"دليل الخليج. مجلد I. القسم التاريخي. الأجزاء Iأ و Iب. ج.ج. لوريمر ١٩١٥" [‎٤‎٩‎١] (١٧٨٢/٦٣٤)

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• by all means in his power j and ; finally, that good policy obliged
the British Government to insist on continued execution of the award,
inasmuch as failure to do so would bring all their arbitral decisions between
^1%. native powers in that part of the world into contempt and would
greatly weaken the 'Oman Sultanate, which in the interests of Britain
ought rather to be strengthened. The Government of India also com-
'Mttf bated a suggestion that, if it were found necessary to continue the subsidy,
itbgiaij; the burden of payment should be transferred from the Sultan of Zanzibar
BOW: to themselves : such a charge, they contended, could not fairly be cast
k act;;, upon the Indian revenues, because it would procure for India no new
lid be i advantages in ; Oman or elsewhere, and would be in effect a financial
i W f measure for the suppression of the African slave trade,—a matter in which
ts (iep| ; India was not concerned. The question was not finally settled in the
I'tt-Sii;: lifetime of 'Azzan ; but in 1870 hopes were held out to Saiyid Majid by
Her Majesty^ Government that the arrangements existing under the
arbitration of 186 L would soon be declared at an end.
In connection with the Zanzibar subsidy question we may mention that
in December 1869 there were rumours of a descent contemplated by
; Azzan upon Zanzibar; and that, upon another occasion during the reign
of 'Azzan, the British authorities found it necessary to warn Majid
against harbouring designs on Masqat.
Character and administration of 'Azzan.
Azzan may perhaps be justly regarded as the most meritorious and the
most unfortunate among recent sovereigns of ""Oman. Such leadership
and manly resolution as his had not been witnessed at Masqat since the
days of Sultan-bin*Ahmad; nor had he been approached by either of his
immediate predecessors in energy or in determination to rule. He had
many disadvantages to contend against, not the least being the character
of the associates by whom he was carried into power and the dissensions
that prevailed among them; but, as his authority became consolidated, the
influence of religious fanaticism in his councils declined, and he always
showed much skill in maintaining an outward agreement between his rival
advisers, the Khalili and Salih-bin-^Ali, Harithi. The rule of Azzan
Was strong; but its centralising tendency was distasteful to his subjects,
and it could only be maintained by great severity. Ihe forts of Masqat
in his time swarmed with political prisoners and the town with hostages;
and the Ghafiri faction as a whole disliked and were distrusted by
him. In general his government was abhorred from the first by the
townsmenj who were completely in his power; while the tribesmen
became alienated from it gradually, as they discovered its absolutist ten-
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