![Letter No.159 of 1870 from Colonel Sir William Lockyer Merewether, K.C.S.I. & C.B., Commissioner in Sind, Commissioner's Office, Kurrachee [Karachi] to His Excellency the Right Honourable Sir William Robert Seymour Vesey Fitzgerald, G.C.S.I., Governor and President in Council, Bombay [‎86v] (14/16)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000001524.0x0003a1/Mss Eur F126_22_0170.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg "Letter No.159 of 1870 from Colonel Sir William Lockyer Merewether, K.C.S.I. & C.B., Commissioner in Sind, Commissioner's Office, Kurrachee [Karachi] to His Excellency the Right Honourable Sir William Robert Seymour Vesey Fitzgerald, G.C.S.I., Governor and President in Council, Bombay [‎86v] (14/16)")
Letter No.159 of 1870 from Colonel Sir William Lockyer Merewether, K.C.S.I. & C.B., Commissioner in Sind, Commissioner's Office, Kurrachee [Karachi] to His Excellency the Right Honourable Sir William Robert Seymour Vesey Fitzgerald, G.C.S.I., Governor and President in Council, Bombay [86v] (14/16)
The record is made up of 8 folios. It was created in 26 Mar 1870. 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
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2. The scheme failed, cWefly owing to its limited scope, in wlueh opinion
Colonel Phayre concurs. It had to he given up in October last, because the
Moondaee branch of the Murree tribe, who were not included in the pecuni
ary allowance, recommenced plundering on a large scale in Cutchee. There
had been some minor raids before, hut these seem to have been properly ac
counted for, as Colonel Phayre states the Chief Guzzen " on several occasions
" of petty raids during the past 6 months has behaved very well indeed in
*' restoring the stolen property.
3 It is also stated that Gnzzen attributed his failure to the want of
co-operation on the part of the Khan of Khelat, whose people he declared
acted as guides, and otherwise assisted the Murrees in finding and driving
of cattle. I requested Colonel Phayre in letter No. 791, of 27th November,
(copy appended) to inform me whether this statement of Guzzen's was a mere
general one, or whether any specific charge could be brought against any one
person or tribe. Copy of that officer's reply is also appended, from which it
will be seen that Guzzen primarily alluded to the Tullanee case, reported
No. 1005, of 15th June 1869, from on in June last, copies of correspondence here-
Political Superintendent F. U. S. with niven. This was a raid by the Murrees
No 410, dated 19th June 1869, from ® • x xi, •p' ,1
Commissioner in Sind. on the loth April last agamst the K\ heieef
dwelling at Moonree near Phoolajee. The Tullanees, who are a branch of the
Doombkee tribe, residents of Lehree in the plains close to the Murree lulls,
and considered to be obedient subjects of His Highness the Khan, joined m
the attack, as is often done in these border forays. The charge of acting as
o-uides &c. refers then to them, as no others are specified, and Guzzen s other
remarks were supposed to be general.
4. Colonel Phayre, however, in a subsequent letter No. 1838, of 30th De-
No. 56, of 27th December 1869, from cember, forwarding a further communication
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.
, Khelat. from Captain Harrison, eriving information call-
No. 1838, of 30th December 1S69, 1 _ 111 r
from Political Superintendent F. U. s. e( ] for 3 enters into at length the question Oil
support which Guzzen expected to have received from His Highness the
Khan, in the shape of posts of troops disposed over Cutchee, and which
Captain Harrison says were not placed under a misapprehension of His
Highness the Khan. Whether the absence of these posts was accidental or
not' is useless to discuss now, hut it is quite clear that if they were required, as
well as the subsidy to the Murrees, the latter had better not have been
granted, as far as any relief to His Highness went in the way of protecting
the trade line through Cutchee.
5. One advantage however is gained by the experiment that lias been
made and by this correspondence relating to it, which is, that it is conclusively
proved that no scheme which does not command the good behaviour of the
whole of the Murrec tribe is of any real use. That in entering into thc.so
arrangements, care should be taken that nothing is hastily decided and carried out,
O 7
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Letter enclosing correspondence on the arrangements entered into with the Murree tribe in February 1869 for the protection of Kafilahs (convoys of travellers) on the route from Affghanistan [Afghanistan] to Sind [Sindh].
The letter reports on the failure of the scheme owing to its limited scope, giving details of specific incidents which led to its end and stating that such schemes are of no use if the whole tribe is not commanded to abide by them, which had not happened in the case of the Murree tribe.
