Page 218 - PERSIAN 9 1931_1940

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•titans. Their appearance invariably strikes visitors as excellent, The Nature
are stationed in Manainah and Muharraq.
(iii) 'Pile strength of these bodies is given below :—
Strength on Strength on
1-1-1933. 31-12-1933.
Indian Police 11 4
Local Police 118 138
Followers 8 8
Nature 120 110

257 260

(iv) The replacement of Indian Police by local men has now been success­
fully completed, the four Indians who now remain being Instnflors. Four Arab
Non-Commissioned Officers were sent for training with the iQth Balueh Regi­
ment at Karachi, and when they return they will be used as Instructors and will
replace the Indians now employed,
(v) The Bahrain Government have also asked for the services of a Non-
Commissioned Officer of the Indian Police to instruct the Armed Police in lathi
drill.
5. Local Affairs.—(i) There have been no agitations or Sunni Shi’ah
quarrels during the year and in spite of hard times ami unemployment there has
been an unusually small number of serious crimes, though there has been an
increase in petty thieving and pick-pocketing.
(it) The drink habit tends to spread and there has been an increase in the
number of liquor cases. The vigilance of the Police and the severity of the
punishments meted out to offenders has had a salutary effect and owners of
illicit stills take the most careful precautions to conceal their apparatus and
wares.
(iii) On the eve of the 1st January 1933 a girl aged 16 years was murdered
(though custom would condone the act) by her uncles in circumstances of excep­
tional brutality for unchastity. The men then lied to Qatar where they are still
at large.
(iv) On the 10th January a Najdi stabbed a Bahrain subject over a few
annas. The case was tried by the Political Agent, who sentenced the Najdi to
death. The sentence was confirmed by the Governor-General in Council and
the man was executed in Bahrain on the morning of the 10th April.
6. Oil Concession.—(i) The Bahrain Petroleum Company, Limited, have
sunk five wells into the oil bearing stratum and are contemplating shipping oil
at the rale of seven hundred tons a day from the middle of 1934.
(ii) The Company have introduced a number of British subjects among
their personnel and the figures stand *
British Americans. Bahrainis, Others,
subjects.
Class I—
Superior Staff ,. 8 19
Class II—
Clerical .. 4 1
Camp f • 1 T • 2
Artisans 12 • * » • 10
Class III—
Servants 3 5 4
Semi-skilled labour t • 3 42 57
Unskilled 1 104 39
7. Artesian Wells.—With a view to controlling the water supply the Bahrain
Government issued a notice in March forbidding the boring of new wells without
sanction and ordering that no more wells should be borqd in the towns oi