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to 3eli at such loss as if they 3old they would
become liable for payment of the final instalment
of the original cost price, The purchase of
pearls on long time instalments is one of the
causes of the present depression but it is inevit
able as few people are in possession of ready
money.
6. The record peal which was purchased
in Bahrain for £15,000. some five years ago has
finally become the property of Princess Milvani
Lk. Hutton, "the 7?oolwcrth heiress", who bought
it last year in Paris to form the centre of a
necklace on the occasion of her wedding, It
was sold in Paris for considerably less than
the price paid for it in Bahrain.
The Diving Systems.
7. During 1352 there was a further increase
of 59 in the number of boats diving on the Khammas
system and a corresponding decrease in the Selifieh
system. This change is significant. It is an
unmistakable sign that merchants have no longer
the capital to finance the boats. Briefly the
difference between the t?/o systems is as follows.-
Selafieh
i System. (i) The nakhuda borrows money from a merchant
i
with which he pays the annual advances and finances
the boat. The nakhuda receives l/5th of the profits
and the remainder is divided among the divers and
pullers. The merchant charges interest on his
loan to the nakhuda end the nakhuda charges interest
on the advances to the divers.
(ii) Khammas System. The nakhuda provides
the capital himself and takes the share of five