File 600/1905 Pt 3 'Aden Hinterland: Situation; Withdrawal of Political Agent from Dthala; Treaties with Haushabi, Kotaibi and Alawi chiefs' [‎182v] (360/508)

collect information regarding^ 3 ^ 000 ^ and mt^s of = fc.
And as soon as they e " information they have gained to the nearest
Other evil purposes, ey y M1 immediately mounts and proceeds to
J ^ •> .«!; Ui.,-
persons/’ the L aaily accompany the patrols of the Troop f
M ^idefand bein- well acquainted with the country know where water and
“r^fare procurable and are of the greatest assrstanee to my men who are
unacquainted with the language of the country.......
He compared them to the Belooch guides and considered their retention
necessary < to enable the Troop under his command to effectively perform the
duties required of it. , A , A . j • *
Tlie Arab Lew was accordingly retained And the correspondence is of
particular interest as showing the object of their retention. It is to be
observed that they were not referred to as a fighting bo y.
40 Tn the vear 1891 under Government Resolution, Military Department,
No 400, dated the 21 st February 1891, the Aden Troop was re-organised. 1 ifty
armed and accoutred Cameliers were substituted for as many horsemen, and
the Arab Levy was reduced to one Jamedar and five sowars. The mam
reasons for the change were apparently that the camel was found from practical
ewerience to be more enduring and mobile in an arid ehmate and sandy soil
ton the horse and that to Camelier could carry behind him to any desired
point an Infantry soldier. . 4 M
44. General Hogg’s letter No. 122-1041, dated the 26th April 1890, on
the strength of which the change was sanctioned, merits detailed consideration.
After detailing the reasons for which to Aden Troop was originally raised he
proceeded to write:-” In those days the Arab tribes in the immediate vicinity
of Aden were little short of lawless free-looters, each tribe ready to lift its hand
agaiMt its neighbour, and all hostile to British limits. By degrees and in he
usual manner our immediate neighbours have been brought to a reasonable
frame of mind. Certain tribes have been subsidized and induced thereby to
carry out to some extent internal Police arrangements. These have been
supplemented by an occasional judicious interference, and on all such occasions
thc Aden Troop has been employed. There is no doubt that to Troop is 1
excellent order thoroughly well mounted and equipped and m a high state
of training and discipline. ^ Their moral effect upon the Arab tribes is surpris-
ing, and even when expeditions to to Interior have been less frequent than
usual, to mere presence of the Troop at Khor Maksar has been most benefi-
cial It invariablv has furnished escorts to 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. and h
Assistants when visiting the Interior. And the districts in which we are mostly
concerned are now fairly quiet and undisturbed.
« I think, therefore, that Government may certainly consider that up to t e
year 1886 the good results obtained in the first place by subsidizing t e ri es
and assured by the creation of the Troop have been, if regarded as a matter ot
Police administration, economical. Since the occupation of Berbera, ±5u
and Zi-ila the troop has been employed on the Somali Coast and owing o
comparatively undisturbed state of the Arab tribes near Aden this has Been
feasible. Experience of the last three years has, however, shown that the
present constitution of the Troop which is certainly costly is not that best s
for the work now required of it. And it is evident that a Troop organize
different and less expensive lines would suffice. It is, therefore, propose
reduce the number of sowars mounted as horsemen and to substitute am
Sowars and to reduce the Arab Levy, retaining only six men as guides-m
to remodel the Troop with a view to getting a body of soldiers adopted tor wor*
in Arabia and on the Somali Coast, if necessary.”
“The Arab Levy to be abolished retaining one Jamedar and five of tie
best men as guides: no more are now required. The Levy has been ton
during the late Essa expedition to be not a fighting body and they are J
means amenable to discipline. We want as many men as possible tr
10