Page 199 - Records of Bahrain (4) (i)_Neat

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should bo no difficulty in engaging a suitablo man on the terms offored and,
as, in my opinion, it is necessary to obtain a now Director before Mr. Bower
goes or at all ’events as soon after his departure as possible to avoid an
mtorrognum, I propose to begin making inquiries at onco.
(2) Small force of Levies.—There can be no doubt that a small Levy
Force is an essential to tho proper government of Bahrain. Probably 200
or 250 men would bo a suitable number, but having regard to the revenues
of Bahrain tho Political Agent thinks, and I concur, that 100 will suffice
in tho first instauco. Local Arab material is quite unsuitable, and it would
not be expedient to employ Persians as being obicctionablo to tho Arabs.
I consider therefore that it would be best to employ Baluchis, numbers of
whom are employed round the Gulf in various capacities and to whom the
Arabs arc.quite accustomed. In a recent report Mr. Wingate stated that
ho proposed to reduce the Muscat Levies by 100 men; perhaps therefore a
sufficient number of Arabic speaking trained Baluchis to form a nucleus
for the new force could be obtained from Muscat.
Had such a force existed the recent Ncjd-Persian riots could have
been nipped in the bud, if they had taken place, which seems unlikely if
there had been a force in being to preserve order; further the Dowasir could
have been prevented from leaving Bahrain, and tribal headmen would not
have dared to defy Shaikh Hamad. In short the Ruling Shaikh would
never have been so impotent and afraid of the Sunni tribes had he had a
small force at his command. Shaikh Hamad is naturally most anxious
to have such a force.
But it is essential that the force should be well disciplined and loyal;
a badly organized rabble would be a positive danger as it would even
in suen a state be stronger than anything which could bo mobilized
against it, and therefore might be used by its own officers or mal-
i contonts to overthrow tho Bahrain Government. To ensure discipline
* it would, in my opinion, be necessary to engage a British officer, or ex­
officer, to raiso it and command it. With such a small force to ask for a
British Officer seems to resemble using a steam hammer to crack an egg,
and besides to incur unnecessary expenditure. But I see no help for it.
No local men appear to have any aptitude or inclination for military work,
i apart from knowledge or energy; an Indian officer would probably be capable
lot raising and training such a small force; but such an appointment would
I be intensely unpopular and would be resented by all classes. In the cir­
cumstances I think a British officer must bo employed; tho services of one
could doubtless be obtained for under Rs. 1,000 per mensem inclusive. It
is proposed that tho pay of the new Customs Director should start on
Rs 1,000, so the cost of these two officers would not at first exceed that of
Mr. Bower whose emoluments arc Rs. 2,000 per mensem, an expenditure
which the Bahrain state finds no difficulty in making. As soon as the
receipts and expenditure of the state can be more or less accurately
estimated, I will submit proposals for the establishment of a small Levy
Corps.
(3) Revenue Survey and Land Registration.—It is very necessary that
the ownership of land in Bahrain should be registered and a proper record
of rights made out. I am afraid that it is impossible to find any local
official with sufficient knowledge and integrity to do this work. I would
suggest therefore the deputation of a young officer from India acquainted
with survey and settlement work; if he had a working knowledge of Arabic
this would be of great assistance to him and would enable him to deal with
tho work much moro accurately and expeditiously. If tho Government of
India approve of this proposal in principle I will submit a scheme with as
much detail as I can givo, but I fear I have not sufficient knowledge of tho
subject to givo any detailed cstimato of tho cost. A great deal of the land
hold by tho A1 Khalifa family and well-to-do Sunnis has undoubtedly been
filched from thb original Bahraini holdors. It will not bo possible howover to
rectify the oppression of years, and I would suggest that when a landowner
can furnish proof of possession for a dofinito period, say ton years, his right
to the land should be considered valid. °