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File 2830/1914 Pt 1 'Persian Gulf: Sponge Fisheries. Sponge Exploration Syndicate.' [‎34v] (73/488)

The record is made up of 1 volume (240 folios). It was created in 18 May 1905-11 Dec 1916. 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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financed by clients of ours.
The Bight Hon.
We are, &c.,
Russell and A enrolz.
Sir Edward Grey, Bart., M.P.,
&c., &c., &c.
Letter No. 5.
Eoreign Office to 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. .
No. 14,782.
Eoreign Office,
15th May 1907.
Sir,
With reference to your letter of 7th February 1906 relative to
the affairs of the Sponge Exploration Syndicate, I am directed by
Secretary Sir Edward Grey to transmit to you herewith copy of abetter
from Messrs. Paddison, Trevor, and De La Chapelle, who are acting as
solicitors to that association, forwarding a translation of the concession
granted by the Sultan of Muscat, and soliciting a declaration from His
Majesty’s Government that the terms of this document, in no way
infringe the rights of other persons protected by the commercial 'treaty
between Great Britain and Muscat, and that His Majesty’s Government
recognise the concession as being perfectly in order.
A comparison of the translation forwarded herewith with that of the
same concession which formed the enclosure in your letter of 11th
January 1906 reveals the existence of an important discrepancy bettveen
the twm, viz., that whereas the preamble 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. version
only states that the Sultan gives the Syndicate the “ permission to
produce sponges from ” his “ vraters,” that of Messrs. Paddison’s version
It appears to Sir E. Grey that, if the translation of the concession
now given by Messrs. Paddison rightly reproduces the sense of the
original text, that instrument does, in fact, grant to the Syndicate an
exclusive right to fish for sponges in Muscat w r aters during the period
of the lease, and thereby constitutes a violation of the Treaty above
referred to.
I am accordingly to request that, should Mr. Secretary Moriey see
no objection, steps may be taken to ascertain from the Government of
India, vlio are understood to he in possession of a copy of the original
test of this concession, which translation is the correct one, and I am
to inquire whether, should it be shown that Messrs. Paddison’s version
is accurate, this discovery would not modify the opinion expressed in
your letter of 7th February 1906, that the concession cannot be held
to be a violation of Article IV. of the Treaty of 1891.
I am further to draw your attention to the passage common to both
versions of the preamble, in which it is stated that the permission or
right to fish for sponges is granted to the Syndicate to a distance of
ten miles in breadth, and I am to state that, in Sir E. Grey’s opinion,
the Sultan of Muscat and the Sponge Exploration Syndicate, Limited,
should be informed that His Majesty’s Government are unable to

About this item

Content

The volume concerns the attempts of a British company called the Sponge Exploration Syndicate to obtain concessions for the fishing and exploitation of sponges in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. . However, the papers indicate that it was felt by British officials that the real object of the company was to exploit the Gulf's pearl banks, which entailed the risk of infringing Britain's treaty obligations with the Arab states.

The principal correspondents are the Foreign Office; Major Percy Zachariah Cox, acting as Consul-General for Fars, Khuzistan etc., and 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 the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ; officials 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. and the Government of India; the Viceroy of India (the Earl of Minto); and the Sponge Exploration Syndicate Limited.

The papers include: letters of application for concession rights from the company; the granting of a concession to the company by the Government of Persia; the granting of a concession to the company by the Sultan of Muscat; a report by the British Museum, on the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. as a possible area for successful sponge fisheries (folios 175-176); the involvement of the company with the rulers of the Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. ; and the rights of British-protected Arabs. The volume also contains an Admiralty chart of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. on folio 50.

The French language content of the volume consists of an agreement on folios 129-131.

The date range gives the covering dates of the main items of correspondence. This is mainly dated 1905-09, with one item dated 1916. The correspondence also includes enclosures dated 1892 (folios 214-215).

Each part includes a divider which gives the subject and part numbers, year the subject file was opened, subject heading, and list of correspondence references contained in that part by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence (folio 1).

Extent and format
1 volume (240 folios)
Arrangement

The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume.

The subject 2830 ( Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. : Sponge and Pearl Fisheries) consists of two volumes, IOR/L/PS/10/456-457. The volumes are divided into two parts with each part comprising one volume.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 242; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, 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.

Written in
English and French in Latin script
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File 2830/1914 Pt 1 'Persian Gulf: Sponge Fisheries. Sponge Exploration Syndicate.' [‎34v] (73/488), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/456, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100038235550.0x00004a> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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