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File 619/1907 Pt 1 'Arms Traffic :- Muscat Warehouse. Negotiations with France 1907-1911.' [‎106r] (220/980)

The record is made up of 1 volume (488 folios). It was created in 1 Aug 1906-25 Aug 1911. It was written in English and French. 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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.
Arms Traffic at Muskat.
1. Sultan s Commercial Treaties. Ihe situation at Muskat is governed.
* ^ r , , by the fact that the Sultan has com-
1839 . mercial treaties with the United States
(1833). France (1844), and Great
Britain (1891F), the terms of which require amendment before he can place
special restrictions on the trade in arms to and from his territory. There is
also a Dutch “ Commercial Declaration ” of 1877, which merely provides for
reciprocal “ most-favoured-nation ” treatment between the two countries. The
American, French, and British treaties \see Appendices] provide expressly for
the unrestricted import and export of all kinds of merchandise (with certain
specified exceptions). The Sultan’s international position is further regulated
by the joint Anglo-French Declaration of 1862 by which the two Govern
ments undertook reciprocally to respect Ills Highness’s independence, which
it should also be our object to get rid of.
2. Prohibition of Arms Traffic in Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. . —Elsewhere on the Persian
Gulf littoral a general prohibition of the arms traffic is in force. The
import of arms into Persia was prohibited by a Decree of 1881 (re-affirmed
by a law of 1900). In 1897 the Persian Government authorised British ships
to seize and confiscate arms destined for Persian ports. Agreements pro
hibiting the trade in their respective territories, and conferring powers of
search, &c., on British ships, were concluded with Bahrein (1898), Koweit
(1900), and the Trucial Chiefs (1902).
The import of arms into Turkey is also prohibited.
In 1898 the Sultan of Muskat agreed to prohibit the export of arms from
Muskat to India and Persia (where the import of arms was illegal), and
empowered British ships-to act on h?s behalf in enforcing this prohibition.
But (1) the import of arms into Muskat, and (2) their export except to the
two specified countries, remain unprohibited.
3 Stats of the Traffic at Muskat.— The result has been to make Mu'skat the
principal emporium of arms for the whole Middle East, rifles and ammunition
being imported thither from Europe in large quantities, and thence dis
tricted throughout the Gulf littoral. The bulk of these arms are smuggled
“front Muskat to the coast of Persian Mekran, -
up country by Afghan caravans and ultimately reach the tribesme
Afghanistan and the North-Western Frontier of India
the traffic in Persian territory.
The following tables illustrate
the extent of the import trade at Muskat
I .—Rifles
imported into Muskat.
1906-07.
1907-08.
1908-09.
Of Belgian manufacture
„ French „
„ English „
,, German ,,
,, Roumanian ,,
- 24,196
- 3,725
- 17,006
45,370
6,280
30,800
5,230
43,280
4,230
25,600
6,550
6,160
Total
- 44,927
87,680
85,820
S. 53.
A

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Content

The volume discusses the arms trade at Muscat and attempts by the British Government and the Sultan of Muscat to prohibit it; also included are reports and discussions from the Conference on Arms Traffic which was being held in Brussels in 1909 at the same time as the discussions in the volume.

Included in the volume is correspondence with the French Consul at Muscat (Lucien-Ernest-Roger Laronce, and Charles Céleste Albert Jeannier) and representatives of the Government of France regarding both the need for French co-operation to enforce the prohibition, and suspicions that French merchants at Muscat were involved in the trade.

The later correspondence discusses the following: a proposal made by the French Government that would have seen the Gambia being given by Britain to France; the decision by the French Government to attempt to end the arms trade in Jibuti [Djibuti]; and reports on the work of British naval authorities to stop vessels in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. and seize arms and ammunition.

The principal correspondents for the British Government include 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. (Percy Zachariah Cox); 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. and Consul at Maskat [Muscat] (William George Grey, Robert Erskine Holland, and Arthur Prescott Trevor); the Secretary to the Government of India in the Foreign Department (Sir Louis William Dane, and Sir Spencer Harcourt Butler); the Naval Commander-in-Chief for the East Indies Station (Sir Edmund Samuel Poe, and Edmond John Warre Slade); the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (Sir Edward Grey); the Secretary of State for the Colonies (Victor Alexander Bruce, Lord Elgin); the British Ambassador to France (Sir Francis Leveson Bertie, 1st Viscount Bertie of Thame), and representatives of the Foreign Office, the Colonial Office, and the 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. .

This volume is part 1 of 10. Each part includes a divider which gives the subject and part numbers, the year the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references contained in that part by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.

Extent and format
1 volume (488 folios)
Arrangement

The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume.

The subject 619 (Arms Traffic) consists of 7 volumes, IOR/L/PS/10/111-116. The volumes are divided into 10 parts with parts 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 comprising one volume each, parts 6, 7, 8, and 9 comprising the sixth volume and part 10 comprising the seventh volume.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 484; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. Two mixed foliation/pagination sequences are present in parallel between ff 229-242 and ff 258-270 respectively; these numbers are written in blue crayon.

The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers, nor does it include the leading and ending flyleaves.

Written in
English and French in Latin script
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File 619/1907 Pt 1 'Arms Traffic :- Muscat Warehouse. Negotiations with France 1907-1911.' [‎106r] (220/980), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/110, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100026534936.0x000015> [accessed 25 April 2024]

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