‘File 35/87 V (A 35) Muscat reforms, customs, finances, etc.’

Content

The volume contains copies of correspondence sent to and from the Political Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. , concerning affairs in Muscat during the period 1921 to 1924. The chief correspondents in the file are the Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. , Lieutenant-Colonel Arthur Prescott Trevor, and the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. Muscat, chiefly Ronald Evelyn Leslie Wingate, incumbent in the post from October 1919 to October 1921, and February to September 1923. The correspondence chiefly concerns economic and domestic affairs at Muscat, as follows:

• Economic difficulties in Muscat, precipitated by a significant fall in the port’s customs revenue, the state’s main source of income, and options for increasing state revenue through other means, such as taxes and raising customs duties;
• The loan of six-and-a-half lacs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees [ lakhs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees ] (650,000 rupees Indian silver coin also widely used in the Persian Gulf. ), given by the British Government to the Muscat Government, and arrangements for the Muscat Government to open an account with the Imperial Bank of India, to facilitate the repayment of the loan in installments;
• The efforts of British officials to impose stringent economic policies at Muscat, and on the Sultan of Muscat, Taymūr bin Fayṣal, leading to strained relations between British officials and the Sultan. Records of conversations between Taymūr bin Fayṣal and the Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. and the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. Muscat, over the administration of the state, and responsibilities as its ruler;
• The submission of financial statements for Muscat State, from the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. Muscat to the Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. , for forwarding to the Government of India;
• Arrangements for the education of Taymūr bin Fayṣal’s son, Sa‘īd bin Taymūr, at Mayo College in Ajmer, India;
• The recruitment of the Indian Assistant at the Bahrain Political Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. , Siddiq Hassan, as a personal tutor for Sa‘īd bin Taymūr at Mayo College, and negotiations for his salary, including a personal allowance from the Sultan, and the permissibility of such an allowance under Government of India regulations;
• The recruitment of a British financial adviser at Muscat, including the possibilities of retaining the services of a Captain ED McCarthy (Muscat Levy Corps). Upon learning of McCarthy’s intention to remain in the service of the Army, British officials resume their search for a suitable appointment, with a recommendation made by Sir Arnold Wilson of Bertram Thomas, then working in the Palestinian Administration (folios 239-40);
• Thomas’s appointment as Financial Adviser at Muscat in mid-1924;
• The movements of Sultan Taymūr bin Fayṣal, his time spent in Muscat, and British officials’ opinions of his attitude to government and his responsibilities as Sultan;
• The purchase of a house by the Sultan at Dehra Dun [Dēhrādūn] in India, against the wishes of the British Government.

Extent and format

1 volume (279 folios)

Arrangement

The volume’s contents are arranged in approximate chronological order, from the earliest item at the front to the latest at the end.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: There is one incomplete foliation sequence and one complete sequence. The complete sequence, which should be used for referencing, is circled in pencil, in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. of each folio. It begins on the title page, on number 1, and ends on the inside back cover, on 276. Foliation anomalies: ff.50A-B. The subject file number (35/87) is marked top and centre of most rectos in the file, both handwritten and typewritten.

Written in

English, Arabic and French in Latin and Arabic script

Type

Archival file

Access & Reference

Original held at

British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity.

Access conditions

Unrestricted

Archive reference

IOR/R/15/1/418

Former external reference(s)

A Series: 35/87 V Confidential Series: A 35

History of this record

Date(s)

18 May 1921-6 Sep 1924 (CE, Gregorian)

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‘File 35/87 V (A 35) Muscat reforms, customs, finances, etc.’, British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/1/418, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100000000193.0x000187> [accessed 19 April 2024]

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