Page 145 - Records of Bahrain (4) (i)_Neat

Reaction to the reforms, 1923 133
i, ■ ■ ,■ 'I!* • ••• tm 'l • • • ,,>•
.influence may properly’ exercised'. .It .is 'presumed that; ttie6e
largo hord6 of camolsaro of no .particular use and are-merely
maintained’ hy:thc Shaikhs at groat oxponse to-themselves
und to others, with some shadowy sentimental notion of
maintaining the fiction that the A1 Khalifoh are Lprds of.' .
the Desert. Further than this I think it will be generally
acreed that they are an economic evil to Bahrain, destroying
the desert herbage and reducing the town supplies of fire­
wood. Finally, they are an abiding cause of quarrel leading,
as in the present caso, to actual bloodshed between Sunni
landlords and Shiah tenants and exasperating the religious
dissensions that so unhappily prevail on the island.
To sum up, camels aro not only a luxury but a wasteful
and disastrous luxury, ar.d as such should, in my opinion,
and I hope in the opinions of Shaikhs Hamad and Abdulla, be
taxed to extinction. Herein I believe lies the real remedy
for this rooted disease. I would therefore suggest that
that you and Shaikh Hamad go carefully into the matter and
bring out a bill, which, after publication and public
criticism which should bo invited, should finally be passed
into law, dealing on broad lines with the following
questions:-
(1) Absolute prohibition of further importation of
camels into the islands.
(2) Registration of the animals.
(3) Imposing taxation three, four or five times, 86 may
be deemed advisable, of the present scale.
(4) Establishment of pounds by which camels found stray­
ing lr. the vicinity ol' gradens and villages can
immedlately be confiscated to the state; ard as a
corollary to the above, arrangements for the
conveyance of speedy information to headquarters of
the impounding of such nrimals with a view to pre­
cautions being taken by official agency to guard
Shiah villarcr. whero such animal6 navdbeen impounded,
from retaliatory outrages.
(5) Heavily penalising the wounding, maininr or killing
of suen animals as an ol'fcr.ce against tno State,
(6) Earmarking all funds raised by such taxation for the
efficient carrying out of the measures detailed above.
Generally, it would be preferable to collect such
taxes