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‘Administration report on the Persian Gulf Political Residency and Maskat Political Agency for 1901-1902’ [8r] (17/123)
The record is made up of 1 volume (60 folios). It was created in 1902. 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. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
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 1901.1902
9
This year the revenue assessed on the value of trade, according to flffures
turnished by the Customs Superintendent, amounts to some its. 4,000 less than last
year, but this difference is more than accounted for, by the untoward fact that
during the year 2 vessels wiih valuable cargoes bound for Maskat have never
, e - 0n j^ ear( ^ of, and presumably foundered at sea; one being the clipper sailing-
ship County of Forfa owned by residents in Maskat, and bound from Calcutta
with cereals, and the second the S.S. JBasuto from London, with arms and
ammunition. There have been occasional complaints from merchants, of incon-
sideiate tieatment at the Customs House by the Sultan's officials, sometimes well
rounded, sometimes not; but I have always found His Highness anxious to remove
causes of complaints when brought to his personal notice, and to meet merchants
half-way as far as lies in his power.
The great desideratum at present is, undoubtedly, the improvement of the Cus
tom house, wharf and premises, which are not a credit to the State, but I am glad
to report that the Local Government has lately started work in this direction, which,
it is hoped, will be carried to completion. It is interesting to record here that the
satisfactory pecuniary results of his Customs Administration at Maskat, have
prompted the Sultan to assume the direct control at other ports in Oman, of
which hitherto the Customs have been « farmed". Barka, Mesnaa and Suweik on
the Batineh coast have already been taken in hand, and also Sur to the south of
Maskat, and it is expected that other ports will follow as time goes on.
In order to facilitate the collection of dues at Sur, where the inhabitants have
always been very difficult to deal with in this connection, it was His Highness's
lirst idea to build a wall on the land side, so as to restrict all import and export
caravan traffic to the use of certain gates where Customs guards would be sta
tioned. On going into the matter on the spot, however, he realised that owing to
the difficulty of obtaining materials and labour at Sur itself, the building of a
wall of effective length would take a year or more to complete, and he therefore
chose the more economical and speedy alternative of creating a line of block
houses on the hills between Sur-el-Bilad and the port of Sur, commanding the
caravan routes to and from the interior. These were completed during his recent
sojourn at Sur in November.
This is decidedly a step in the right direction and will suffice for present
purposes, but now that His Highness has taken the Customs collection of the
port into his own hands, it is to be hoped that as the administration improves
and increased revenue comes in, he will see his way to build a suitable Customs
wharf at the entrance to the creek.
In connection with the above block-houses, 100 extra
sepoys
Term used in English to refer to an Indian infantryman. Carries some derogatory connotations as sometimes used as a means of othering and emphasising race, colour, origins, or rank.
have been
engaged for garrison purposes at Sur.
6. The Arms Traffic. —It will be seen from the trade returns appended,
that there has-been a considerable decline in the quantity of arms and ammuni
tion imported into Maskat during the year, the decrease being roughly 8,000 rifles
and 1,400,000 cartridges. The difference is in some measure accountable for by
the loss of S.S. JBasuto before mentioned, and also by the fact that at the time
the Customs House Returns were furnished by the Superintendent, delivery on all
the cases received by the last two steamers had not been taken by the consignees,
and duty had not therefore been collected on them.
It is worthy of note that the Bedouins are gradually learning to recap and
reload their own cartridges; in fact, a demand is beginning to spring up for new
empty cases ; riflemen evidently realising that it is more economical to load their
own cartridges, often no doubt with home-made powder, and that the light empty
cases are less trouble to transport from the coast.
7. Pearl Dispute. —The longstanding dispute mentioned in last year's
report, which has been dragging on for more than two years, has at last been
brought to a close.
It will be remembered that the representative committee which was
appointed to assess the shares of the several parties interested, awarded His High
ness the Sultan 30,000 dollars, representing a one-third share of the value of the
pearl in question, and a document was passed and signed by the Chief of Shargati
and others in ratification of the award. This sum was not forthcoming, however,
owing to loss meanwhile sustained by the holders, who had evidently been spe
culating with money borrowed on the security of the pearl, and the Besident
after visiting Shargah, having informed His Highness that in his opinion
About this item
- Content
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 1901-02, published by the Office of the Superintendent of Government Printing, India, Calcutta [Kolkata], 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. and other Agents in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. .
