'Précis of correspondence regarding the affairs of the Persian Gulf, 1801-1853' [‎23v] (46/344)

26
Pa t II—Chap. IX.
the Surat piece-good trade to that port, from whence they exported them to
Graiae, Katif and Hasa for the consumption of Nejd. The goods of the
Mussallim and Imam were reciprocally passed at the lowest rates in their
respective ports, viz., 3 per cent, and the Turks would now as well as Persians
conciliated him as much as possible on account of the Waliabi.
62A. Oman is surrounded by hills and mountains, in which were many
cultivated valleys inhabited by independent tribes hereditary enemies to one
another. Whilst they opposed, the W^ahabi could not enter Oman, but they
were being gradually converted to Wababi faith, which calming their feuds
united them against those of a different faith. The Wahabi thus had advanced
close to Rostak.
63. \V ith Cutch, the Imam had merely a mercantile communication
without any particular privileges. lie was in general courted by all the northern
Mussulmen Afghans, etc., as they must come to him to o-o on pilgrimae-e
to Mecca. © f 6 6
64. He had also a communication with Abyssinia and received slave girls
and eunuchs yearly as presents and had intentions of setting a factory An East India Company trading post. at
Kapine a port to the eastward of the Straits of Babelmandeb.
65. The vessels at Maskat numbered fifteen ships from seven hundred to four
hundred tons, and three brigs, 50 dows and 50 large dingeys at Sur and Jahelan,
'260 dows and buglas and a great number of small dingeys were every year freight
ed by the Maskat merchants to go to Bombay and Cutch. The ships went to
Bengal and returning some went to Batavia and the Malay Coast, others touched
on the Coromandel Coast and Malabar. The large dingeys which were the pro
perty of Hindus went to Surat, to which they made two voyages yearly touch
ing at Bownaghur for cotton, wool and oil seeds. Dows and buglas went
the beginning of the season to Basrah, took in dates copper and horses while
some of the large dingeys went to Bombay, Surat, Rajapore, and the Malabar.
One or two dows proceeded direct to Goa and Malabar and the African
Coast,
66. The articles imported were from Surat, coarse piece-goods, silk and
cotton fabrics ; from Bownaghur, oil, cotton and gr;jin; from Bombay, iron,
lead and other Europe goods ; Malabar, rice, spars and timber ; the Coromandal
Coast calicoes and chints; Bengal, rice, muslin, sugar, silks and piece-goods ;
Batavia, sugar and cloves ; the Malay Islands, spices, etc.; Zanzibar, couries,
rice, wood, elephants' teeth, hides, wax, and gums and drugs; from the Coast of
Eatar and Bahrein, pearls and black camalines ; from Bussorah, dates and
copper ; from Persia, copper, hardware, drugs, brimstone, salt, carpets, cama
lines, and dried fruits ; from Mekran, sheep, joaree and grain ; from Sind,
cotton, cjoth, saltpetre, tallow, butter, grain, oil, hides and indigo; from Cutch,
cotton, oil, silk, and cotton stuffs. On all these articles they paid 5 p.c.
import duty, if they sold them ; if not, 2^ per cent. And every boat going
up and coming down the Gulf must touch at Maskat. They had no export
duty to pay. All these articles were exported again with the addition of dates
the only production of Oman.