Page 348 - Records of Bahrain (7) (i)_Neat

334 Records of Bahrain

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tho Hulor and \vi.13 recommend. the change I have described, it.
has not yet entered into force.
6. On the second problem, that or improving and modernisine
the Bahrain Government machine so as to render it more
acceptable to the more advanced thought now appearing among

educated Bahrainis, the replacement of the Adviser by the
Secretary to the Government and an Assistant should remove
one cause of complaint, that there were inordinate delays in
the handling of affairs in the Adviserute because everything
had to pass through the Adviser's hands. This frequently has

been the case to my own knowledge, in connexion with matters
referred to the Adviser by this Agency, A more important side
of this second problem is that of enabling the population of
Bahrain to have more say in the administration of the islands.
The political agitation of the past two and a half years,
culminating in the disturbances in November 1956 and the
proscribing of the Committee of Nutional Union had as one of

its declared objects the securing for the people of Bahrain
of some say in the Government. Though this agj tation has now
been stopped this stoppage can only be regarded as temporary
and in any case reasonable Bahraini opinion here has supported
this demand. There ha3, in fact, been u considerable measure

of consultation of the popular will in local administration
by the existence of municipal councils, whose membero are half
of them elected and the other half appointed by the Government
for Manama, Muharraq, Hedd and Rifa'a and by the existence of
similarly constituted committees for the Shia and Sunni waqfa
(two separate committees), minors1 estates, the pearling
industry, and trade generally but of course no direct

consultation of the popular will by the Government as such.
The Committee of Nutional Union and its predecessor the High
Executive Committee have from time to time demanded an elected .
executive/