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‘Administration Report on the Persian Gulf Political Residency and Maskat Political Agency for 1903-1904’ [‎193r] (65/80)

The record is made up of 1 volume (37 folios). It was created in 1904. 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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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. AND MASKAT POLITICAL AGENCY An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. FOR THE YEAR 1903-1904.
P ART VI.— TRADE REPOUT OE BUNDER ABBAS FOR THE YEAR
1903.
, .. year 1903 has been a good one for Bunder Abbas. There was a General
better rainiall, ana consequently the condition of the people improved. This has Remarks -
reacted on the imports which show a marked improvement. The imports for
1903 amount to £449,145 against £399,291 last year, and an average of
£430,991 for uhe past five years. The exports have increased also, owin 0, princi
pally to the abolition of export duty on the principal commodities. The
exports for 1903 amount to £138,632 against £97,331 in 1902, and £148 499
average export for the past five years.
Great Britain and India supply 72 per cent, of the imports and 58 per
cent, of the exports of the port.
The substitution of a complicated tariff by weight in lieu of the old 5 per
cent, ad valorem tariff does not seem to have affected the trade of this port
till towards the end of the year under review, when trade became very
depressed.
2. The opening for export of sulphur suggested in last year's report seems Openings for
impracticable; the mines are farmed as a monopoly and are some distance from ;British Tee
the coast, the cost of carriage is great, consequently the rates for shipping the
sulphur are prohibitive.
There should be an opening for direct trade in Kerman carpets via
Bunder Abbas to England.
There is a considerable export of raw cotton and wool, almonds, raisins, and
asafoetida from this port. All these articles are free from export duty under
the new tariff, and British Indian merchants might, perhaps, turn their atten
tion to developing this trade with advantage, whenever the Indian market
seems favourable for these commodities.
3. Bunder Abbas is primarily the port of entry for goods for Kerman, Mistakes of
Yezd, and Central and Eastern Persia. Caravans also proceed to Seistan and British
Meshed. There is practically no local market, so that merchants trading with thSr^ore^gn^
this port should study the markets of Central Persia and the Consular reports Competitors,
from Yezd and Kerman to ascertain their mistakes, if any, and what articles
are in demand.
4. The import of tea from Java appears to be steadily increasing. The Progress of
reason for this increase is not clear, but as any such increase must be at the T rade.
expense of Indian and Ceylon tea, Indian tea merchants might well look into
the matter. A considerable quantity of the Java tea is white tea,*' which is
preferred to black tea by the better class Persians.^
Eour steamers of the newly established Russian line from Odessa to the
Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. Ports called at Bunder Abbas during the year and brought a
considerable quantity of petroleum and sugar to this port. The sugar is
cheap but of poor quality and is not appreciated by the people, who prefer
Erench sugar. Russian kerosine seems to have always been used in the Persian
Gulf, but was previously brought in British vessels.
5. The arrangements for landing cargoes are still very unsatisfactory. Difficulties in
Thefts from lighters are frequent; the customs pier and godowns offer very ^® d ^ ay of
poor facilities for landing and storing goods, and finally the charges for landing,
carriage, and storage are very high. The security of goods after receipt by the
Agents of the Customs Department has greatly improved during the past year,
and it may be hoped that cheaper and better arrangements for landing and
storing goods will shortly be made by the Customs Department, as the matter
is under consideration.
Sugar, grain, flour, etc., in sacks are the commodities principally stolen from
lighters, A considerable quantity may be removed without any chance of
detection by piercing the sack with a fine-pointed scoop.
Some form of cheap bag which reduces the possibilities of this method may,
perhaps, be on the market; if so, it would seem advisable to use such bags for
shipments to the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. .
53

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Administration Report on the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. 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. and Maskat [Muscat] Political Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. for 1903-1904, published by the Office of the Superintendent of Government Printing, India (Calcutta), forming part of the Selections from the Records of the Government of India, Foreign Department, and based on reports sent to Government by 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. in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. 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. at Muscat. Folios 165 and 166 are copies of notes, dated 18 April 1904 and 18 May 1904 respectively, sent by Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Arnold Kemball, Officiating 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. in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , and Captain William George Grey, His Britannic Majesty’s Consul and 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 Louis William Dane, Secretary to the Government of India in the Foreign Department, submitting their respective annual administration reports.

