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'File 8/20: MUSCAT STATE AFFAIRS: RISE OF OMANIS' [‎6v] (12/634)

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The record is made up of 1 file (316 folios). It was created in 9 May 1917-10 Oct 1920. 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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8
The Customs is drawn against in advance and has to borrow monev to
carry on Most of the merchants have large debts standing against it which
are worked on the system of deposits. Instead of paying full customs dues
for floods imijorted they pay half dues, the other half being credited agams
the debt.
I have iust had in my court a long case connected with the accounts of a
Hindu firm in its dealings with the Customs Department. The case which I
have purposely investigated in great detail shews a most woeful system of
fraud and of wasteful methods. Though the new Superintendent of Customs
has I believe, improved matters much, His Highness receives only a tithe of
what would be obtained if the customs at all the ports were under proper
supervision.
Before going into the question of his administration it may he well here
to consider the character of His Highness Saiyid Taimur.
I find a note on this subject, left by my predecessor which reads as
follows “ weak, amiable and ineffective, has some of the instincts of a
gentleman and very good manners when he acts unjustly or unreason
ably be is probably moved by (1) pique, (2) desire to flaunt an unreal
independence, (3) a tendency towards ultra-religion, or most commonly
indebtedness. His financial position is desperate . lo this I should add
that His Highness has many good qualities. He has sound common-sense and
is liberal minded and has a desire to improve matters. He is undoubtedly in
favour of progress and would prefer justice to injustice if he could achieve it;
he has not however the means at his disposal, nor has he the necessary
knowledge to acquire the required organisation. He has even a tendency
towards science but has not the education to follow it.
To sum up as the ruler of the tribes of Oman he is hopeless, as the ruler
of a State under European tutelage, I am of opinion, that he would acquire
merit.
As matters stand his administration is as hopeless as his finance.
No courts exist worthy of the name and his Kazis are corrupt, his courtiers
are venal and useless and his brothers may be summed up in the same terms.
It is the advice of those around him which causes him to do unwise things
and it is they I think, who tear, more than he does, the corrective of our
influence. He has accordingly no one to whom he can turn to improve
matters.
Eor many years his father fought the desire of the Government of India
to manage the Customs for him, fearing the disappearance of the last vestage
of his independence. This feeling Saiyid Taimur has to a certain degree
inherited.
The conditions, however, are such that, if not amended, the Sultan s
financial conditions must soon land him in bankruptcy and his administration,
or the want of it makes him more and more disliked as a ruler.
In order to terminate the present state of affairs, it is necessary to make
the one side see that reform of Government is necessary and the other side
realise that submission to the ruler is the only course possible and that it is
inevitable.
I have said that the Sultan knows that without our assistance bis position
is impossible. Not only does he know it but all the world of Maskat and
Oman as well, it should not then be difficult to get him to agree to reason
able terms.
There remain the tribes to he dealt with and it is evident that argument
will need to be backed by force before they will give up their present
advantageous position. We have however to our hand a weapon which will
not require the use of a single soldier.
The life of Oman depends upon the external world. The rice and the
grain it imports, the clothes it wears and the wood from which it makes its
boats are imported from India, while the dates, pomegranates and limes it
pxports uic sold to British subjects and despatched to Butish poits.

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Content

This file relates to British policy in Muscat and Oman. It contains extensive correspondence and memoranda from the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. and Consul at Muscat, mainly addressed to the Deputy 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. and the Civil Commissioner in Baghdad, which discusses the rivalry between the Sultanate of Muscat and the Imamate of Oman, the history of British relations with the ruling sultans, and negotiations between the Sultan [Taymūr bin Fayṣal bin Turkī Āl Bū Sa‘īd] and the Omani tribes.

Related matters of discussion include the following: comparisons between the Sultan's rule and that of the Imam's; the question of whether British support for the current Sultan's Government should be continued, given the state of its finances and the Sultan's standing with the Omani tribes; possible reforms to the Sultan's Government, as proposed by the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. ; the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. 's meeting with Omani representative Shaikh Isa bin Salih [Shaikh ‘Īsá bin Ṣāliḥ al-Ḥārthī]; negotiations between the Sultan and the Omanis (in which the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. acts as mediator), and the terms for a final settlement between the two parties; plans for the Sultan to impose a penal zakat on certain Omani tribes; the murder of the Imam on 21 July 1920.

Correspondents besides the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. include the following: the Deputy 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. ; the Civil Commissioner, Baghdad; officials of the Government of India's Foreign and Political Department.

Extent and format
1 file (316 folios)
Arrangement

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

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 318; 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.

Condition: folios 274-276 are damaged and have parts of their edges missing, resulting in the loss of text.

Written in
English in Latin script
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'File 8/20: MUSCAT STATE AFFAIRS: RISE OF OMANIS' [‎6v] (12/634), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/6/204, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100058820654.0x00000d> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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