Page 399 - Bahrain Gov Annual Reports (I)_Neat
P. 399

53
                                 _o__
                                                                          397



          Accession of il.E.Shaikh Ifomrd.



          community and about 500 of the leadin'"* Arabs, njaAis,
          merchants and notables attended the Durbar,            At the

          close of the proceedings all Shaildi liam;«dTs subjects,
          including the chief men of the various jlrab tribes,

          did obeisance to him as Ruler by kissing his forehead

          according to the Arab custom,         for three days there
          were unprecedented and universal rejoicings; thousands
          of poor people were fed outside the Palace, tribal

          dances were performed, and the towns were decorated and
          illuminated.

                h. E. Shaikh iiamad succeeded to the estates of his

          father which consisted mainly of date gardens but os
          the late Shaikh had gifted away most of his valuable

          property towards the end of his lifetime the value of
          H. E. Shaikh iiamadTs inheritance was comparatively small.
                jx vast accumulation of official letters and corres­

          pondence which was found in li. E. Shaikh lsaTs boxes

          were brought to the Government office to be sorted and
          examined but as it includes about 4000 documents it has

          not yet been possible to deal with them.
                All Shaikh isaTs personal belongings, which are

          reputed of great value, were taken over by his widow
          wh*eh who is the daughter of Shaildi kohoramed bin

          fvhalifah who died in exile in the Hejaz.

                Towards the end of the year h. S. Shaikh Hamad's
          salute was increased from 7 to 11 guns.
   394   395   396   397   398   399   400   401   402   403   404