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Coll 20/37 'Muscat: French connections under Muscat' [‎17r] (34/55)

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The record is made up of 1 file (25 folios). It was created in 22 Jul 1932-21 Mar 1945. 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. .

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CONFIDENTIAL.
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. .
B. 438.
P.Z. 6811/34.
MUSCAT.
Question whether a Naval Station could be established for use by His Majesty’s
Ships at Khor Quwai or elsewhere in Muscat Territory compatibly with the
existing- International Engagements of His Majesty’s Government.
i he object of the present note is to examine, with particular reference to the
proposal which has been put forward to establish a station at Khor Quwai in the
Musandim Peninsula, the history of the Declaration of 1862 by which France and
(Treat Britain undertook to respect the independence of Muscat, and its effect, and
that of other existing treaty provisions, on the right of H.M. Government (subject
to the consent of the Sultan of Muscat) to establish a naval station in Muscat
territory.
Status of the Musandim Peninsula.
2. Before proceeding to an examination of the relevant treaty provisions and
their importance in the present connection it may be mentioned that, while in
u ‘Vu S ° me d ° ubt WaS ex P ressed as t0 whether the Musandim Peninsula (and so
the Khor Quwai and the surrounding territory) could properly be regarded as
failing within the territory of the Sultan of Muscat, the result of investigations
undertaken locally by Mr. Lorimer and embodied in Lorimer’s Gazetteer of the 1368-9
Persian ( 1 ulf was to show that the area must be regarded as falling within the 1569,1614.
territory of the Sultan. In the light of those investigations the British Counter p 741/05
Case submitted to the Hague Tribunal in 1905 in the Muscat Dhows Arbitration
stated that fiom Ras Dibba to libba (Tibat), the coast forming the promontory of
Musandim is claimed by the Sultan of Muscat, who has certainly before and since
804 exeicised authority on that coast by his Vali and in other ways; and his
rights on the coast are recognised by the Sheikh of Shargah and the Jowasmi.”
There have been no developments since 1905 to justify any reconsideration of this
conclusion, and it is relevant that H.M. Government have, so recentlv as 1930,
assisted the Sultan of Muscat to assert his authority at Khassab.
Treaty Engagements.
3. The treaty engagements of importance in the present connection are the
following :—
(a) British Treaty of Commerce of 1839 with Muscat, Article 2.
(b) Treaty of Commerce between France and Muscat, 1844, Article 3.
(c) Anglo-French Declaration of 10th March 1862.
(d) British Treaty of Commerce of 1891 with Muscat, Article 4.
(e) Exclusive Agreement of the Sultan of Muscat with H.M. Government, 1891.
4. The following are the relevant extracts from the treaty engagements in
question :—
British Treaty of Commerce with Muscat of 1839.
5. Article 2 of the Ireaty of Commerce of 1839 between the British Government
and the Sultan of Muscat provides inter alia that “ British subjects shall be at
liberty to purchase, sell, or hire land or houses in the dominions of His Highness
the Sultan of Muscat. . . Ihis treaty was replaced in 1891 by the revised treaty
referred to in paragraph 10 below.
Aitcli.
(1933) XI,
No. iv,
p. 293.
Appendix
II, p. xxx.
No. x, pp.
304-5.
No. xvi,
p. 311.
No. xvii,
pp. 317-8
Trench Treaty of Commerce of 1844.
6. Aiticle 3 of the Ireaty of Commerce between His Highness the Imam of
Muscat and the King of the French of November 1844, which is still in force,
provides inter aHa that “ the Irench shall be at liberty to purchase, sell, or rent
land, houses, or warehouses in the dominions of . . . Muscat.”
The Anglo-French Declaration of 1862.
u lu'h- 0 ■^ n §^ 0 '^' renc I 1 Declaration of 10th March 1862 places on record that
Her Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and
His Majesty the Emperor of thePrench, taking into consideration the importance of
maintaining the independence of His Highness the Sultan of Muscat and of His
Highness the Sultan ol Zanzibar, have thought it right to engage reciprocally to
respect the independence of these sovereigns.

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Content

Correspondence relating to French relations with Muscat. Included in the file:

Extent and format
1 file (25 folios)
Arrangement

The file is arranged in chronological order from the back to the front.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 27; 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.

A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.

Written in
English in Latin script
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Coll 20/37 'Muscat: French connections under Muscat' [‎17r] (34/55), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2997, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100047240859.0x000023> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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