'SUMMARY OF THE PRINCIPAL EVENTS AND MEASURES OF THE VICEROYALTY OF HIS EXCELLENCY LORD CURZON OF KEDLESTON, VICEROY AND GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF INDIA IN THE FOREIGN DEPARTMENT. I. JANUARY 1899-APRIL 1904. II. DECEMBER 1904-NOVEMBER 1905. VOLUME IV. PERSIA AND THE PERSIAN GULF.' [‎30v] (65/384)

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Home auhorities upon hanT^f ^ri^l^En^pean PoweT,
with its excellent anch°rage political status of that district and to
Lord Curzon’s f be advfsable to take there. The poli-
the measures ot precaution considered with reference to the Declaration
ticalsituation ^/ lu/Brithili and French Governments mutually bound them-
of 1862 by which the Britis Sultan of Oman; for, if the territory in
selves to respect the 'ndepen en Sultanate, action there by Britain
question were to ^ ^ily brother nations-would be precluded. In the
or France—but not nece.sa y ^ committing themselves to any par-
resnlt the Government of Indu , ,r j- recommended that possession
tieular view as ^^ o^dVS^ ^iich had been'occupied
should he resumed of an ish P ^ ^ European Telegraph Department,
more than thirty years previotKly by the Indo Burop * J ‘ itab , e
a Native Agent Non-British agents affiliated with the British Government. being Lord Curzon's Government
opportunity « the same m belon „j n „ t o the Sheikhdom of Shargah of a
also advocated the reoo 0 n ,. T1 n njhba on the eastern side of the pro
strip of coast between K ior> ^ attached to Shargah liberty
montory near its ^ Whtle tins sUtpr^ in respect of it> foreign
interference bein'aUhe same time excluded in virtue of an agreement between
he Tmdal Chiefs and Great Britain; whereas, if in consequence of dtsturbances
thenfaTprogress it were to pass to the Sultan of Oman, it would become sub-
ject to the provisions of the Declaration of lo6_.
JXnih rirono^als of the Government of India received the sanction of His
MaieSs Government; hut, at the end of 1903, before that relating to Elphtu-
stone Inlet had been carried into effect, Lord Curzon made a personal inspection
of the Musandim districts and immediately on his return to India placed
further suggestions before the British Government. He first drew attention
to the excellence of an anchorage, enclosed by the islands of Kishm, Larak
and Hormuz and extending up to Clarence Straits, as a place of rendezvous
for a fleet that desired to command the entry to the Gulf and to prevent the
acquisition of Bunder Abbas and the neighbouring islands by a foreign Power,
but he did not regard it as a site where a coaling station was likely to be es
tablished nor as one which would call for defence. Lord Curzon then procee
to discuss the best means of preventing the occupation by foro 1 ? 11 powers ot
the fine harbours of Elphinstone Inlet and Malcolm Inlet and of the anchorage
of Khor Kawi situated between Sheep Island and the main ; he advised th t
action should he taken by placing flagstaffs on Telegraph Island, on the
Maklab isthmus, and on Sheep Island. His proposals were approved by
His Majesty’s Government and in November 1901 the flagstaits were duly
erected. A difficulty subsequently arose as to the pattern of flag to be
flown and, while this question was still undecided, fresh facts came to light
which showed that the Musandim districts could not be regarded otherwise
than as a part of the Sultanate of Oman and therefore as subject to the
Declaration of 1862. It was accordingly decided to do away with the flag-
staffs, and those on Maklab and Sheep Island were removed in November I JUo ;
that on Telegraph Island was left in situ pending further consideration ot the
question. At the same time proposals which had been made by the Government
of India to construct a light-house either on Musandim or on one of the Quoin
Islands, partly in the interests of navigation and partly to strengthen the
position of Great Britain in Musandim, were suffered to fall into abeyance.
In the course of these strategical discussions the British station at
Bassidore on Kishm island necessarily
Bassidore. attracted notice. It was found that the
British flag had not hitherto been hoisted there except on Sundays and upon
special occasions, and the Government of India accordingly directed . that i
should in future be flown every day from sunrise to sundown. The limits o
the station were also investigated and found to be indefinite, and Lord
suggested to His Majesty’s Government that it was possible, and might e
advisable, to claim for it the same boundaries as bad belonged to the earlier
Portuguese settlement. Steps were taken to discourage immigration in o
Bassidore and the growth of a free port, which might have resulted in serious