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File 520/1911 'Arabia:- Arms Traffic in the Yemen.' [‎38r] (80/342)

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The record is made up of 1 file (167 folios). It was created in 10 Feb 1911-20 Oct 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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[Th is Pi cmi-pn. t is the Property of His Britannic Majesty’s Government.]
ARMS TRAFFIC.
CONFIDENTIAL.
[14953]
: -C J
7MAY1911
No. 1.
[April 22.]
Section 3.
Colonial Office to Foreign Office. - -{Received April 22.)
Si r > > . Downing Street, April 21, 1911.
I AM directed by Mr. Secretary Harcourt to acknowledge the receipt of your
letter of the 18th April respecting the illicit import of arms into the Yemen, and to
request jou to inform Secretary Sir E. Grey that Mr. H. A. Byatt, the acting
commissioner of Somaliland, who is now on leave in this country, has been consulted
with regard to the suggestion of the Italian Government referred to in the second
paragraph of your letter.
2. Mr. Byatt states that arms are imported into British Somaliland, but that he
has never known a case in which arms have been exported from the protectorate across
the Gulf of Aden, and that, with the exception of a very few dhows registered at Zeyla,
no dhows from the protectorate touch at Turkish ports/
3. Assuming, however, that arms are exported from British Somaliland to the
Yemen, Mr. Byatt doubts whether, under the existing legislation, certificates could be [
refused to any dhow A term adopted by British officials to refer to local sailing vessels in the western Indian Ocean. leaving the Somali Coast for ostensibly innocent purposes, and he I
is of opinion that, even if the procedure suggested by the Italian Government were
adopted, it would not prevent dhows from conveying contraband to Yemen ports. He
points out, for instance, that a dhow A term adopted by British officials to refer to local sailing vessels in the western Indian Ocean. might be furnished with a certificate from Berbera
to Mokha. The dhow A term adopted by British officials to refer to local sailing vessels in the western Indian Ocean. leaves Berbera, picks up contraband at some obscure place on
the Somali Coast, sails for some point on the Arabian coast (say, near Mokha) where
there are no customs officials, lands the contraband, and then proceeds to Mokra, where
her master shows her original papers certifying her to be engaged in an honest trade.
The mere fact that there are no customs officials at the places where the contraband is
taken on board and landed makes it almost impossible to prove that the dhow A term adopted by British officials to refer to local sailing vessels in the western Indian Ocean. has
diverged from her course.
I am &c.
H. BERTRAM COX.
[1980 y—3]

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Content

The file concerns arms traffic by sea into Yemen in the course of the rebellion there against Turkish rule.

The principal correspondents are senior officials of the Foreign Office, 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. , and the Admiralty; the Viceroy of India (Lord Hardinge); and diplomatic representatives of the Governments of the Ottoman Empire (also referred to as Turkey), France and Italy.

The papers cover: diplomatic exchanges between the governments involved following a request by the Turkish Government to halt the illicit import of arms into Yemen by sea; discussion of the response of the British, French and Italian Governments to the possible seizure by the Turkish authorities of vessels (sambuks, dhows) under the protection of those Governments; the use of British, French and Italian naval vessels to patrol the area; the right of the Ottoman authorities to seize British vessels in the Red Sea; and discussions over an agreement between the four Governments to suppress arms traffic.

Correspondence from the Turkish and French Governments is in French.

Extent and format
1 file (167 folios)
Arrangement

The papers are arranged in chronological order (except where enclosures of an earlier date follow their relevant covering letter) from the rear to the front of the volume.

The subject 520 (Arms Traffic in the Yemen) consists of one volume only.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 169. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.

Written in
English and French in Latin script
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File 520/1911 'Arabia:- Arms Traffic in the Yemen.' [‎38r] (80/342), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/193, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100028977073.0x000051> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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