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'Government of Bahrain Annual Report for Year 1356 (March 1937 - February 1938)' [‎52v] (18/76)

The record is made up of 1 volume (37 folios). It was created in 1938. 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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12
ammunition, according to this regulation it is compulsory on all owners of firearms
and other arms to register them and to obtain a license in order to possess them.
About 2,000 rifles and a quantity of swords and revolvers were registered. The
registration work was carried out by the police.
The regulation enables the Government to prevent unsuitable persons from
owning arn s and ammunition and it will also be useful in the case of crimes in which
firearms are used. When the proclamation was first issued there was some appre
hension on the part of the public that the Government wished to disarm everybody;
but these fears were very soon allayed.
Mounted Section. A section of police mounted on ponies was formed during
the year but up till now only ten suitable ponies have been obtained. The unit is
used for work in nearby villages and for coastal patrol work.
Good Conduct Pay. Good conduct pay, an allowance of Rs. 3 per month,
was instituted during the year as an inducement to the police to re-enlist after four
years' service. Men are eligible for this allowance only if they complete four years'
service without having any entries on their conduct sheets and provided they obtain
a pass in musketry.
The pay of a policeman is Rs. 25 per month with a clothing allowance of
Rs. 3 per month. In addtition to this they receive rations and quarters.
Crime. The police have had very few important cases to deal with dur
ing the year with the exception of one murder and several serious motor accidents
involving death and grave injuries There has been an increase in the number of theft
cases sent in by the Bahrain Petroleum Company, where pilfering is carried out on
a large scale, and a great increase in traffic cases. The reason for the apparent dec
line in serious crimes is the increased prosperity in Bahrain and the fact that many
of the notorious bad characters have found employment with the Bahrain Petroleum
Company.
The murder case was an unusual one. The victim was a child few months old,
son of a minor Khalifah Shaikh in Rafa. The murderer was a woman servant who
had reason to be jealous of the child's mother. The child was stolen from its bed in
the night and drowned in a water tub in the compound. The servant woman was
tried, convicted and executed.
Traffic Control. During the year the police investigated 456 criminal
cases of which 104 were thefts, 122 various other crimes, 145 petty offences and
59 motor accidents in which six persons lost their lives which is a high percentage
in a country where the total number of motor vehicles on the roads is about 400.
The most frequent causes of accidents are found to be careless driving and use
of cars with inefficient brakes and steering apparatus. The general public have no
motor sense and do not yet appreciate the danger of wandering in the centre of roads
and streets looking neither to left nor right. The Government and municipalities
have instituted various regulations and speed limits which are intended to reduce
motor accidents and during the latter part of the year there was a definite decrease
in the number of accidents.
Liquor. The liquor habit is undoubtedly spreading in Bahrain. There is
a general increase in the drinking of methylated spirits and eau-de-cologne. The
habit is no longer confined to foreigners but has spread to the Arabs, especially
women of the town. A significant hint of the state of things was one of the figures
in the Muharram procession which represented a young man dressed as an Arab
Shaikh with a bottle and a tumbler in his hand. The older and more conservative
of the Arabs in Bahrain strongly disapprove of the increasing amount of drunkenness.
The Government has imposed restrictions on the sale of eau-de-cologne and
lavender water which are used as liquor. This habit is said to have been introduced
originally from the Hejaz, and first started among the taxi drivers.
Persian Immigration. In spite of measures which are taken by the police
the naturs and passport officials, the number of destitute and undesirable Persians who
are entering Bahrain illegally, is, in my opinion, steadily increasing. Parties of from

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Content

This volume is the Annual Report of the Government of Bahrain for the year 1356 AH (1937-1938) and gives details of the Revenue and Expenditure of the Bahrain State and contains notes on the activities of the various Government departments, as well as the budget for the year 1357 and some particulars of importance which took place in Bahrain during the year. It includes text, photographic images and tables. The report appears to be compiled from reports from various Government departments and officials. An index appears on folio 46r, followed by a General Review by Charles Dalrymple Belgrave, Adviser to the State of Bahrain (folio 47r).

