Page 224 - Records of Bahrain (5) (i)_Neat

212 Records of Bahrain

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tho balance of about £ 90,000 per annum for hie Privy Puroo.
Thla from one point of view io quite generous, The contract la

between tuo Shaikh and tho Oil Oompany, and as aooording to old
Idoao in Bahrain the Qhalkh la the State thero would have been
nothing to prevent him putting the whole of tho revenuea into
hi a own pocket. From another and more modern point of view
however, whioh is now oreeping into the Arab statoB, it oould

bo argued that the royaltioe belonged to tno state, out of which
tho lattor ohould allot a proportion to the Shaikh - and uot
the other way round, In addition to hia share of the oil
royalties the shaikh has a oivil List of about lakhs annual-

iy. So he and the family, with whan he shares his ravenues,
enjoy something like £ 115,000 per annum private income from
tho State J
From thio ivspeot therefore, and putting oneself in the
place of a disgruntled Bahraini, (in order to get a grasp of

popular movements it is essential every now and then to see the
question from the agitator* e point of view), the position-is
that in the small State of Bahrain, the total population of

whioh amounts to only about 120,000 a very large revenue is
administered without any cheok whatever by the Shaikh and his
Family, and by a foreigner (BolgraVo), and furtner that of this
revenue the Shaikh and his Family put a very large fraction into
their own pockets, In so far as Belgrave is oonoerned we know

of course that he is an extremely efficient and hard working
officer, honest it goes without saying, with the interests of
the State wholly at heart, and that Bahrain is oxtremely

fortunate to have his services. But such arguments would I fear
not out much loe with tha agitator, and in foot tn« tone of some
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