Page 152 - Records of Bahrain (5) (i)_Neat

140 Records of Bahrain

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betvroon the Ruler and hia oubjoote has booorao more diffloult -
i an unfortunate phenomenon whloh la not confined to Bahrain*
(in India for inotanoo tho Diotrict Officer owing to an inoreaso
of paper work findo it difficult to maintain tho oamo poroonal
touch with the people of hia diatrlot ao did hia predooeooora

of old.)

7. Tho obviouo remedy appears to me an Advlaory Council
to be oot up by the 3haikh, and, oubject to wliat you have to
' ooy on the subject, I propose giving this advice to Shaikh
Hamad and the Bahrain Government. (Whether I gave thia advioe

from rayaelf or from His Majesty*a Government I shall have to
decide later*) I gave exactly tho same advioe to two other
Simlkhe - Kuwait and Debai. They did not take it and the

conooquence ie that both of them have now been forcibly saddlod
with Executive councils. In other words, instead of the
Shaikh sitting on the council, the Council sits on the Shaikh 1
Exactly the same thing will happen in Bahrain in ray opinion
i
sooner or later unloss my suggestion is put into force. The
popular movement, though not very strong at the moment, will
! no doubt grow in po?/er and bo Joined by other elements who
have hitherto held aloof, i.e. the Baharanoh, divers, coolies,
foreigners, etc.

8. It would of course have been better if the Bahrain

Government had exercised reasonable foresight and instituted
some such council before the present agitation, but it is now
i
s oase of better late than never* Tho advantage of such a
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Council in clearing tho air, mooting tho legitimate grievances
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Of the popular party, and giving the latter aome of the hard
sxperlenoe and responsibility of self-government, seems to
me /