File 600/1905 Pt 5 'Aden Hinterland: Treaty with Sultan of Balahaf' [‎153r] (89/152)

The papers specified in
Aden.
Balahaf Affaxrt.
MEMORANDUM.
le margin were transmuted to the Speretary,
leal and J?ecret Departmeffit, IndiJ^
Letter from the Chief Secretar^^to the Govern*
ment of Bombay, Political Depai/ment, No. 2180,
dated 3rd May 1006.
Ijondfm, for the in^rmation, of
Majesty’s Secretary o^State for India
,tinder coTer of the Uoreign Secretary’s
letter, No. 20-M., dated the 18th May
1903.
No 3476, dated Bombay Castle, the 3rd June 1905.
From—The Hon’ble Mr. S W. Edgerley, C.I.E., Chief Secretary to the Govern
ment of Bombay, Political Department,
To—The Secretary to the Government of India ; Foreign Department. V
In continuation of my letter No. 2780, dated the 3rd May 190
directed to forward herewith, for the information of the Government of
India, copy of a letter from 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. , Aden, No. 2952, dated 21st
May 1905, and of its enclosures, together with copy of a telegram from the
Resident, dated the 15th ultimo, and of my reply thereto, dated the 17th idem,
on the subject of affairs at Balahaf.
2 . It is not necessary for His Excellency the Governor in Council to write
at any length. The position of affairs has been very thoroughly cleared up by
Captain Hancock’s thorough enquiry, and it is clear that the Sheikhs of the
Wahidi tribe are unanimous in their resolution to depose Sultan Saleh bin
Abdulla and to recognise Mohsin bin Salhe as their titular Sultan. It is clear
also that, in the opinion of the Resident at Aden, Sultan Mohsin alone has in
fluence to hold the tribe together, and that whatever influence Sultan Saleh
previously had has been sacrificed by his negotiations with Sultan Ghalib of
Shehr and Mokalla. That being so His Excellency the Governor in Council
would recommend that accomplished facts be accepted and that Sultan Mohsin
he recognised as titular Sultan of the Wahidi tribe of Balahaf and that the
, D v - a , „ . v . K1 stipend* due to the titular Sultan should
•Pro. No. 46 m Secret E., August 1893, Noa. 1*51. i 1 • , , , • „
be paid to him. It is not necessary for
Government to consider at present how he will distribute the stipend to other
sharers, nor what the shares in the revenue should be, nor how Sultan Saleh bin
Abdulla will satisfy Sultan Ghalib of Shehr and Mokalla as regards the
negotiation which he will now be unable to carry to conclusion.
No. 2952, dated Aden 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. , the 21st May 1905.
From—M ajor-General H. M. Mason, 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. , Aden,
To—The Secretary to the Government of Bombay From c. 1668-1858, the East India Company’s administration in the city of Bombay [Mumbai] and western India. From 1858-1947, a subdivision of the British Raj. It was responsible for British relations with the Gulf and Red Sea regions. , Political Department.
In continuation of my letter No. 2241, dated the 16th April 1905, and
with reference to your telegram, dated the 17th May 1905, regarding Balahaf
affairs, I have the honour to forward herewith copy of a memorandum submit
ted to me by Captain F. de B. Hancock, my First Assistant, whom I deputed
on the 7th May to proceed to Balahaf in the R. I. M. S. “ Elphinstone ”
and make local enquiries on the points which Government in their letter
No. 1306, dated the 18th March 1905, required to be further elucidated.
2. Captain Hancock has taken considerable pains to go minutely into the
whole question and the result of his enquiries has been to confirm my own
views that Mohsin bin Saleh is the only man capable of being the Sultan of the
Wahidi of Balahaf. At the two interviews I have had with the principal
Sheikhs and Sayids of the tribe on the 15th and 19th instant, notes of which
are herein enclosed, they have been unanimous in their support of Mohsin as
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