'File 14/1 III Oil concession in Muscat' [‎141r] (286/594)

on him* The 1923 undertaking required that permission should
he given Toy Government before the Sultan granted a concession;
the proper procedure would therefore have been for him to seek
approval before the concession was signed. If Government
were now to send a letter intimating their approval of the
concession the letter must be in reply to a request of his ?
but he had not asked for it and it was not he who had
furnished a copy of the concessions to Government (cf. his
desire to amend the opening words of the draft letter).
I said it seemed that what His Highness really v/ished
was to be released from the 1923 undertaking. He said he did
not regard it as 'binding on him, and that it was not included
in the obligations which he accepted on his accession. I
said this was a view that Government could not possibly accept
t would enable him to repudiate any of the obligations
nourred by his predecessors whenever he thou#* it convenient,
ven a solemn treaty could be disowned and Goveinment
.ot tell on which of the undertakings of his predecessors they
ould rely. The Sultan said that a treaty was suoject t
•evision but the 19S3 undertaking on our view would be
lerpetualiy'binding on Muscat and he could not assent to tna .
le professed to draw a distinction between obligations wmc
n An behalf of himself and his
■/ere accepted by a Suita
, . live that of 1923, which were
successors, and undertakings, a ap’ain
. , „ qultan m his own name. He referred aga
nerely given by a Sultan ^ oould only
to the letter his father had written. ^ ^ ^ ^
affect the matter if the ^erm^
„ no far I had failed to trace ohe
by Government, and ^ ^ Highness wished to be
correspondence in our . t vmB n0 doubt open to
released from the ^ politioal Eesident. For
him to pursue the ma ctex u promise had
. .r fi .overnment was that the P
the present the view of . d for that
devolved on him when he succeeded his iauhc