Page 162 - 1 Persian Trade rep Bahrain 1_Neat

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It win be Been from the above tables that there was which lacks that vigour, cncrcv and •
on that0 o'? u° t0Ul ***** °f BQh-aill ?hiCh ar° Csscntiftl 10 com“Sia1 success" n -
ousnea*
n roo? °Tf 1900-1910, itself a prosperous year, of I defects arc due firstly to the naturally
EraSt 5=#“I

Bahrain is for practical purposes a place of ono acquainted with the race, or with its histo*.
■taplc-pearls; and this one item again is not homo- re6ar^8 the latter, pearling provides aci^Tl
gei'Ous but consists of two classes, pearls which arc the employment for only about five months in ijle
pruductof Bahrain, and those which are imported from 7car* During the remainder of the year the
abroad for sale locally or, for re-export to India, i ^re^’8 any ratc arc fra to follow their own
The profits on the former class pass entirely into devices. These tend towards more or less unmit*.
Bahrain hands, while thoso on the latter benefit in the £atcd idleness,
first place the foreign producers. It is true that in Manama, the seaport of the Island
Of recent years there has been an increasing tend­ there is a consideralc population of more industriou*
ency on the part of the pearl merchants of Qatar and and thrifty habits. This consists entirely of foreigners
Qatif to take their goods direct to the Bombay market, chiefly Persians from Southern Persia, and Indiana,
and not as formerly to dispose of them in, or export i principally from the Bombay Presidency. Beside*
them through Bahrain. This in part accounts for | providing some successful and wealthy merchant*
the drop in the total imports, as in the import of j these two communities supply a large proportion of
general merchandise there has been an increase. j the local shopkeepers and practically all the crafts-
man, builders, carpenters and blacksmiths, tailors,
The bulk of the decrease is however due to the ;
reduced import of specie. etc. Builders and carpenters are Persians and are
migratory.
In exports on the other hand there was a large fall
in the value of general merchandise, which however There are also Jews who shine chiefly as petty
was more than balanced by a large increase in the dealers. These classes give the place such commercial
value of pearls and a slight one in the value of specie. : stability as it has, but they do not provide the
steady supply of cheap labour necessary for indus­
The main facts therefore which we are left with are trial undertakings.
a large decrease in imports of specie and, to a less
A portion of it3 prosperity Bahrain has owed to it*
extent, of pearls, and a considerable fall in the export seringas a central port and distributing centre for the
of general merchandise, with a rise in that of pearls.
neighbouring mainland and to some degree, though
It has been said that Bahrain is a place of one staple indirectly for the inland province of Xejd. At all
pearls, and the significance of this fact cannot be times the profits it derives from this source are liable
exaggerated. Were the pearl industry to fail there to fluctuation according to the vagaries of tribal
would be no means of subsistence for the permanent politics and the consequent security or insecurity of
population, while the floating population which this the trade routes in the mainland. In latter times its
industry attracts would immediately disappear. supremacy has also no doubt been in no small degree
There is no agriculture, setting aside a small cultiva­ due to its being the only port visited by the steam­
tion of inferior dates, there are no natural products ship lines working between Bombay and the Gulf,
of value, and there are no circumstances favouring which in turn has been the result of the importance of
the introduction of industries. the pearl trade and the amount of population
The island is destitute of good water, or of any attracted to Bahrain by it*
eufficient supply for extensive irrigation, and the rain­ It has already been noted that symptoms are show­
fall is deficient .There is no hope on this side. Again ing themselves of an inclination on the part of the
such industries as there are, are insignificant and Qatar and Qatif pearls merchants to ignore Bahrain
ansemic, and, for reasons which we shall consider, un­ and put themselves in direct communication with the
likely to expand to any importance. Bombay dealers. With the present spirit of the GuJ
In these circumstances, and in view of the fact Arabs, this is a tendency which is likely to grow
that any extension of the pearling is likely only to rather than decline.
kill the goose that lays the golden eggs, no very It is undoubtedly stimulated by the imposi*
brilliant commercial future seems to lie before Bah­ tion of a Customs fee of 2\% ad valorem on goods
rain. imported into Bahrain for re-export. The difficulties
These are some of the physical obstacles which stand encountered in the handling of cargo in Bahrain,
between Bahrain and any considerable growth of partly due to the nature of the harbour; partly to the
prosperity. There are also moral reasons which mili­ character of the people referred to above, which aret e
tate no less strongly against its prospects of material cause of expense, delay, and trouble, undoubtedly
progress. These lie in the character of the people also operate against the popularity of Bahrain. It *