'Memorandum by Captain Eastwick' [‎23v] (6/10)

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Disputes arose, and there is little doubt Syud Majid
would have been compelled to succumb, but toi
the intervention of the British Government. It
must be borne in mind that Muscat is, as it were,
the mother country, from whence the conquerors
of Zanzibar arid the Arab settlements on the coast
of Africa came, and that, if left to themselves, the
warlike tribes of the Gulf would soon reassert their
supremacy over their African conquests.
29. In 1861, a final and permanent arrangement
was made by Sir William Coghlan, under the
orders of Lord Canning, by which Zanzibar became
independent, paying annually 40,000 dollars to
Muscat in compensation of all claims. Since the
accession of Syud Salim to Muscat, by the alleged
murder of his father, Syud fhoweynee, in 1866,
Syud Majid declines to pay the 40,000 dollars, on
the ground that Syud Salim is a parricide and an
usurper.
30. Syud Salim was, we are told, elected by the
tribes to succeed his father, according to the usage
of Oman. He was recognized by the Government
of India, and the recognition was approved by the
Secretary of State on the 28th of February 1867.
On the 22d May 1867, the Viceroy addressed a
letter to Syud Majid, announcing his intention to
enforce the payment of the subsidy. Sir William
Coghlan, a high authority on these matters, having
been consulted by the Secretary of State, sent in an
elaborate memorandum, dated 17th August 1867, in
which he expresses his concurrence in the letter and
policy of the Viceroy, and states that “ in his esti-
“ mat ion it would have the worst possible effect
“ throughout Oman, and the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , if the
4< British Government allowed the plain terms of
“ its arbitrament to be set aside by such flimsy pre-
“ texts.”
31. Syud Salim depends upon the Zanzibar sub
sidy to enable him to pay his tribute to the Wa-
habees, his assignment to Toorkee, and other
demands. The Government of India distinctly
state, that British “ good faith ” is involved in the
maintenance of the subsidy, and they strongly de
precate any measures that may tend to weaken the
Sultan of Muscat. There is no doubt that for a
series of years it has been the policy of the British
Government to support Muscat; the late Syud
Saeed, on more than one occasion, owed the preser
vation of his power to British interference in his
behalf.
32. I feel strongly that the character of Syud
Salim does not entitle him to our sympathy or sup
port, but he is not the first eastern ruler who has
risen to a throne by the shedding of blood. Syud
Saeed, himself, stabbed his uncle and stepped into
his place, and the Arab tribes did not think the
worse of him for the outrage. Syud Salim was
elected by those who had the right to elect him, and
he has been acknowledged both by the Indian and