'Report on the Arms Traffic, 1st July 1911 to 30th June 1913 (including a note on the operations of the Makran Field Force in April and May 1911)' [‎6v] (12/44)

2
The amount unaccounted for is necessarily large, for it includes the vast amount
absorbed into the interior of Arabia, and large stocks in depots along the Arabian
Coast. Again the numbers reported to have been landed are perforce less than the
numbers actually landed, and there is also little check on the amounts jettisoned.
Some of the rifles and ammunition landed at Masqat are sometimes consign
ed to the Shaikhs of Kuwait or Muhammareh, and not, therefore, shown under
“ Landings ” or “ Capture ”.
3. The Warehouse at Masqat.
The great difficulty encountered in restricting the trade ?t Masqat was the
interest which certain French dealers had acquired in it, and French treaties with
'Oman. The following is a brief history of the situation.
In 1844, the French concluded a treaty with the Sultan of Masqat, which
guaranteed to the French the perpetual right of free imports, subject to maximum
customs charges of 5 per cent.
In 1862, a declaration was made by the British and French Governments, in
which both reciprocally bound themselves to respect the independence of the
Sultan of Masqat.
In March 1891, an agreement was signed between the British Government and
the Sultan of Masqat, under which the Sultan agreed never to cede, sell, mortgage,
or otherwise give for occupation, save to the British Government, the dominions
of Masqat or 'Oman, or any of their dependencies. The Sultan in return was
granted an annual subsidy of Us. 86,400.
During 1910-11, negotiations were opened between the British and French
Governments, with a view to settling certain outstanding difficulties, and on
the British side, to terminate the French treaty trade rights at Masqat, under
which the French were able to import arms and ammunition without hindrance into
Masqat. The French demands, however, proved too great, and included, among
other items, the cession of British Gambia in West Africa.
The Sultan himself was only too willing to put an end to the contraband
trade in Masqat, on any re. ,sonable terms, because it had become a'..perpetual
source of worry and annoyance to him, and he was aware that he was being
swindled out of the profits which he had expected.
The difficulty was to find a way of circumventing vested interests, without
infringing French treaty rights.
Early in 1911, the British Resident in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. put forward certain
proposals. These were, briefly, that the Sultan of Masqat should be given one
lakh One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees of rupees Indian silver coin also widely used in the Persian Gulf. down, to compensate him for certain losses incurred by him through
the blockade operations; and an increase of one lakh One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees per annum, to his subsidy to
cover all possible losses from customs duties, etc., on imported arms. The Sul
tan, in return, vrould institute a bonded warehouse system at Masqat, and forbid
the importation of arms into any other port in his dominions. All imported
arms and ammunition, including existing stocks, to be stored in the Sultan's
warehouses, to be marked and registered, and only to be issued to bond iide and
authorized purchasets, under the supervision of the Sultan’s own officials, wdio
must be approved by the British Government. These regulations would prevent
the issue of arms to all destinations, such as Persia, where the import of arms is
prohibited, and would kill the illegitimate contraband traffic, which is the source
of the profit of the dealers. After lengthy negotiations over many details, this
scheme was finally approved, in 1912, by the contracting parties. The Sultan in
March 1912 published the rules* for the conduct of the bonded warehouse system,
which, it was notified, would come into force from the 1st September 1912.
The result of the regulations, if stringently enforced, would be to end the use
of Masqat and other ports in 'Oman, such as Sohar, Sur and Matrah, as depots
(* See appendix A.)