Page 346 - Records of Bahrain (7) (i)_Neat

332 Records of Bahrain

2.

Tho Advlaor also duals, in conjunction with the Ruler, with

ull mattoro of foreign affaira, which puns through thio
Agency. All other matters not included in the subjects

already mentioned urc dealt with by tho Adviserute. At the
side of thio organization - Ruler - Advisor - dopartmento -
there is the Adminjcbrutlon Council created in March 1956,
which is intended to advise the Ruler on any matter ho may

remit .to it and so lighten the load of work at present falling
on the Advioerato. It was created because of the criticism
that had been voiced of tho deluys caused by so many matters
having to be handled by the Advioerato. It consists ut
present of three ohaikhs and three officials under the
chairmanship of one of the Ruler's uncles, Shaikh Abdulla bin
Isa. The Council has worked v/ell during it3 ten months or

so of existence and ha6 dealt with many matters which would
otherwise have had to bo handled by the Advisorate.
4. There are tv/o main problems facing the Bahrain Government.
The one io to devise some machinery to rcpluco the Advisorate
when the Adviser retires later this year, It has been felt,
both by ourselves und, I think, by the Ruler and certainly

by Arab opinion hero, that bir Charles Bolgrave could not and
should not be replaced as Advisor. The other, closely
connected v/ith the first, is to improve the government machine
which is no longer suited for the complications of modern
life even in Bahrain and equip it to cope better than has been
tho case in the past v/ith the fast developing politioal

consciousness of the Bahrainis.
5. On the first of these problems the decision has already
been taken to appoint Mr. G.v'.R. Smith, at present Director
of Customs and Ports, to be Secretary to tho Government
when Sir Charles Bolgrave goes. The Secretary to the
Government would of necessity have in fact to deal with a
great/