IOR/R/15/2/7

The volume contains correspondence relating to the introduction of the Order in Council in Bahrain on 3 February 1919. A printed copy of the Order in Council is included at the front of the volume (folios 2-9), and marked with red, blue and black pencil annotations, marking incorrect or important aspects of the text. The main correspondents in the volume are the Political Agent, Captain Norman Bray, and the ruler of Bahrain, Shaikh ‘Īsá bin ‘Alī Āl Khalīfah. Numerous letters were exchanged between the two men directly before and after the introduction of the Order in Council. Bray’s correspondence prior to this introduction seeks to smooth the way and seek Shaikh ‘Īsá’s full acceptance of the Order in Council. Correspondence after the introduction of the Order in Council is largely comprised of negotiations over the Shaikh’s relinquishment of khidmah (a ten per cent judicial fee payable to the Sheikh of Bahrain's treasury), and expressions of thanks and mutual appreciation between the two men. Bray's letter to the Deputy Political Resident at Bushire and the Civil Commissioner in Baghdad, dated 14 February 1919, includes diaristic reports on the negotiations and meetings that took place between himself at Shaikh ‘Īsá during the introduction of the Order in Council (folios 28-47). A English text of the notification of the Order in Council, issued by the Political Agency, is included on folio 18.

Folios 102 and 103 are loose pages containing office notes. The correspondence described in these two pages, which refer to the administration of the Majlis [al-Urfi], are annotated as dating from 17 March 1941 to 8 April 1942. It is likely, therefore, that these two pages were misplaced at a later date into the current volume.