'File 8/16 Bahrain Intelligence Summary' [‎50r] (99/206)

- 2 -
plotted with Rrsliid bin Bati and Maktum'bin Rashid 5 Shaikh
Mani’s brother 9 and other members of Shaikh Mani’s party
to assasinate Shaikh Rashid bin Saidj eldest son of the
Ruler of Dubaiand some of his henchmen. Large sums of
money were given to the bedouin to win their support and
acquiescence. The plot was discovered, and Suhail, who
has been living in Dubai with his sister, who is married to
the brother of Shaikh Rashid bin Said, made good his escape
to Sharjah.
156. LANDING ARRANG EMENTS. (A PERENNIAL)
Kanoo, the two landing companies in Bahrain, recently wrote
and informed the Bahrain Government that they wished to
increase the landing charges (a 15 per cent reduction in
charges was made by the landing companies in June 1947).
A meeting of the merchant community was held at the Customs
House to discuss this proposal at which the old complaints
of delay in transporting cargo between Sitra and Manamah
and damage and pilferage of cargo were made against the
landing companies. Messrs. Gray, Mackenzie sought to'prove
(both at the meeting and in subsequent correspondence with
the Bahrain Government) that much of the damaged cargo had
been damaged before it arrived in Bahrain, that pilferage
of cargo had decreased in recent months, and that delay in
transporting cargo between Sitra and Manamah was in large
part due to the fact that the Shaikh Hamad swing bridge in
the causev/ay between the islands of Manamah and Muharraq
was only opened for one hour during the daylight and for
a few hours after 12 midnight. They suggested that the
Bahrain Government should place police guards on board the
barges and offered to dismiss any of their unloading crew who
had a bad police record.
charges should be increased by 15 per cent restoring them
to what they were before the 15 per cent cut was made in
June 1947. The Adviser to the Bahrain Government promised
to post police guards aboard barges but warned Gray, Mackenzies
that this v/ould be for an experimental period at first and
that the police were not up to full strength and could not
allot sufficient men for this work. Regarding the closure
of the swing bridge as the alleged cause of delays, he pointed
out that the primary object of building the causeway was to
facilitate road traffic between the two islands and that the
frequent closure of the bridge to road traffic would greatly
reduce its usefulness. He suggested that barges might travel
around Muharraq, which is a small island, instead of passing
between Manamah and Muharraq.
which the “breakdowns” and "shortages" In the electricity
supply and the fact that many house-owners are still unable
to obtain electricity for their houses has focussed public
Reference paragraph 122 of Intelligence
Summary No.11 of 1947.
Messrs. Gray, Mackenzie and Messrs. Yusuf
It was agreed at the meeting that landing
157. BAHRAIN ELECTRICITY DEPART MENT .
(i) Reference paragraph 178 of Intelligence Summary
No. 16 of 1947., >
/ -
This has made the, third year in success ion - in
discontent„...