The contents are divided into the following sections and sub-sections:

  • Budget – 1356 (folio 47v);
  • Summary of Revenue and Expenditure, 1356 (folio 48r);
  • Detailed statement of Revenue and Expenditure, 1356 (folio 48v);
  • Statement of Expenditure on Public Works and Special Projects (folio 49r);
  • Notes on Revenue – 1356 (folio 49v): Oil Royalty, Customs Receipts, Rent of Aerodrome, Passport Fees, Land Registration Fees, Motor Car Taxes, Rent of Government Lands, Interest on Reserves, and Oil Gauging Fees;
  • Notes on Expenditure – 1356 (folios 49v-50v): Allowances to the Ruling Family, State Protection, Customs Department, Secretariat, Judicial Department, Land and Public Works Department, Passport Department, Education Department, Municipalities, Medical, Contingencies, Upkeep of buildings, Upkeep and construction of roads, and Unforeseen;
  • Statement of Expenditure on Public Works and Special Projects (folio 50v): Hospital, Fire Engine, New Palace, Law Courts, Agriculture, Water Cart, and Manama-Muharraq Bridge;
  • Pearl Industry (folios 51)
  • Police and Public Security (folios 51v-53r): Strength, Routine and duties, Police Buildings, Recruitment, Health, Police Families' Clinic, Police Band and Fire Bridgade, Registration of Arms and Ammunition, Mounted Section, Good Conduct Pay, Crime, Traffic Control, Liquor, and Persian Immigration;
  • Public Health (folio 53): Muharraq Dispensary, Suk al Khamis [Sūq al-Khamīs] Dispensary, Hedd [al-Ḥidd] Dispensary, Women's Clinic, Anti-Malaria Measures, and Government Hospital;
  • Land Registration Department (folio 53v): Registration of Sales, Gifts, and Titles, Revenue from Sales etc., and Programme for 1357;
  • Public Works (folios 54-57v): Administration, Roads and Buildings, Law Courts, Work-shop and Garages, Rest House and Police Station, Manama Fort, Manama Muharraq Road, Hawar Fort and Pier, Government Hospital, Muharraq Girls' School, Manama Market Buildings, and Roads;
  • Judicial Department (folios 57v-60r): Bahrain Court, Transfer of Magistrates, Bahrain Lower Court, New Regulations, Shera Court, Code of Laws, and New Law Courts;
  • Municipalities (folios 60r-61v): Manama (Election, Municipal Achievements, Road Improvements, Water Control, Bazaar Improvements, Anti-Malaria Measures, Slaughter House, Adari Spring [‘Ayn ‘Adhārī], and Pier) and Muharraq (Sea Reclamation, Roads, and Anti-Malaria Measures);
  • Wakf [Waqf] Department (folios 61v-62r);
  • Education (folio 62r): Progress, Technical School, Athletics, Students Abroad, and Girls' Schools;
  • General (folios 62v-65r): Annual Audit, New Staff, His Highness' Pilgrimage [hajj], Visit of His Royal Highness Amir Saoud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd, Ibn Saud], Cinema, Juma Mosque, Nationality Law, Bus Service, Broadcasting, Press Propaganda, Government Rest House, and Private Building Enterprise;
  • Electric Supply Department, report by Mr W B Steele, State Engineer (folios 65r-69r): Wiring Contracts, Temporary Wiring, Main Extension, Alterations to Mains, New Generating Set, Financial Position, Telephone Department, Transport Department, Fire Department, Traffic Section, Municipal Ice Plant, School Engineering Workshop, and General;
  • Electric Returns: Profit and Loss Account, Revenue Account, Balance Sheet (folios 69v-70v);
  • Statement of Energy generated and sold, etc. (folio 71r);
  • Customs Department, report for the year 1356 by the Director of Customs Mr C C L de Grenier (folios 71v-76r);
  • Zubara Dispute (folio 76r);
  • Budget – 1357 (Feby. 1938-Feby. 1939) (folio 77);
  • Notes on Budget – 1357 (folios 78-80).

Illustrations appear on four folios and they are labelled as follows:

  • Folio 56: 'Hawar Fort' and 'Hawar Pier';
  • Folio 59: 'Law Courts. North Aspect' and 'Law Courts. South Aspects';
  • Folio 64: 'Muharraq Girl’s School' and 'Northern Village and Bay, Hawar';
  • Folio 68: 'Law Courts, open courtyard and platform' and 'Open Courtyard in the Law Courts'.

An inscription on the front cover reads 'Printed at the Times Press, Basrah' (folio 44r).

Extent and format
1 volume (37 folios)
Arrangement

There is an index (folio 46r) which references pages in the report.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: Folios 44-81.

Written in
English in Latin script
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'Government of Bahrain Annual Report for Year 1356 (March 1937 - February 1938)' [‎52v] (18/76), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/1/750/2, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100024140826.0x000069> [accessed 3 October 2024]

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