'Muscat: 1908-1928' [47v] (16/18)
The record is made up of 1 file (9 folios). It was created in 25 Aug 1928. 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. .
Transcription
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16
74. The geographical position of Gwatlur would lend it considerable
• .1 j. „ L' „ i.. •4-/-^ 1\ ^ i r-i /-i- oof o ri 1 1 o n n I rin rr tlio
Desp. to G. of I..
Feb. 19 1927,
P. 1575.
importance m the" event of an air route being established along the
north Arabian coast, and 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 Fein
nortti Araoian coast, me x ^ . bruarv 1927 pioposed
that it should be purchased outright for, say, £135,000, or about 20 years
purchase of the present customs revenue (Us. 118,000 in 1926, say Us. 1
lakh
One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees
after deduction of expenses of collection) as a British possession, the
Khan of Kalat being compensated for his claim out of the amount in
question. No opinion on the matter has been expressed by the Government
of India. But, as in the case of Khassab and the Musandim Promontory
(para. 71 above), the extent to which His Majesty’s Government are free
agents visa-vis France would need very careful examination before a
decision could be taken even were the proposal held to be free from
objection on other grounds.
Pol. Kes. to 0
Feb. 23 1923,
P.1151/23.
of I.,
C.O. to I.O.,
May 22 1925,
P. 1589/25.
&c.,
(d) Oil in Muscat.
75. The Sultan undertook in February 1923 not to exploit any oil which
might be found in his territories, or to grant permission for its exploitation,
without prior consultation with 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 the approval of the
Government of India. An oil concession was secured from His Highness,
with the approval of His Majesty’s Government, by the Anglo-Persian Oil
Company in 1925. (The general question of oil in the Gulf is dealt with in
the Memorandum by the Board of 'trade on p. ^|.)
VII.—Summary.
76. The last 20 years have seen the practical elimination of French
influence in Muscat and the consolidation of the influence of His Majesty’s
Government. Despite the fact that the Sultanate is independent, a very
close degree of indirect control has been established ; the succession has
been regulated ; the customs administration has been brought under the
management of officials recommended by the Government of India, a
European adviser, a servant indeed of the Sultan, but recommended and
selected by the Government of India, and working in close and friendly
co-operation with 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.
, is the mainspring of the adminis
tration; the arms traffic has disappeared, and, thanks to the active
intervention, both political and otherwise, of His Majesty’s Government,
a working arrangement has been reached with the rebellious tribes of
the interior of Oman. The main difficulties which at the moment conliont
the State are the instability of the Sultan’s character, and the possibility
that before a suitable successor is available he may renew his desire to
abdicate; the financial situation, which is complicated by the need for
expenditure on essential improvements, the lact that the main source ol
additional revenue—increase of customs duties cannot without great
difficulty be tapped, and the necessity of repayment to the Government of
India of the balance of the loan made to the State in 1919 : and the problem,
the importance of which cannot at this stage be appraised, but which may
not prove to be serious, of the attitude of the tribes of Sur.
77. The direct intervention in the affairs of Muscat of His Majesty s
Government has been very definitely in the interests of the State, and, so far
as those interests are concerned, it is desirable that it should be maintained.
At the same time, so long as the treaties at present in force between the
Sultan and the Governments of France, Holland and the United States
continue to subsist, there can be no question of the establishment of a formal
protectorate, even should wider objections of principle not be held to militate
against the acceptance of such a policy.
From the narrower point of view of the interests of His Majesty s
Government and the Government of India, there is no less advantage in a
maintenance of the status quo, under which control in everything but name
rests with 1 lis Majesty’s Government. With the gradual elimination ol British
authority from the south Persian coast and with the adoption, for however long
it may be maintained, of an active policy in the Gulf by Persia, the strangle
hold on the Gulf which the effective control of Muscat constitutes has assumed
an importance, more especially in view of British commitments in Iraq, which
it did not in the past present. Moreover, not only is effective, if veiled,
About this item
- Content
Document outlining the administration and history of Muscat from 1908-28. Covering:
- administration – Sultan of Oman succession history; treaty relations; internal administration by Council of Ministers; role of 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. , Muscat; and the responsibility for expenditure;
- 1908 to 4 October 1913: Sultan Faisal – the successful suppression of arms traffic from Muscat;
- internal history of Muscat from the accession of Sultan Taimur, 4 October 1913 to 1928 – conditions for recognition of Sayid Taimur as ruler by His Majesty's Government; inefficiency of internal administration; proposals by 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. for active interference in internal affairs by the Government of India and His Majesty's Government; the programme of reform accepted by the Sultan as condition of a loan; the results of the reform and loan; negotiations with Omani tribes; financial situation and the decision to employ a British Financial Advisor;
- relations between the Sultan of Muscat and Oman and the Ibadhi Tribes of Oman – the Oman Rebellion, 1913-21;
- foreign relations of Muscat, 1908-28 – treaty relations with France; relations with the United States of America, Dutch Government, Germany, Persia, and Ibn Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd];
- miscellaneous questions – the Muscat Order in Council A regulation issued by the sovereign of the United Kingdom on the advice of the Privy Council. ; proposal for the establishment of a British Naval Base in the Musandim [Musandam] Peninsula; cession of Gwadur; oil in Muscat.
It also includes a summary, lists points referred to in connection with the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. Sub-Committee, and states the view expressed by the Government of India.
Written by John Gilbert Laithwaite of 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. .
- Extent and format
- 1 file (9 folios)
- Arrangement
This file consists of a single document.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at f 40, and terminates at f 48, as it is part of a larger physical volume; these numbers are written in pencil, 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. Pagination: the file also contains an original printed pagination sequence.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/18/B400
- Title
- 'Muscat: 1908-1928'
- Pages
- 40r:48v
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence