Page 30 - Historical Summaries (Persian Gulf - Vol II) 1907-1953

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Agent. When, however, Sir Roger Makins visited the Persian Gulf in 1952 he
recommended that the separate identity of the office of Political Agent, Bahrain,
should be preserved*17) and this policy at present holds the field. In 1952 the
building which housed both the Political Agent and his office collapsed and
temporary accommodation is now being used. It has been decided to build both a
residence and an office for the Political Agent on the old site.
8. In the instructions issued in 1953 to the new incumbent of the post of
Political Resident the objectives of Her Majesty’s Government in Bahrain are
defined as follows: —
(i) to maintain the existing relationship between Her Majesty’s Government
and the Ruler based on treaty and usage;
(ii) to permit the continued orderly development of the administration;
(iii) to retain the present facilities enjoyed by Her Majesty’s Forces;
(iv) to ensure stable conditions for the production of oil;
(v) to develop enterprises which will assist in sustaining the prosperity in the
event of a substantial decline in oil revenue;
(vi) to create friendly relations between the Ruler and his neighbours by the
equitable solution of disputes involving territorial claims and the
division of the seabed.*1')
II.—Internal Affairs
9. Hamad visited the United Kingdom in 1936 when he was the guest of
His Majesty’s Government for a fortnight, and was received by His Majesty. In
1938 he performed the pilgrimage to Mecca and visited Kashmir. In 1939 he spent
a part of the summer at Simla, where he was received by the Viceroy. Salman did
not leave Bahrain after his accession except for brief visits to Saudi Arabia and
Kuwait until 1953 when he was invited to the United Kingdom to attend Her
Majesty’s Coronation. After that event he sent his sons, Isa and Khalifah, to spend
a holiday in the United Kingdom. His uncle, Shaikh Muhammad, has travelled
extensively and has visited the United Kingdom and the United States of America.
Two of Muhammad’s sons, Khalifah and Salman, were educated for a time at the
American University, Beirut, and the former subsequently received police training
in India and the latter judicial training in Palestine. Another son, Hamad, spent a
year or more at the Stanford University in California. Khalifah is Director-
General of Public Security, and Salman sits in one of the local Courts, but he and
Hamad, who holds no appointment, are discontented with their allowances and on
bad terms with the Ruler. The best-educated of the Ruler’s brothers, Abdullah,
who accompanied Hamad to the United Kingdom in 1936 and stayed on for six
months at Oxford learning English, is also discontented and threatens from time
to time to leave Bahrain.
10. The question of allowances for the ruling family has been a bone of
contention between the Ruler and the political authorities, and a matter in which
Belgrave has been able to exercise little influence. As in other Gulf States the
Ruler is constantly being pestered on the subject by his relatives. In the early
’thirties when oil revenues began to accrue it was arranged that one-third of them
should be set aside for the Ruler’s privy purse, the allowances of other members of
his family being paid out of general revenues. In 1950 when the oil royalty was
increased to Rs. 10/- per ton the Ruler still retained his one-third share but agreed
to pay his family’s allowances out of it and these ceased to be debitable to the
general revenues. Although the oil revenues were further increased by the
fifty-fifty profit-sharing agreement of 1952 the same arrangement still holds good.
In the budget for the Muhammadan year 1372 ending in September 1953 the civii
list was estimated at about £500,000 out of a total revenue of about £2,350 000
The figure may rise to about £800,000 when full payments under the profit-sharing
agreement are received, but there is unlikely to be any further increase unless
fresh sources of oil are found. Sir Roger Makins recommended in 1952 that
every effort should be made to get away from the system by which some Rulers
receive a fixed percentage of the oil revenues,O') but in the case of Bahrain it has
been decided to make no approach to the Ruler on the subject in view of the
smallness of his revenues from this source compared with those of Kuwait and
Uatar.
(,T) Para. 13 (d) at p. 6. Sir R. Makins’ Report.
(") F.O. to P.R. Despatch 125 (EA 1053/8) of July 24. 1953.
(") Para. 2 (c) at p. 3. Sir R. Makins’ Report.
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