Page 341 - Records of Bahrain (5) (ii)_Neat

Roads and commercial development 661

2

3. The best opinion obtainable Is to the effect that

the pearl trade is likely to improve, but never to reach again
its old great prosperity, so that it is not safe for the
Bahrain Government to count on .any great revenue from pearls
in the future.
4. The first step that is necessary in order to safe-,
guard the future is to build up a solid reserve, which will •
then automatically increase as the years go by. The process
has already been begun, «.nd the total amount to be accumulated
as a reserve v.iii bo considered separately.
0. There arc <iso certain important measures for the
betterment of the people, such as the anti-malaria campaign,
sanitation and water supply in Mariamali and Muharrcq, education;
irrigation and so on, for which money will no doubt be
allotted in the ordinary course of administration.

6. But all these activities (and, indeed, the contlnuanc
of the reserve) depend on the revenue from oil royalties, and
provision must be made for the days when it fails.
7. Whatever else may be an immediate source of wealth,
ultimately it is on the land that mankind depends for
existence.
8. The A1 Khali foil have a wise custom that land
belonging to members of the /.I Khalifah can only be alienated

to another member of the family, Some of them, beihg’Teckless
and extravagant, do their best to evade this rule and some
wish to sell for sound reasons. Recently, therefore, a
Committee consisting of Shaikh Muhammad bin ’Isa, Shaikh
’Abdullah bin ’Isa and ^haikh Salman bin Hamad was established
to consider cases in which members of the A1 Khalifah wish to
sell land to persons not of the A1 Khalifah Family. The
Committee report to the Ruler, who may or may not follow their
advice.