'Adminisistration [Administration] Reports 1931-1935' [‎70v] (140/416)

42
19 Mr Bel grave showed his usual determination m repulsing attacks on
12. Mr. ijelgrave h pers01ia l courage during the divers’ not.
the State Treasury, an addition to his other duties, with ability, and has
He had handled issue a number of illicit liquor
been very successtu “hd, foTthe administmtion by so doing. He also di,
ro'red^nd broke up a number of boys’ brothels in Mnhamtq.
^ Ca tihf L BahraS' k f e or P good e o: d th: lie b^ ^
ind U m r o y re a perfunctory in the discharge of his duties and the reduction of this
post has been a very useful economy. ^ . ,, I
14 Mr C C L de Grenier was at his post throughout the >ear and was
; min Of Mr Belgrave’s functions during the latter’s absence
oif sho^tf leave W he was no! appointed Acting Adviser. He, however,
Showed a decided leaning towards exceed.^ ^y" 410118 ' He ^ tie
Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. great assistance m dealing with trade enquiries.
15 Bahrain Police.-lt is convenient to consider under this head all the
forces of law and order in Bahrain. These consist of the remarants of the
Indian Armed Police, the local Police (who are being trained to replace hem)
and the Naturs or Night-watchmen. The latter are an irregular body who do
not wear uniform, or perform any drills, and are armed with long Lee Enfield
rifles. They are posted at Manamah and Muharraq. The strength of these
horlies is eiven below :—
Strength
on 1-1-32.
Strength
on 31-12-32.
Indian Police
* •
.. 50
11
Followers
• .
6
8
Arab Police
..
. •
.. 56
118
Naturs
..
..
.. 121
120
16. Almost all the Indians were allowed to return to India in September
and October on completion of their agreements. A few men were engaged.in
their place, but they are principally used as Instructors, or to relieve the men
under training of "guard duties. The new Arab recruits, mostly of Negroid
extraction, have made an excellent start, and there seems no reason why they
should not become as smart as Negro troops elsewhere, since they seem to have
a natural love of drill. Partly owing to the hard times dozens of men offer
themselves for enlistment, but a very high percentage are rejected for inferior
physique. Now that the initial difficulty of obtaining men has been overcome
it should be easy for the State to find their requirements locally, since men
constantly bring their friends for enlistment, as the Indian soldier does in
India.
17. Local Affairs .—No Sunni-Shiah quarrels arose during the year, and
the Muharrem celebrations passed off without incident. The educated Persians
are rapidly losing all interest in religion, but the Arabs are more conservative.
18. Shaikh Abdullah bin Muhammad Salih and Shaikh Ali bin Husain al
Musa’ continue to be on good terms with the Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. , and both supported the
Government during the agitation against a proclamation designed to secure
honest disposal of inheritances. The Sunni Qadhis are still the three Abdul
Xiatifs and are not on good terms either with the Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. or the Bahrain Gov
ernment. Their decisions are far from impartial, and there is growing dis
satisfaction of their administration of the Sunni Waqfs. Their attitude over
the agitation mentioned above was unsatisfactory. ■
^ 19. The Financial Adviser considers that Shaikh Khalaf has been making
mischief amongst the Bahama, but no instance of it came to the Political
Agent s notice. During the latter part of the year the old man returned to
linq 1 o fetch a wife. But for the fact that old men do not appear to die in
Bahrain, the view might he ventured that he would not trouble anyone for long-
+1 ’ Tvhoita/nce Proclamation Agitation .—The Bahrain Government decide
011(4 danuarv to issue a proclamation, the gist of which was that
s.nmei contiol would be kept over properties left by diseased persons on
that steps would oe taken to protect the interests of widows and orphans. Th
p oc amn .ion also provided for the calling: for accounts from executors bv th
Courts, and stated that no one would be allowed to deal with an estate hefox