'File 19/172 II (C 94) Bahrain Armed Police' [‎30r] (82/478)

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^ confronted witii a heary deficit*
3* When I wrote my letter Ho.C-7 of the 22nd January
1932 X reported that the monthly deficit wae He»8 9 000 s the
receire no less than 575& of the revenues* Further, Bahrain
has much the most civilised population of any place in the
Gulf, and such a community naturally look to the State not only
to maintain law and order but also to provide them with
facilities for the education of their children, some courts
for the rapid adjudication of their disputes, and some measure
of sanitation and the ordinary amenities of existence* And
though the administration is, I think, rightly kept on the
simplest lines 43 ^ of the present revenue (which is all that
is left nowadays after the A1 Khalifa allowances have been
paid) will not suffice to meet expenditure and the State is
Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. reported in March that it had mounted to over
Rs* 12,000/- (vide my telegram Ho.173, dated 13th March 1932)
and even assuming that that was a specially bad month, it seems
improbable that the average deficit will be less than Rs.10*000
per mensem,i*e. Rs*1*20,000 per annum,
r 4. To meet this the State has a reserve of 3 lakhs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees ,
which it is clear will not go very far and which it is un
desirable to drain completely. And the total economies
suggested are calculated to produce only Rs.43*000/- in a full
year, and even if they are all accepted and introduced will
only produce about half that sum during the coming financial
year. The temporary abolition of the post of Commandant of
Police and the substitution of Arabs for Indians in the police
cannot in any case be brought about till next autumn when their
contracts expire, while I have not yet received any proposals
\ regarding Aakat, which will certainly take some time *o
introduce*
5 .
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