File 2869/1906 Pt 1 'Arms Traffic: Mekran Coast and Baluchistan. (correspondence 1906-7)' [‎37r] (78/576)

Two men will have to be engaged at Rs. 12 each per mensem for attend
ance throughout the day at the telephones at Jask and Charbar assisted by the
line-guards at those stations.
7. As an additional means of gathering information, arrangements could
be made with certain local people to give information, for which they would he
suitably rewarded if it proved to be of value. Of course, only thoroughly
reliable men will be broached in this manner and they will be in every case
either friends or relations of men of our line establishment. I think if 40 or
50 rupees Indian silver coin also widely used in the Persian Gulf. per mensem were judiciously spent in rewards and presents it would
produce good results.
8. The following is an approximate estimate of the expenditure per
mensem for guards, &c :
Bs. a. p.
One jemadar at Rs 30 per mensem
Ten guards at Rs. 25 each per mensem
Average monthly expenditure on account of rewards
Two tdephone men at Rs. 12 per mensem
Monthly allowances of Rs. 5 to six line-?uards of
permanent line establishment in charge of telephones
... 30 0 0
... 250 0 0
.. 40 0 0
24 0 0
the
30 0 0
Total ... 374 0 0
9. The working methods of such a plan of patrols would be ns follows : —
After finding out the most likely port, or rather the suspected area,
where arms will be landed, three guards will be posted to patrol prescribed
districts near the coast, whilst tw r o others will be sent a few miles north of the
telegraph line to watch roads from up-country.
One guard will be stationed at Jask to carefully watch arrivals by mail
steamers from Maskat, and to track any suspicious persons.
The jemadar after posting his guards will visit villages in the vicinity to
inform his spies where to report information. Telephone stations will be
established every 15 miles, or at every line-guards beat in the suspected area,
and the jemadar will be supplied with a telephone with which he can cut in at
any time.
With these facilities I am confident we would be able to receive early
intelligence at Jask or Charbar of any suspicious collections of Afghans or
Baluchis, and also to determine the arranged port of disembarkation long
before the arms arrive.
I could personally conduct these operations up to the middle of January
after which my work takes me out of the arms area.
10. With reference to Commander E. W. James* letter of the 1st April
1907, paragraph 11, I cannot recommend communication with His Majesty’s
Ships from points on the coast. Any signalling operations with large flags
would openly proclaim our co-operation with His Majesty’s Ships, and I would
beg to submit that such suspicion might endanger the position of the Telegraph
Department and its employes along the coast.
11. A nother means of gaining good information which suggests itself is
the employment of spies amongst the poorer class of fishermen at Maskat and
Mutra, and at villages further to the westward. Arms are exported to other
places up the Gulf, but it should not be difficult to distinguish, and observe
the departure of a native boat containing up-country Baluchi or Afghan
passengers who invariably accompany consignments of arms destined for the
Mekran Coast.
12. In conclusion, I would respectfully beg to remark that the chances of
His Majesty’s Ships making successful seizure would be just as good if an
unobtrusive plan were adopted and reliance placed on the information we are
able to give them from the shore of either departures from Maskat or suspected
arrivals.