'File 35/134 III (A 54) Sur: Ja`alan- Amirs of.' [‎181r] (379/426)

4
fryip
xs xi, ills eyes’, i.e. that he only realises what he see*, and the
greater the show of force which Sheijch Ali and his tribesmen
actually see trie less lively is it tnat tnis force will actually
nave to oe used. In the Yal Saad ’snow* of 19^2 (vide letter
produced m a shorter period.
^• pressure can ce brought to bear on the inhabitants of
Aiqa by stopping ingress or egress of their dhows. The most
convenient seasons for doing this are indicated in para 6 of my
letter bo. o3~C of 8th July 1930. This action of course does
not directly affect the Bani Bu Ali of the interior, though the
Sheixh could not ignore it as the people of Aiqa belong to his
tribe, and in the present instance of the intercepted Aiqa dhow A term adopted by British officials to refer to local sailing vessels in the western Indian Ocean.
he has made protests to the State. The Bani Bu Ali of Jaalan
have two or three smaller ports of their ov/n south of Ras al Hadf
Lashicarah etc,whence - so the Customs Director General informs
me - two or three large Bani Bu Ali dhows ply to India etc. where
these dhows aestivate is uncertain: presumably Sur or Khor
wara^^cJi. The interception of these craft would bring some direct
pressure on the Bani Bu Ali*
11* In my telegram quoted above I suggested the possible
use of air-craft. If the Bani Bu All prove obstinate ^then the
best way of dealing with them, in addition to naval action , will
be by tombing the Sheiicb^s headquarters which are situated about
4J miles inland in Jaalan. Such action may not be necessary,
but should it prove so then preliminary sanction from His Majesty’s
Government would be very useful. Otherwise if naval action is
insufficient, operations would have to be suspended while
permission to use air-craft was obtained, and this suspension would
of course encourage the Bani Bu Ali.
No.*76 of 26til December 1*22 from the Political Kesident to the
Foreign Secretary, Government of India) only one eloop wae used
~ ' ' ' - •• • — *»-*• *■» * * - J te.u* X c
to begin with. Then another was brought up, and finally a third.
^ ~ ~ ■ .. .. .MM > t.
It is possible that if more force had been concentrated in the
oe^mning the fai Saad mignt have climbed down without a shot
% ^ JO-,, r, _ r. .
being fired,or at any rate the desired effect might have been
Maj or.
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. & H.B.M’s Consul,Muscat.
P.T.O.