"دليل الخليج. مجلد I. القسم التاريخي. الأجزاء Iأ و Iب. ج.ج. لوريمر ١٩١٥" [‎٤‎٢‎٨] (١٧٨٢/٥٧١)

Captain Mal
colm's
Mission, and
Second
Agreement
with Britain,
1800.
supplies with a squadron of His Majesty's ships; that he had himself
facilitated the transmission of presents from Tipu Sultan to the Shah of
Persia; that he had suffered the French to bring a ship belonging to
Mr. Manesty, the British Resident at Basrah, which they had taken,
into Masqat harbour; that he had allowed a ship to carry to Mauritius
a quantity of grain and sulphur taken in the "Pearl/' a native
vessel under British colours which had been captured by the French,
the rest of the cargo being openly sold in the Masqat bazaar J
and that he had received, on the 10th of November 1799, a French
agent specially deputed to him from Mauritius. The doubt which these
reports excited was intensified when a British man-of-war intercepted at
sea a letter from Bonaparte to the ruler of 'Oman, containing an
enclosure for Tipu Sultan of Mysore. This interesting document was
dated Cairo, the ^th of January 1799 ; it informed Saiyid Sultan of
the French occupation of Egypt, credited him with friendly sentiments
towards France, promised protection to merchant vessels which he
might send to Suez, and requested him to transmit the enclosure to Tipu
Sahib. The enclosure held out to Tipu Sahib hopes of aid by Bonaparte
m throwing off the British yoke. Whether Saiyid Sultan, subsequently
to his treaty with the British, had done anything to invite such a
communication it is at this distance of time impossible to determine;
but the Indian Government of the day must have had substantial grounds
for dissatisfaction with his conduct, for they were led to consider the
propriety of withdrawing certain indulgences that had been extended
to him at Indian ports, possibly those relating to wood, water and salt
for which he had petitioned in 1798.
At the end of 1799 Captain John Malcolm, who was then despatched
by the Government of India on his first political mission to the Persian
Court, was instructed "to adjust, while at Maskat, any points relating to
our interests at that place " which might be recommended to his atten
tion by the Government of Bombay; but he was not to allow negotia-
10ns with Saiyid Sultan to delay him on his way to Persia. With him
sailed in the Company's ship "Intrepid" Assistant-Surgeon A. H.
Bogle, who had been selected, in case matters should be satisfactorily
arranged, as physician to the Saiyid and British Political Agent at
Masqat; for the Saiyid had asked that an English physician might
a 6 ™^ 0 f end h i m ; ^ Bogle ^ sala ^ was fixed at Rs - 500
Cantair i allowance, which also he was to draw.
crnL 1 a C ^ m> learnill gr at Masqat that the Saiyid had gone on a
on he f T ^ 011 hi8 ^ ^ the Gu^, where,
on the 17th of January 1800, he had the good fortune to find Saiyid