The Administration Report is organised as follows:

1. General Summary submitted by Kemball (folios 167-69), including reports on: the year’s rainfall and harvest; the governorship of Bushire and Gulf ports; public health, with details of outbreaks of cholera and plague; settlement of claims; the Viceroy of India, Lord Curzon’s visit to the Gulf, including details of the itinerary; the British Minister at the Court of the Shah of Persia’s visit to the Gulf; and the postal service. The General Summary also includes summaries for towns and regions, as follows: Oman and Muscat; Oman and the Pirate Coast, with an assessment of the pearling season, incidents of piracy and tribal relations; Bahrain [referred to as Bahrain], with an assessment of the pearling season; El Hassa [Al-Hasa] and El Katif [Al-Qaṭīf]; Koweit [Kuwait] and Nejd, with an update of the struggle between Abdul Rahman bin Feysul el Saood [Ibn Sa‘ūd] and the Emir of Nejd, Ibn Rashīd; Persian Arabistan; Fars and the Persian Coast, with separate routes from Shiraz, Lingah [Bandar-e Lengeh], and Bunder Abbas [Bandar-e ʻAbbās]; Persian Baluchistan; the slave trade, including numbers of slaves manumitted; incidents of piracy; movements of British naval vessels; reports on changes in British officials; and visits made by foreign representatives. An appendix to part 1 (folios 168-70) comprises statistical tables with meteorological data for the region.

2. Administration Report of the Muscat Political Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. , 1903-04 , submitted by Grey (folios 170-77), including an account of the tribal politics of Oman; a detailed account of Lord Curzon’s visit to Muscat, including copies of the addresses presented to Lord Curzon by the community of British subjects and other British protected persons in Muscat, and Sultan Seyyd Faisal [Sa‘id Fayṣal], and Curzon’s replies to each. The report also includes details of the Resident’s visit to Muscat; political tours made by the Muscat Agent; administration of customs; Gwadur [Gwadar] customs; arms trafficking; health; law; building work in Muscat; improvements to the coal depot at Makullah cove; marine incidents, principally the wrecking of the French steamship Amiral Gueydon ; naval movements at Muscat; the slave trade, including numbers of slaves manumitted at Muscat; and changes to official personnel at Muscat.

3. Report on the Trade and Commerce of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. for the Year 1903 , submitted by Kemball (folios 178-87), including general remarks on trade, and more detailed remarks on customs tariffs; imports and exports; tea; indigo; exchange; freight and shipping. Two appendices to part 3 contain tabular data on the value and quantities of imports and exports into Bushire and other Gulf ports, as well as data on the numbers, tonnage and nationality of visiting vessels.

4. Trade Report for Muscat, 1903-1904 , submitted by Grey (folios 187-91), containing details on imports and exports at Muscat, and followed by an appendix with trade statistics.

5. Report on the Trade of Mohammerah [Khorramshahr] for the Year 1903 , submitted by William McDouall, His Britannic Majesty’s Vice-Consul, Mohammerah (folios 190-92) with summaries on: exchange; shipping; caravan routes; and agriculture. An appendix follows the report, containing trade data in tabular format.

6. Trade Report of Bundar Abbas [Bandar-e ʻAbbās] for the Year 1903 , submitted by Arthur Prescott Trevor, His Britannic Majesty’s Vice-Consul, Bandar-e ʻAbbās (folios 193-96), with summaries on: openings for British trade; mistakes made by British traders and their foreign competitors; the progress of rival trade; obstacles to trade; changes to trade tariffs; communications; exchange; and shipping. An appendix follows the report, containing trade data in tabular format.

7. Report on the Trade of the Bahrein Islands for the Year 1903 , submitted by John Calcott Gaskin, Assistant 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. , dated 9 January 1904 (folios 196-99), with details on: cotton, rice and coffee imports; lantern manufacture in Bahrain; assessment of the pearling season; the oyster shell export trade; boatbuilding activity; exchange; and shipping. An appendix follows the report, containing tabular data on the principal imports and export at Bahrain.

Extent and format
1 volume (37 folios)
Arrangement

The report is arranged into a number of parts and subheadings, with statistic data in tabular format directly following written sections. There is a contents page at the front of the report (. 164) which lists the report’s contents, referring to the report’s own pagination sequence. Some statistical tables (ff. 197-99) are arranged on the page in landscape format.

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English in Latin script
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‘Administration Report on the Persian Gulf Political Residency and Maskat Political Agency for 1903-1904’ [‎193r] (65/80), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/V/23/82, No 412, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023551242.0x000043> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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