Page 118 - PERSIAN 8 1912_1920

108 PERSIAN GULP ADMINISTRATION REPORT
founder and movin g spirit of tho mission, obtained an appointment in Cairo
left the mission in March. He will be a loss to tho Mission. J
Tho following is a list of tho Bubi
BabjocU of other ChrUtian Power*.
of other Christian Powers now in
rain:—
German.—One man who represents the firm of Messrs. Tfot,
Wonckhaus & Co. Gr*
American.—Three men, three women and two children belonging,
the American Mission established in Bahrain. 10
Note.—In addition to the above, them is a Canadian British subject
(female) employed by the Mission.
French.—One or two Frenchmen visit Bahrain annually during
Pearling season, and stay here from four to five months to bQY
pearls. *
At present there are no Tegular prot4g4s of the above Powers h
Bahrain.
The Pearling Season in Bahrain having bean a good one and the pl^
consequently prosperous, the number of
J' luaI claims and suits filed in the Agency
was low. The number of cases between Nakhodas and divers was small, as the
Nakhodas could afford to be comparatively liberal to their men.
The remarks made by Captain Lorimer in last yearns report regarding the
inefficiency of the arrangements for dealing with cases apply with equal force
this year. The Amir of Manama continues to be as incompetent and inefficient
Z3 ever, and the Shaikh will not remove him or even appoint a more efficient
man cs a deputy or assistant.
The whole judicial arrangements are highly unsatisfactory, and the Politi­
cal Agent in his judicial capacity is always in the position of having to make
bricks without straw. The difficulty of summoning parties, witnesses, etc., is
very great, and it is often very irksome to find oneself responsible for adminis­
tering justice in such a haphazard way as it ka3 to he administered hero, owing
to the fact that the Agency lias no executive staff of its own and has to work
through the local authorities. However, foreigners are only too anxious to
make use of the Agency, and, such as it is, the Court is no doubt most efficient
in the Islands, which is some consolation.
During the year Muhammad bin Fadhal was appointed Salifah Judge
and he ha3 decided cases between Nakhodas and divers promptly and well. Tin*
fortunately he was dissatisfied (naturally) at not getting any pay, and may
resign at any time. The Political Agent mentioned the matter several times
to Shaikh Isa, and at the end of the year a trifling salary was granted to the
Salifah Judge; whether he will be satisfied with it or not remains to he
peei\.
The Chief Hazi, Jasim bin Mahza, dealt with most of the cases referred
to him in a satisfactory manner.
Aa mentioned above a Special Majlis has* been arranged to deal with claim*
against the Landing Contractor.
The Majlis-ul-TJrfi cannot dispose of cases quickly as it only meets oaoe
a week; some of the administration cases mentioned in the last Report ba*£
been settled, hut such cases are bound to drag on for a very long time und®*
existing conditions.
A table of the cases dealt with by the Agency during the year is appeal
to this report.
The following is a summary of the weather report for 1912 kindly furnish®^
by Dr. H. R. L. Worrall of the American
Climate.
Mission, who is in charge of the Meteor0*
logical instruments:—
«The total rainfall for file year 1912 amounted to 4 61 inches wW**
total was distributed over 21 days. There was an interval* b®
ween 18th April to 16th December, in which there w*3 11

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