used to be well-behaved, now follow Europeans about
the bazaars and make impudent remarks to them in English.
To-day, most of the young men in Manamah wear at least one article of European dress,
usually a coat, and European shoes are rapidly taking the place of sandals; socks are universally
worn, and the more advanced young Arabs wear complete suits of European style, but retain
their Arab headdress. Importers of second-hand clothes, ranging from tail-coats to Central
European military uniforms, do a good trade. To-day, a young man wearing entirely Arab dress
is usually a foreigner or one of the Shaikhs' retainers. Labourers in the oil field who work near
machinery are compelled to wear shirts and trousers, and this has contributed to a large extent to
the change in dress. Even among the women, there is a tendency to wear articles of European
clothing, especially stockings and shoes.
Although there is still much poverty and unemployment in Bahrain, the general standard of
living has improved, and the older men often complain that their sons are no longer content with
the frugal diet of fish, rice, dates and, occasionally, meat, which was good enough for them when
they were young. Bread is eaten much more than it used to be, and cheap tinned fruits and biscuits
have become almost part of the regular diet in the houses of the middle and wealthy classes. The
decrease in food prices has made it possible for poorer people to buy more food and to enjoy more
variety. Ten years ago a bag of rice cost Rs 15/-; to-day it can be bought for Rs 11/-. The price
of dates has fallen almost 50%, and the public can now buy cheap vegetable ghee instead of
expensive clarified butter, which used only to be used by the wealthy classes. Before artesian wells
were sunk, all water had to be bought, but to-day there is an artesian well in each district of the
big towns, and women of the lower classes fetch their own water from the taps and cisterns. The
water supply has encouraged cleanliness, as in the past, when all water had to be bought, there
was little washing or bathing except by men in the sea during the summer.
The municipalities have done much to improve conditions, both by cleaning the streets, passing
regulations affecting public health, and by building markets where meat, fish, and vegetables are
sold under the supervision of municipal inspectors, who are also responsible for inspecting the
abattoir. These officials visit the coffee shops and 'hotels' and report cases of the sale of bad meat
or stale food to the public.
Houses. In Manamah there has been a great improvement in the style of buildings.
A number of small, sanitary, and well-ventilated houses have been built
by private persons for letting purposes. Though the rooms are smaller than those in the old-
fashioned houses, the construction is better, the importance of proper foundations is appreciated,
and cement and steel beams are universally used. A few years ago the use of steel beams was
considered, locally, extremely dangerous. Most of the new houses are equipped with electric
light and have adequate sanitary arrangements. By degrees the 'barasti' type of house, built of
palm branches, is decreasing, and its place is being taken by stone houses which are more permanent,
more healthy, and less liable to catch fire or to collapse during storms.
Houses are more elaborately equipped. Formerly a few mats and one or two carpets were
sufficient furnishing for the Meglis of a merchant, but now, in most middle-class houses, there

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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' [‎41v] (82/86), 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_100024140826.0x000053> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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