Page 699 - PERSIAN 5 1905_1911

CHAPTER X.

ADMINISTRATION REPORT FOR THE BAHRAIN POLITICAL
AGENCY FOR THE YEAR 1911.

Charge of the Agency was held by Major S. G. Knox, C.I.E., I.A., up to
~c.P2 tS ZrJiXtt""*

From April to November attempt was made to carry on the office with
only one English clerk, but this experiment failed. For some time gratuit­
ous assistance was given in the Vernacular Office by Agha Ali of Lingah.
Throughout the year the deficiency of the staff in both the English and Verna­
cular Offices was constantly felt. Considerable difficulty has also been
experienced in obtaining a regular supply of local and mainland news. The
fiteff have little time and few facilities for this work. Khan Sahib Haji
L.bbr.s i3 now too old to be of much use; Yusuf Kanco used to be the chief
supplier of information, but it was found necessary to restrict the scope of
his services. This ho resented, and it has not been possible to reject his
offices in general and retain them in one particular. His loyalty to the
Agency has recently been more than dubious, and his animosity to certain
members of it marked. In consideration of his past services to Government
through a long series of years, he was granted, as a Coronation honour, thfc
Kaisar-i-Rind medal of the 2nd class.
The building of house accommodation for the clerical 6taff, and major
repairs and alterations in the Agency, are matters which will have to be
seriously considered in the near future.
The sepoy guard was twice relieved during the year, once in April and
again in December. The present guard is composed of Hindu Rajputs, a
fact which is likely to prove a source of much inconvenience.
There wa3 no change in the general character of the work which the
Agency was called upon to perform. No new foreign interests made their
appearance, nor did any existing ones disappear.
The communities whose welfare is in the charge of the Agency are:—
British,
British Indian,
German,
‘American,
Persian,
Turkish (Jews and Christians),
Non-Bahrain Arab.
The work of the Hospital has gone on much as before and the institution
has maintained its general popularity
The Victoria Memorial HovpitaL
with the public and the Ruling Family-
Owing to want of staff it is impossible in general to accommodate in-patients,
and in consequence it is chiefly dispensary work that is done. For Several
months there has been no compounder, and the Government allowance of
Rs. 35 with Rs. 5 added from the Hospital Funds has failed to attract any
one. The same difficulty is acute in all branches of the Agency staff.
In the past year the Assistant Surgeon’s time has been much occupied
■
with the quarantine work involved by the presence of plague and the®