'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.' [‎155r] (314/386)

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No. 54 (Secret—External), dated Simla, the 3rd May 1900.
Fi'oti—T he Government of India in the Foreign Department,
To—The Right Hon’ble Lord George F. Hamilton, Her Majesty’s Secretary
of State for India. J
We have the honour to forward, for Your Lordship’s information, a copy
of the coi lespondence noted in the enclosed list, resjardinsj a project for
establishing cable communication with Maskat and Bunder Abbas.
2. In 1B/9 His Highness Saiyid Turki, Sultau of Maskat, expressed a
desire that his capital should be connected with India by telegraph. Lord
Lytton’s Government were not disposed to accord sanction to the large expen«
diture which compliance with His Highness’s wishes would necessarily have
involved, and the scheue was accordingly dropped. In 1898 a petition signed
by 129 British Indian traders in Maskat was transmitted to us by the Political
Resident in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , in which attention was called to the inadequacy
of the existing means of communication between India and JVIaskat; and we
were able to arrange with the British India Steam Navigation Company that
the mail steamers on both the upward and downward voyages should call
each week at Maskat. In 1899 a similar petition was received in which
the same traders prayed that, in default of the extension of the telegraph
system to Maskat, arrangements might be made that the weekly mail
steamers should call at Jask both on the outward and inward voyages for the
receipt and transmission of telegrams to and from Maskat. To this prayer we
were unable to accede, because the British India Steam Navigation Company
could not ensure connection with steamers at Basrah and Karachi, if Jask were
made a port of call on every voyage. We decided, however, that the scheme of
telegraphic extension which seems to have been negatived on previous occasions,
because the large expenditure involved could not be justified from a strategical
point of view, was worthy of examination on political and commercial grounds.
We accordingly consulted our local officers, who now concur in recommending
the construction of a cable to Maskat. Our 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. at Maskat has also
advised the establishment of a telegraphic station at Bunder Abbas.
3. We fully accept the opinion of the local authorities that from a com
mercial and political point of view the present means of communication must
be regarded as inadequate. The recent activity displayed by foreign nations in
the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. and in the vicinity of Maskat, and our appointment of a
Consular representative at Bunder Abbas, have rendered the provision of
telegraphic communication with Maskat and Bunder Abbas a ma'ter of import
ance alike to the Government of India and Her Majesty’s Government, and we
have decided, subject to Your Lordship’s approval, that the project should be
carried into effect with the least possible delay.
As regards the attitude of the present Sultan of Maskat, Saiyid Peysal, we
anticipate that, though no financial assistance can be expected from him
towards the execution of the project, the extension of the telegraph system
to his capital will command his cordial approval and support.
4. The schemes which have been suggested are that the existing cable
from Karachi to Jask should be diverted and taken from Karachi ^o Maskat
and thence to Jask, or that a second cable should be laid between Karachi and
Jask, touching at Maskat; and, in either case, that one of the existing cables
between Jask and Bushire should be looped into Bunder Abbas, or the land line
extended to that place from Jask.
We would ask Your Lordship to submit these suggestions to the Direc'or-
in-Chief, Indo-European Telegraph Department, for consideration and report,
and to furnish us with the views of Her Majesty’s Government on these or on
any alternative schemes w r hieh may commend themselves to that Department.
5. We trust that, in view of the Imperial considerations attached to the
maintenance of British influence in the neighbourhood of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ,
Her Majesty’s Government may be disposed to bear a portion of the cost of any
project which may ultimately be taken in hand.