The letter concludes by stating that Merewether also regrets the tone of Colonel Phayre's letter No.1838 of 1869 and recommending an early interview with His Highness the Khan and the Wuzzeer Healyanee Wullee Mahomed as well as according full confidence in 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. , Captain Harrison who has not been recognised as well as he should have been by Colonel Phayre.
The following correspondence is enclosed with the letter:
- Letter No.1400 of 1869 from Colonel Robert Phayre, Political Superintendent and Commandant, Frontier Upper Sind to The Commissioner in Sind, Kurrachee [Karachi] 2 October 1869 regarding the temporary agreement made ith the Murree Chief's for the protection of Eastern Cutchee and the Central Asian trade passing through that province and reporting on an attack made by Pullia Murree on the Soombkees and a subsequent recommencement of plundering by the Moondahee Murrees in Cutchee. Colonel Phayre reports on difficulties with the policy and his proposal to discontinue the allowance for scouts at outposts (ff 80-81).
- Letter No.784 of 1869 from William Lockyer Merewether, Commissioner in Sind, Camp Dowlutpoor to Colonel Robert Phayre, Politicl Superintendent, Frontier Upper Sind, 24 November 1869 concurring with the Colonel's decision to discontinue the allowance (f 81).
- Letter No. 791 of 1869 from William Lockyer Merewether, Commissioner in Sind, Camp Taroosha to Colonel Robert Phayre, Political Superintendent, Upper Sind Frontier, 27 November 1869 requesting that the Colonel inform him whether the statement by Guzzeen, Principal Chief of the Murree clan, that he attributed the failure of the agreement to a lack of co-operation on the part of the Khan of Khelat [Kalāt], was a general statement or whether their were specific charges in regards to it and stating that in his opinion the failure of the agreement was owing to it being too limited in scope and that British efforts in ensuring peace and security through the territory of Khelat should be done through their support of the establishment of a strong ruling power in that country. The letter also requests a report from Captain Harrison regarding arrangements for the protection of merchants travelling through the Bolan and Cutchee, both before and since the withdrawel of the payment to the Murrees (ff 81v-82).
- Letter No. 1784 of 1869 from Colonel Robert Phayre, the Political Superintendent, Frontier Upper Sind, Jacobabad to William Lockyer Merewether, the Commissioner in Sind, 14 December 1869 informing him that Guzzeen had primarily alluded to the Tullanee case which had already been reported to Lockyer and his statement was a general one, and giving Colonel Phayre's agreement with Merewether that the scheme was too limited in scope (f 82).
- Letter No. 56 of 1869 from Charles Henry Harrison, 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. , Khelat, at Camp Jacobabad to Colonel Robert Phayre, the Political Superintendent, Frontier Upper Sind, 27 December 1869 forwarding a statement of raids known to have been committed since August 1868 and outlining his highness arrangements for the stationing of troops which had been modified through some misapprehension in October 1869. The letter concludes by reporting on a system of outposts in Cutchee which had been established by Nawab An honorific title; an official acting as a provincial deputy ruler in South Asia; or a significant Muslim landowner in nineteenth century India. Mahomed Khan since the subsidy had ended (ff 82v-83).
- Letter No. 1838 of 1869 from Colonel Robert Phayre, Political Superintendent, Frontier Upper Sind, Jacobabad to William Lockyer Merewether, Commissioner in Sind, 30 December 1869 forwarding Captain Harrison's report and discussing the misapprehension by the Khan of Khelat, which Colonel Phayre believed there were no grounds for, detailing his reasons for this belief. The letter also encloses a copy of a translation of a letter from the Khan of Khelat to Colonel Phayre acknowledging receipt of a letter in which the Colonel informed him of the exploring expedition taking place in Beloochistan [Baluchistan].
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Letter No.159 of 1870 from Colonel Sir William Lockyer Merewether, K.C.S.I. & C.B., Commissioner in Sind, Commissioner's Office, Kurrachee [Karachi] to His Excellency the Right Honourable Sir William Robert Seymour Vesey Fitzgerald, G.C.S.I., Governor and President in Council, Bombay [86v] (14/16), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F126/22, ff 80-87, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100024195159.0x0000ab> [accessed 22 August 2026]
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- Reference
- Mss Eur F126/22, ff 80-87
- Title
- Letter No.159 of 1870 from Colonel Sir William Lockyer Merewether, K.C.S.I. & C.B., Commissioner in Sind, Commissioner's Office, Kurrachee [Karachi] to His Excellency the Right Honourable Sir William Robert Seymour Vesey Fitzgerald, G.C.S.I., Governor and President in Council, Bombay
- Pages
- 80r:87v
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
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- Open Government Licence