Notes Prepared for Reference during Curzon’s Tour of the Persian Gulf, and Other Papers on Persia and the Persian Gulf [‎228r] (455/678)

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sandstone roclc. These graves are clearly Muhammadan for the reason that
they lie north and south, and the body is laid on the western side in a nick
covered over by the layer of stones called by Muhammadans <c lahad M .
The present village contains about 20 families of “Hot ” Baluchis, who
live by making matting. With reference to the importation of arms, it appears
that the Persian customs officials are only posted at Task, Charbar and Guettar,
and that no watch whatever is kept on the little ports and creeks along the
coast between those places, such as Galag, Sadech, Rabseh, Bir, Kir, Sirgan
and Tank. Native crafts can run across from, Muscat and land arms and
ammunition at any of those places and do do so.
The officers of the Indo-European Telegraph Department tell me that from
Jask to Gwadur the yearly increase in the number of Martini rifles and car
bines owned by the Baluchis is surprising, and that some of the Chiefs possess
Lee-Metford magazine rifles. These Chiefs and Headmen all tell you that
these arms were obtained from Muscat and brought across by Native craft, and
that there was no difficulty whatever in purchasing arms at Muscat. One
officer personally saw a lot of 20 rifles and 10 boxes of ammunition, apparently
landed at a small coast port called Tunk, being conveyed upcountry by the
Chiefs of Gaih and Kasirkand, and the men conveying these arms made no
secret of the matter. It is difficult to estimate the number of rifles brought
into Makran each year, but the fact that the followers of the Chiefs and Head
men are now armed chiefly with rifles where formerly matchlocks were only
used, shows that the number must be pretty considerable.
Thursday, 2nd January 1002 .— Muscat, 150 miles from Charbar. Arrived
at 10-30 a.m. Captain Cox, 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. , came off and took us ashore to
the Consulate. Not being within the limits of my own jurisdiction, my flag
was not flown on the Patrick Stewart. No salute was fired by the Sultan,
and no visits were interchanged.
The Sultan was invited by Captain Cox to come to tea to meet me, but
asked to he excused owing to the Bamzan fast.
On enquiring into the arms and ammunition import question I found
that, according to the treaties with England of 1891 and France of 1844, no
articles whatever are prohibited from importation into Muscat, and the dealers
in arms can and do send orders to Europe for any amount of arms and
ammunition. These arms are shipped from England and France by the
regular monthly steamers of the Strick Line trading with the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. .
The Muscat dealers have a license from the Sultan, but they pay no fees beyond
the customs import duty of 6 per cent, ad valorem and half a dollar on each
arm in addition. The value of the annual customs dues on arms and ammuni
tion to the Sultan is valued by Captain Cox at 40,000 dollars or Rs. 60,000 per
annum.
In the Muscat Trade Report for 1901, the total value of arms and ammuni
tion imported into Muscat during 1900-1901 is given at dollars 9,97,730 or, at
Rs. 1^ to the dollar, Ks. 14,96,595, or in round figures 15 lakhs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees of rupees Indian silver coin also widely used in the Persian Gulf. .
No arms are shown in the returns as exported to foreign countries, but it
is mentioned in paragraph 15 of the Muscat Report for 1900-1901, that, out of
25,000 arms taken out of Muscat during the year, the greater part have
gone to markets in the Gulf.
These arms are cleared at Muscat for ports on the Batina Coast and once
outside the Muscat harbour there is nothing whatever to prevent them running
across to harbours on the Makran Coast. The only restriction against the
export of arms to foreign countries is a notice posted up in the Muscat Custom-
liouse announcing the fact that the import of arms is prohibited in Persia,
Baluchistan, etc., and dealers are prohibited from selling arms to buyers from
those places. The latter easily evade this order by getting local men to make
their purchases for them.
I inspected a dealer’s shop and found it supplied, not only with Martinis,
but with Lee-Metfords, which were selling at Rs. 137 each with a 100 rounds
of ammunition. Martini-Henri rifles are now imported by the French trader
Guguyer, for the Arab dealers, at a cost of only Rs. 33 each.
1043 F D.