File 522/1922 Pt 5 'Persian Gulf: Bahrein: Administration: Internal Affairs: British Interference' [‎67r] (144/356)

of I’olice whose four-year contract expires about the same time-should depart with
t ie Indian policemen at the end of 1930. In view, however, of the probability that
Bahrain may shortly have to submit to an influx of American and othar foreign
11 eis and oil workers, I do not think it advisable to dispense with the services of a
.1 ropean ^oromandant of Police unless and until we are satisfied that the threatened
invasion which w r ould certainly include a number of tough characters—will not
take place. On the analogy oi the Anglo-Persian Oil Company, the Gulf Syndicate
would probably start a security service of its own, and the Bahrain State will* require
a European Commandant of Police to deal with it, and with the bad characters
attracted by the chance of employment.
o. I turn now to the Customs Department. r lhis w r as an old bone of contention
between Shaikh Isa and the Government of India. It was Colonel Mead who first
suggested bringing it under control, under the mistaken assumption that Shaikh Isa
was really as poor as he pretended when the pretence suited him. In any case, the
question of the Customs Department came for a time to be looked upon as a trial of
strength between Shaikh Isa and the Government of India.
I he old system w r as to farm out the Customs to a Hindu contractor and, as w'as
only to be expected, the revenue accruing to the Slate was much less than it should
have been. This loss was estimated at one lakh One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees of rupees Indian silver coin also widely used in the Persian Gulf. a year, but judging from
the yield of the Customs since it has been put under conscientious European control,
it must have been considerably more.
Customs is the main source of revenue to the State and brought in during the past
year Rs. 11,24,679, out of a total of Rs. 12,15,694.
The Director of Customs is not only in charge of the department from which he
takes his name, but he is also Port Officer and controls the passports, registration of
boats, and various minor revenue departments.
Owing to the lack of natives with sufficient education and honesty to take charge
of the various departments, a foreigner must be appointed to control them. At
present the head is a European. Is anything to be gained by substituting an
Egyptian, Syrian or Iraqian ?
To the untrained eye of an Englishman, an Egyptian might look more indigenous
than an Englishman, but to a resident of the Gulf he w T ould still be a foreigner. |
The Customs is not a political department, and in Persia it can be staffed by
foreigners without upsetting the political balance; but in a small nation like Bahrain
the personality of the man who collects 90 per cent, of the revenues must count for
something. As in the case of the Adviser, why jettison a European, who can be
trusted, in order to replace him by some foreign Oriental about whose integritj and
■whose intrigues one can never be sure ?
6 . Captain Prior, the present 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, summed up the Mtuation
very well in one of his reports to me, when he stated that Mr. de Gremei collects t ie
revenues of the State and Mr. Belgrave conserves them. > If the efficient collector and
conserve!* are removed, what is to happen to a State which lias become accustomei o
a far higher rate of public expenditure than ever before in its histor\ . o on v
have the claims of the idle and ever increasing A1 Khalifa been generous y me , ju
for the first time Bahrain has been administered for the good of its peep e, am no
merely for the benefit of its ruling family. With a decline in ie\enue, c iscon en is
sure to return. If the European Adviser were removed his place would be taken b)
an Arab from Bahrain—almost certainly one of the Al Khalifa. 1 1 ie T ,..P
of Shaikh Abdulla there is at the moment not a single member of the Al Aiiaina nt
either by character or education to fill the post. Bahrain in the piesen i ay s
such a principality as those of the Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. , slumbering in t le C01K , i .
seventh century. Thanks to its geographical situation as the gateway 0 ^ , i
the pearl trade of which it is the centre, it has always been a tiaung cen u , c
attracted to itself a number of foreigners, who are in contact wi i e • t | on *
Thanks to the interest taken by the Government of India in 1 , i -t^ens
once a by-word, is now the admiration of the Gull. Ihe 1 ^ re ^ ; desire to
of Dubai, for instance, envy r Bahrain, though the ruling ^ iai ^ V < c
copv it. . • , • j,
7. It has repeatedly been said that Bahiaiii has been westernised^
It is necessary to examine this statement, lor although t icie 1S . tl 1 ^ ve | )een
in it, I think it conveys a wrong impression that all native m^ i _ re p lte d to—
ruthlessly sw r ept away. The reforms instituted in oi short y to
(a) Municipalities.
(b) Reorganisation of the Customs Department.
(c) Institution of a proper police force.