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'Report on the Administration of the Persian Gulf Political Residency and Muscat Political Agency for the year 1877-78.' [‎256v] (58/165)

The record is made up of 1 volume (81 folios). It was created in 1878. 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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3G ADMINISTRATION REPORT OF THE PERSIAN GULF The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. POLITICAL 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.
It has been confidently asserted that some 20 years ago the banks
were more pregnant, but that compensation is now afforded in the higher
price paid for pearls.*
Twenty years ago the market price is stated to have been about
relatively to that of Bombay. That is krailS.f We must however not lose
As to this asserted diminution of the yield becoming more marked
I should be very sceptical.
There would be nothing to account for anything of the sort (other
than a natural temporary deficit) in the manner that the fisheries have
been carried on of late years.
I have failed to obtain mention or even tradition of any failure
in this marine harvest, and indeed the fish has here everything in its
favour.
In the first place, there is the climate, the usually quiet weather,
and sea, the hundreds of miles of shoal water, warmed through and
through by that dead heat, which, as the Arabs themselves say, makes
the fish jump out of “the water to get cool.” Then the cooler deeps
as a perpetual preserve; for the boldest “ Sedee” diver will not fish J as
a rule beyond twelve fathom, and there is not one man in twenty who
can go down sixteen, and lastly the temper, or continence, of the divers
themselves. They are too wise to kill the goose with golden eggs, and
say “ that will do for another year” when they come upon a small lot of
shells.
Mr. Markhnra’s report, puMbhed in Tl ' if \ P«f nts a rath . er re ““ ka, ? le
iti i • <w jv i in in o iv jn/ic, I’UUiirMitvi ill ii il • 1*1
Madras on Tiuncvelly Pearl Fishery. contrast to the manner 1 U which the
On the whole, perhaps, the idea of any important diminution in the
supply may be dismissed.
31. With regard to the greater or less fertility of banks, this is
supposed to depend on the depth of the water, but the Arabs do not seem
to attach much more importance to one locality than to another.
They say that they find considerably more shells in shallow than
in deep water, though these are generally smaller, also that the oysters
are not as a rule larger on new banks than on the old ones.
* Lately the value of pearls has fallen in the Indian market. The fall has been going
on for three years, and it is actually cheaper to buy in India than at Bahrein. The trade
however is in fact a monopoly which may account for this. I have failed to understand
the reason thoroughly.
t In 1824 the 4| krans were equal to one dollar. The dollar is now worth 5i krans.
J The usual depth is six to eight or ten English fathom.
been debased.^
Communicated to Board of Revenue,
Bombay Government, 18G5.
Tinnevelly fisheries are reported to have
been “ worked.”

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Administration report of 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 Muscat Political Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. for 1877-78, published by Authority at the Foreign Department Press, Calcutta [Kolkata], 1878. The report is based on reports sent by the 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. (Lieutenant-Colonel Edward Charles Ross) 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 (Lieutenant-Colonel Samuel Barrett Miles) to the Government of India. The report is preceded by a copy of a letter sent by Ross to Alfred Comyn Lyall, Secretary to the Government of India, Foreign Department, dated 8 July 1878, which enclosed the submission of the original reports.

The report is organised in a number of sections and subsections, as follows:

Part I: General Report, signed by Ross, and arranged under subheadings as follows: Oman; Arab Coast; Bahrein [Bahrain]; Nejd [Najd]; Province of Fars and the Persian Coast and Islands; Bushire; Coast from Bushire to Lingah [Bandar Lengeh]; Lingah; Bunder Abbass [Bandar Abbas]; Persian-Baloochistan [Baluchistan] Coast; Bassidore [Bāsaʻīdū]; Establishments; Slave-Trade; Appendices (including meteorological tables, notes on the Kara Aghach River by Dr Friedrich Carl Andreas*, the route from Bushire to Lar and Shiraz, and the route from Lar to Shiraz, the Persian Post Office and Foreign Postage, and tables of Persian money and measurements).

Part II: Report on trade of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. for the year 1877, signed by Ross and arranged under subheadings, as follows: Effects of late war on the trade; Steam communication; Grain harvest; Scarcity of coin; Opium; Pearl fisheries; Impediments to development of trade in Persia; and appendices (including notes on the pearling industry by Captain Edward Law Durand, notes on date palm cultivation by James Charles Edwards, and 31 tables of trade statistics covering imports/exports from/to the various ports and settlements of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , and between the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. and India).

Part III: Administration report of the Political Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. , Muscat, for the year 1877-78, prepared by Miles and arranged under the following subheadings: Political; Official changes; Slave Traffic.

Part IV: Trade statistics for Muscat, prepared by Miles, and comprising of six tables covering imports, exports, and number and tonnage of vessels entering and leaving the port.

* Folio 246 - a map has been temporarily removed and replaced with a green sheet of paper noting its removal.

Extent and format
1 volume (81 folios)
Arrangement

The report is arranged into four parts (I-IV).

Physical characteristics

Pagination: The report has a pagination system which uses numbers printed in the top-left corner of versos and top-right corner of rectos.

Written in
English in Latin script
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'Report on the Administration of the Persian Gulf Political Residency and Muscat Political Agency for the year 1877-78.' [‎256v] (58/165), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/V/23/32, No 152, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100026446897.0x00003b> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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