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'Muscat. Question whether a naval station could be established for use by His Majesty's ships at Khor Quwai or elsewhere in Muscat territory compatibly with the existing international agreements of His Majesty's Government'. [‎6r] (11/12)

The record is made up of 6 folios. It was created in 2 Nov 1934. It was written in English. The original is part of the 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. .

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11
42. On this assumption, the questions for settlement appear to be—
(a) the extent to which, and the conditions on which, H.M. Government are
at liberty, having regard to the construction whioh has been placed on
the Declaration of 18(^, to acquire rights in respect of the use of a site
in Muscat territory for naval purposes;
(h) whether such conditions are capable of fulfilment.
43. As regards the first of these points, it would be open to a British subject in
liis private capacity (as distinct from the British Government) to acquire land for
use as a harbour or a station under the terms of Article 3 of the British Commercial
Treaty of 1891. H.M. Government themselves suggested to the French in 1899
that the difficulty which had arisen over Bunder Gisseh should be solved by the
acquisition of a site for a coaling shed by a French subject, and the suggestion
was rejected at the time by the French Government professedly only because it
would not have been consistent with their prestige to accept it in the light of the
relerences which had been made to it in the English Press. There are, however,
in any event, obvious difficulties about the acquisition of an area which would in
practice be used only or even predominantly for naval purposes by any private
individual.
41. If, on the other hand, rights acquired are acquired by Government and not
by a private individual, the construction of the Declaration of 180^ at once becomes
material. The construction placed on that Declaration in the discussions of
1899-1900 described above was that neither signatory of the Declaration can,
consistently with its terms, obtain a lease or cession of Muscat territory; that
no action is permissible which would be an infringement of the independence of
the Sultan (compare on this point the opinion expressed by the Law Officers in a
different connection in 1899, paragraph 28 above) ; and that in these circumstances
to acquire territorial or sovereign rights over property which they use in Muscat,
to fly the national flag, or to erect defensive works, on such property would be a
violation of the terms of that Declaration. (The coal sheds which H.M. Government
have held in Muscat since 1874 have accordingly been held on sufferance only ; the
national flag has not been flown, defensive works have not been erected, and no
territorial or sovereign rights in the area have been conveyed. The coal sheds held
by France from 1900 to 1920 were held on the same basis. Of the other sites at
present occupied by H.M. Government, the use of the site of the civil aerodrome
at Gwadur has been granted by the Sultan, who will receive an annual rent in
return; its use is not confined to British subjects or aeroplanes ; the British flag
is understood not to be flown ; and liability for protection rests with the Sultan.
The position in regard to the strategic aerodromes is not clear; but it would appear
that the Sultan, while retaining full sovereignty, has granted the use of the sites in
question rent free, the British flag not being hoisted, and defensive works not being
erected.)
45. It is open to question, in the second place, whether, on the construction
placed on the Declaration in 1899, H.M. Government are not committed to
recognising that either signatory can claim rights under the Declaration
corresponding to those which may be acquired by the other. H.M. Government
felt unable in 1899 to plead the Exclusive Agreement of 1891 against the French;
that Agreement has at no stage been officially communicated to the French
Government (and a French statement to the Sultan that it is inconsistent with the
Declaration of 1862, and cannot be recognised, remains on record); and
H.M. Government urged in the course of the discussions that France has no right
to any privilege which England has not also a right to possess (paragraph 3l3 above).
The point is of some importance because of the risk that the French, for reasons
of prestige or from a desire to embarrass, either now or at a later stage, might
advance a claim to a corresponding concession which (despite the provisions of
the Exclusive Agreement of 1891) it might be difficult for the Sultan or for
H.M. Government to resist.
4(). From the above it would appear that H.M. Government might reasonably
•claim to be entitled, consistently with their existing international engagements,
to acquire rights in the Khor Quwai from the Sultan of Muscat, so long as those
rights were without prejudice to the sovereignty of His Highness, conveyed no
territorial or sovereign rights, and did not involve the flying of the national flag
•or the erection of defensive works. There need be no question of any acquisition

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Content

This printed 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. report was written by John Gilbert Laithwaite and published in November 1934. It aims 'to examine, with particular reference to the proposal which has been put forward to establish a station at Khor Quwai [Khawr Quway] in the Musandim Peninsula, the history of the Declaration of 1862 by which France and Great Britain undertook to respect the independence of Muscat, and its effect, and that other existing treaty provisions, on the right of H.M. Government (subject to the consent of the Sultan of Muscat) to establish a naval station in Muscat territory.'

The documents include a short note on the status of the Musandam Peninsula. It lists key treaty engagements between the Sultan of Muscat and His Majesty's Government with relevant extracts including:

  • British Treaty of Commerce of 1839 with Muscat, Article 2;
  • Treaty of Commerce between France and Muscat, 1844, Article 3;
  • Anglo-French Declaration of 10th March 1862;
  • British Treaty of Commerce of 1891 with Muscat, Article 4;
  • Exclusive Agreement of the Sultan of Muscat with H.M. Government, 1891.

Further sections are:

  • Muscat and France, 1770-1934;
  • British Connection with Muscat, 1770 to 1934;
  • The Anglo-French Declaration of 1862: its importance in Muscat Policy, and the interpretations which have been placed on it.
Extent and format
6 folios
Physical characteristics

Foliation: The foliation sequence commences at the first folio and terminates at the last folio; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. Pagination: The booklet also contains an original typed pagination sequence.

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English in Latin script
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'Muscat. Question whether a naval station could be established for use by His Majesty's ships at Khor Quwai or elsewhere in Muscat territory compatibly with the existing international agreements of His Majesty's Government'. [‎6r] (11/12), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/18/B438, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023442822.0x00000c> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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