Page 299 - 1 Persian Trade rep Bahrain 1_Neat

REPORT

OX THE

TRADE OF THE BAHRAIN ISLANDS

for tlieyear ending the 31st March 1915.
lotroduction.—A general description of the to cea.se buying owing to straiued relations
-»v«ica|, political and commercial peculiarities betu-.ea the lirtat Powers.
if'tL? Inlands is giveu in the report for the I’h-* outbreak of war wa* followed by an
7far 1H1M2 (Annual Series No. 5052). Since immediate return Haw of spei*-e to India.
V it rear the regular population has mortised £2i3,5IS was booked by British India steamer*
to aUut 110,000. alone, but taking into consideration the large I
The local Customs Department does not keep uumler of notes of high deuoininatious which -
ixaritc statistics, consequently these have t..* be were sent bv post acd the considerable sums in I
,^ttied from steamers’ manifests, access to gold carried by Hindus returning to India it may
i’tich bas been readily given by the courtesy be taken that over 1300,000 left the Islands.
.f tbe Customs Director. They are, therefore, in- The export of pearls dropped from 11,451,293 to
etuplcte specially as regards exports to the maic- £79,$07 and it is doubtful if all these foand
hul, which are sill carried iu native boats without purchaser* in Bombay.
ciai{est6. A large quantity of merchandise is
do imported by native craft^ of which noneexcept The dislocation of the steamship service, owing
:L'-e coming from India and owned by Indians to so mauy British India ships being taken off
the mu, the closing of the Shat-el-.Arab, distur­
carry manifests. bances in Nejd and the closing of the main
Toe statistics regarding movements of pearls and sources of sugar supply, all had serious effects
fp.-Je are very incomplete, as numbers of local on Bahrain trade.
j-.v:l merchants who travel to and from Bombay
v-C tie foreign pearl merchants carry large quan- Exports fell from £1,740,003 to £161,624 and
t:t>* of pearh and specie in their luggage or imports from £1,87 7,630 to £758,413, a total lots
v- their persons. There is no bank in Bahrain and of £2,397,590 or 66*5 per cent.
raaj laths of rupees are brought in every year by There was something approaching a panic at the
r^st?red post in tbe form of Indian currency beginning of the war ; but matters were soon
^ of rupees 1,00'J or 500. It is, of course, im- adjusted- Great good sense was shown by the
j'-rihleto obtain statistics of all these sums. merchants and a sort of informal moratorium
established.
_ Effects cl War.—Tbe effects of tbe upheaval in
began to be felt in Bahrain even before As was natural, the depression affected most
:z* »rameocement of hostilities. The pearl deal- severely the improvident lower orders who depend
•*i. somewhat dazzled by the high prices ruling in on the pearl trade. No Ijoat*’ accounts were
trU, in which year tbe catch had netted over adjusted at the end of the Bshing, and the small
'}c[ trillion sterling, had been inclined to bold up advances on account were not sufficient to carry
stocks for higher prices in 1518. The scale the divers and their families on till the next
<c living bar! also risen, and the commencement of spring advance* without considerable hardship.
he jKarl season of 1914 found them with large Fortunately the number of indigent diver*
V i i kQt heavily indebted. The European pearl greatly decreased by the absence of some
*-aUrrx, who arrived in Bahrain just before the thousands of men from the neighbourhood of Basra
faaiaan break *n feeing, ^ere n°f *nclined and from Katif and Hassa.
pay high price*, and little business had been Those who did come from those ports aad
•ce nhen telegrams were received ordering them likewise the divers from the Persian coast wen