Coll 6/88 'Intelligence: Military Report on Arabia (C.B. 1892).' [‎24v] (53/133)

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To the south-east of the town is the wireless station of Cable and Wireless, Ltd., and the
R.A.F. rest house and seaplane anchorage.
Inside the town and to the south are the American church, a school and the quarters of
the American Missionaries.
There are three hospitals in MANAMAH :—
[а) The Victoria Memorial Hospital, which is attached to the .Political Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. , and is
under the charge of the Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. Surgeon, an Assistant Surgeon of the Indian
Medical Department.
- It has an outdoor and indoor department and has ten beds for men and
two beds for women.
It is not suitable for Europeans. The Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. Surgeon is also Quarantine
Medical Officer for the BAHRAIN Government.
(б) The Mason Memorial Hospital of the American Mission comprises a male and
female hospital and has a staff of three qualified American doctors, one of whom
is an eye specialist.
Both these hospitals maintain in- and out-door departments and have :
45 beds in the men's hospital.
25 beds in the women’s hospital.
This hospital can take Europeans in limited numbers in case of emergency,
but venereal patients would not be received.
The Surgeon in charge of the Mason Memorial Hospital is able to perform
any major operation not requiring a specialist, but is not always present at
BAHRAIN.
(c) A hospital, erected and maintained by the Bahrain Petroleum Company for their
employees and families. This hospital treats officers and white naval ratings.
Water Supply
Water for drinking purposes is imported from India for the civil population. For the
Navy, a supply of 40 tons is maintained in the oil barge, which is kept full of distilled water
by the visiting escort vessels. There is a large number of natural springs in the northern
half of the island and a good supply of water from Artesian wells, but the water is slightly
brackish and contains mineral salts. Water is tapped at an average depth of 250 ft. This
might be used in Scotch boilers.
The streets for the most part are drained and clean, while there is an organization to
deal with rubbish.
The population of the islands may be estimated at about 150,000, of whom rather over
half are resident in the four principal towns as follows :—
BAHRAIN ISLAND
MANAMAH .. ..
36,000
BUDAIYA
10,500
MUHARRAK ISLAND
MUHARRAK
30,000
AL HADD
10,000
BAHRAIN as a port and trade centre is the resort for people from IRAN, QATAR,
TRUCIAL OMAN A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. ; and to a less degree from central ARABIA. Almost the entire population
is Mohammadan. The language of the country is Arabic, though Persian and Hindustani
speaking communities are found in MANAMAH.
The exports include specie, rice, pearls, cotton piece goods and sugar, of which all except
pearls are in the nature of re-exports. The pearl industry was important and flourishing,
but of late years it has suffered severely from the decline of all luxury trades. For centuries
the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. has been famous for its pearls and at present is the centre of the industry,
and the chief market in the Gulf is at BAHRAIN, where over 500 boats are registered.
About 15,000 of the inhabitants of BAHRAIN gain a living by diving for pearls as well
as many divers who migrate annually from IRAN and the Arab coast.
The diving season lasts from about the middle of May until the middle of October, of
which the chief season, known as Ghaus, is fixed by the Shaikh of BAHRAIN.
The agricultural produce of BAHRAIN was formerly confined to dates, date juice and
a small quantity of lucerne seed. Latterly, however, there has been an increasing demand
for agricultural produce and the few experiments which have been made show that it is possible
to cultivate successfully a number of trees, crops and vegetables which have not previously
been grown on a large scale.