The Administration Report is organised as follows:
1. General Summary , submitted 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. , dated 21 April 1902 (folios 4-6), with overviews of: the year’s rainfall and harvest, and the impact of drought; the governorship of Bushire and Gulf ports; public peace; public health; currency; customs administration in the Gulf, under Belgian control; settlement of claims for compensation. The General Summary also includes summaries for key towns and regions, chiefly comprising accounts of local politics: Oman and Muscat; the Oman Coast; Bahrain; Koweit [Kuwait] and Nejd, including details of the loss of a decisive battle by Shaikh Mubarak al-Sabah at the hands of the Amir of Nejd, and the capture of Riadh [Riyadh] by Abdul Aziz [Ibn Sa‘ūd]; Persian Arabistan; Fars and the Persian Coast; Persian Baluchistan. Further reports are included on: the slave trade, including numbers of slaves manumitted by British officials in the region; incidents of piracy; naval movements, chiefly British but also Russian and French vessels; changes in British official personnel; and movements and changes in foreign representatives. An appendix to part 1 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. , 1901-02 , submitted by Major Percy Zachariah Cox, 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. at Muscat, dated 2 April 1902 (folios 7-9) including: an account of recent tribal politics of Oman, most notably disturbances at Wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows. Maawal; events in Sohar; ill-treatment of British Indian subjects in Muscat and Oman; customs; arms trafficking; pearl disputes; the death of the Sultan’s Vazir [ Wazir Minister. ], Sayyid Saeed bin Mahomed bin Salimin, and a brief account of his life; opening of the Muscat to Jask telegraph cable; epidemics and preventative measures; the slave trade; and naval movements.
3. Trade Report of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. for the Year 1901 , submitted by Kemball, in his capacity at His Britannic Majesty’s Acting Consul-General for Fars, Khuzistan, etc., dated 31 March 1902 (folios 9-39), with summaries on: imports and exports; the harvest; exchange; currency and specie; mule hire; freight and shipping activity; Russian commerce; customs administration; administration of justice; further details of imports and exports, with reference to particular commodities including cotton, medicines, kerosene, opium and shells. An appendix follows with tabulated trade data of the principal imports and exports, and number, tonnage and nationality of vessels.
4. Trade Report for Maskat [Muscat], 1901-02 , submitted by Cox (folios 40-41), with brief summaries on the import of arms, cereals, coffee and silk, and the export of dates and dried fish. An appendix follows the report, containing tabulated trade statistics.
5. Report on the Trade and Commerce of Mohammerah [Khorramshahr] for 1900 (folios 42-46), with remarks on: exchange; exports; imports; shipping; caravan routes; agriculture; health; and the river trade. An appendix follows the report, containing tabulated trade data.
6. Trade Report of Bundar Abbas [Bandar-e ʻAbbās] for the Year 1901 , submitted by Captain C H Boxer, His Britannic Majesty’s Vice-Consul at Bandar-e ʻAbbās, dated 12 March 1902 (folios 46-52), with remarks on: the value of imports and exports; harvest; exchange; transport; shipping; and the benefits to British trade that an extension of the telegraph cable to Bandar-e ʻAbbās would bring. An appendix follows the report, containing tabulated trade data.
7. Report on the Trade and Commerce of the Bahrein Islands for the Year 1901 , 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 7 February 1902 (folios 53-60), containing remarks on: total trade in Bahrain; the year’s pearl fishing season; importation of cotton and coffee; exports, including oyster shells; imports from India, Turkey and Persia; weights and measures in Bahrain; shipping; and a schedule of the lighterage rates at the Port of Bahrain. An appendix follows the report, containing tabulated trade data.
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (60 folios)
- Arrangement
The report is arranged into a number of parts and sections, with tabulated statistical data directly following written sections. There is a contents page at the front of the report (folio 3), which refers to the report’s internal pagination sequence.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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- Reference
- IOR/V/23/80, No 392
- Title
- ‘Administration report on the Persian Gulf Political Residency and Maskat Political Agency for 1901-1902’
- Pages
- front, front-i, 1r:60v, back
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence