'File 8/67 MUSCAT STATE AFFAIRS: MUSCAT – OMAN TREATY.' [‎51v] (107/316)

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,i hnd rcfus^ peace owm^ ^ ignorance and reli»j^u»
lioneyei words, ^ey . ^ ^ ow i n g to the lukewarmness of the chief
prejudice it is tru,p>s i sa , but actually because the Omanis thou.ht
tha we were n t backing the Su'tan with any degree of enthusiasm and that
therefore they could go as far asthey liked wrth rmpumty. H
The Omanis were therefore to be shown that our support of the Saltan
was areaUty, and not only that but that the Sultan was capable o retaliatin,
very^ffeclively on the Omanis by taring their produce heavily when it came
down to the coast for export.
Reliable information from the interior showed that owin ? to the Ion®
8 t 0 T 3 T)aee of the import of arms and amm mition the Omanis had largely lost
their offensive pow^r. and were by no means enthusiastic for the Imam whose
puritanical fanaticism was making ii'e intolerable, and the exactions of whose
The mommt was therefoi*e opportune for changing from a weak defensive
to a vigorous offensive. It was ponrei out that if certain steps were taken
which involved no use of force by us, it was extremely probable that the Oroanis
would see reason. Even if they*did not do so for some time it would not matter
as affairs would eventually automatically at just themselves with the inoreasa
of the Sultan's power following on the reform of his administration.
The following events therefore took place on the refusal of the Imam to
ratify
(1) The negotiations were broken off by me in the most insulting
fashion.
(2) A British advis 3 r to the Sultan appeared.
(3) The Sultan accompanied by me went on an official visit to His
Excellency the Viceroy in India leaving the British adviser in
change of the State.
( 4 ) A British warship, in pursuance of our enagements to support the
authority of the Sultan on the coast, proceeded to Masaiab anl
Sur where the authority of the Sultan had been defied andinfiictd
punishment at the former place with good results.
The position of the Imam was at the same moment greatly weakened
the sudden death of Sheikh Ha uiyar bin Nasir-al Nabhani, the most powerful
chieftain and his staunchest supporter, whose successor was an inexperienced
boy of 11 .
These events created consternation in Oman only to be increased on m?
return from India by the publication of notices by the Sultan’s Government
imposing a penal zakat of 23 per cent on all dates and 50 per cent on poIneg^ , a■
nates brought by the Omanis to the coast towns, instead of the customary 3
per cent. jgss
Tbie pro Tarnations announcing the imp osition of this penal tax were ^-
care.u ly wo ded, making it perfectly clear even to the Omanis that the taxw 5
imp sed as a punishment owing to their refusal to give up the looted property
and to come to terms.
. . Coincident with the publication of these notices (in May) a very significant .
incident occurred, ^asir bin liashid-al-Kharusi who had been suffering coo*
siderablo trouble from Ahmed bin Ibrahim, the ruler of Hazm just within the
^ Sahan s HTritory, laid siege to Hazm. A small expedition was organised yj
the Sultan s Government and Nasir bin Rashid was compelled to retreat .
every appearance of ignominy, most of his men deserting him, and might
nave lost hustaq. Such an incident would haye been unthinkable six montW
previously.
Irom this moment events moved rapidly—it may almost be said accords
o p an. Sheikh after Sheikh approached the Imam pointing out that 1 ^
weie powerless to resist the penal tax which seemed to be imposed sunpv