File 1283/1913 Pt 5 'MESOPOTAMIA TRADE Issue of new Trade Report' [‎125v] (246/270)

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It must, however, be remembered that the United Kingdom does not work on a low
quality shell and therefore buyers must have shipping facilities for reaching foreign ports
where there is a demand for these low qualities.
Shipping.—It is unlikely that it would pay to arrange for a regular call by direct
steamers to Europe at Bahrain. The actual deviation from the direct course to or from
Basrah does not involve much delay but owing to the unfavourable character of the harbour
expensive delays might be involved in case of bad weather. In a strong shamal it is impossible
to unload into lighters and work may be hung up for several days.
Messrs. Wonekhaus undoubtedly profited in the past by the frequency with which the
Hamburg-America line called at Bahrain. The question o^ more regular calls by steamers
of a British line has been referred to in paragraph 11 of the Report. A monthly steamer
from London direct with piece-goods, coffee and sugar might pay but it would probably
j^e difficult to fix regular sailings for some time to come.
Lighterage .—The British India Company have solved their lighterage difficulties at
Bahrain, since they now possess ten boats of their own. If the Company could see their
w’ay to maintain a tug for towing the lighters, it would greatly accelerate the despatch of
steamers and the firm would also gain advantage over foreign steamers which would still
be dependent on the slower system. It is quite likely that the maintenance of a tug
would not show immediate returns as a business proposition, but the Commissioners think
that in the long run it would be to the advantage of the Cpmpany.
Landing facilities .—The landing pier at present consists of a jetty of coral rock 550 feet
long by 80 feet broad at the sea end. A loan of 1100,000 has just been raised by a number
of local merchants with a view to lengthening and broadening the pier slightly. It is
calculated that the pier should be about 1,700 feet long to enable boats to get alongside at all
states of the tide. If the new project, which has been initiated by the local merchants
themselves, is successful, further developments may be encouraged.
Customs .—The customs used to be farmed out by the Sheikh to Arab merchants who
were corrupt and unbusiness like and the Sheikh got very little profit. The Government of
India were anxious to lend the Sheikh a trained officer to supervise the administration but he
was unwilling to agree to this. There was also a suggestion that the customs should be
farmed by the Government of India for about three lakhs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees a year which would have meant
a large profit for the Sheikh. It was clear, however, that this proposal would not have
commended itself to him and it is doubtful whether it was actually made. About eight years
ago the Sheikh entrusted his customs to a paid official and this system is still in force. The
Director of Customs is now a Hindu bunia and the management is fairly satisfactory. The
Commissioners would suggest for consideration the desirability of inducing the Sheikh to
accept the loan of a trained officer from India to work his customs, The suppression of the
office of Lamalbashi is also desirable and it would be convenient if customs godowns could be
allocated to each shipping company for the storage of all cargo arriving on their steamers.
At present no data are acquired by the Customs in regard to the weights or quantities
of the goods imported so that the statistics are lacking in one important element. Endeavours
were by enquiry made to ascertain the average number of bales imported but the futility of
this soon became apparent. The existing staff of the Customs would not be adequate for
the maintenance of statistics regarding weights and quantities and the Sheikh would
doubtless be unwilling to entertain the additional staff required unless the British Government
paid for it. Large quantities of woollen-goods were being imported from Germany, and
possibly from Austria, before the war. They could not, however, be traced in the Customs
because they were misdescribed as piece-goods in order to evade payment of the higher rate of
duty on woollen-goods.
Banking .— A representative of the Eastern Bank visited Bahrain in February 1917. The
Sheikh after consulting his principal merchants informed the 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. that he was not
anxious for the foundation of a bank at Bahrain, mainly because the taking of interest was
contrary to the Islamic law. The advantage of opening a bank have been explained to the
Sheikh and some local opposition which formerly existed is in process of calming down. An
opportunity may present itself a little later for bringing up the question again.
It is by no means certain, however, that the volume of business would be sufficient to
justify the opening of a bank. Further investigation will possibly be necessary. The rupee
is freely current in Bahrain but the real will be in use so long as trade with the mainland
continues.
The 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. at Bahrain has already addressed firms in India with a view to the
import of glasses used by Arabs and Persians for drinking sherbet and tea; also in regard to
padlocks for shop doors. He was also written to the Director-General, Commercial Intel
ligence, with reference to the possibility of importing cheap lamps, enamelware, earthenware,
coffee cups, matches, stationery, and to the Secretary, Colombo Chamber of Commerce, in
regard to cheap toys.
Special openings for trade .—It is understood that there is a possibility of the discovery
of oil in Bahrain and the bitumen deposits should be investigated. It is likely that trade
with Hasa and Nejd may increase considerably in consequence of the establishment of Bin
Saudis position as ruler.
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