"جزء ٢. رقم ٧٣٣ لسنة ١٩٠٤. تحكيم مسقط. (١٩٠٦-١٩٠٩)." [و‎‎١‎١‎٥] (٦٨٠/٢٣٦)

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From Viceroy, 20th January 1907.
Foreign Secret. Your telegram of 18th December. Muscat dhows
award. We note that His Majesty’s Government have decided not to resist
French reservations as to, (1) finality of M. Laronce’s opinion, (2) jurisdic
tion over crimes on high seas. With regard to status of the six
Zanzibari dhow owners, we would refer to Cox’s letter,!® B., 26th June 1906,
and would only add that grant of right to full French protection to these
men when in Oman would he very prejudicial to the Sultan’s local interests
as well as to our own. They were only entered as protest a year after agree
ment to refer to Hague tribunal. In our opinion point should, i£ possible,
not he yielded without suitable quid pro quo, such as mutual recognition of
Sur creek as inlet of lagoon where protection of French flag will not
penetrate. With regard to Omanis in French service, we would suggest
that, in order to avoid raising question of precise nature of rights conferred
by Article IY. of Franco-Muscat Treaty, 1841, French Government should
be given assurance that those rights, whatever they may be, are not affected
by the proposed arrangements. It might be pointed out that British
Government possess precisely similar powers, under Article 14, Muscat
Treaty of 1891, and that present arrangement will certainly not affect those
powers. We regard it as very doubtful whether the Article in either treaty
can legally be interpreted as conferring on Omanis in service of British, or
French, right to fly national flag of their employers, but point will doubtless
be decided by Law Officers of the Crown. If it is decided in affirmative, and
if French insist on reservation, we can only suggest that His Majesty’s
Government should make counter-reservation to the effect that they regard
the privilege as limited to recognised salaried servants of the French, and for
such period as they were actually in French service. Lists of such persons
should, if possible, be exchanged annually with us and be furnished to
Sultan. Cox observes that Article IV. of French treaty has never been thus
taken advantage of in the past, and that introduction of suggested practice
in the Gulf would be most inconvenient.