‘Persia – especially Seistan’ [‎285v] (569/949)

expeditions or for postal and telegraphic purposes H. M. S. “ Sphinx,” H. M. S.
» La})wing, ; ’ the R. I. M. S. “Lawrence,” and the Indo-European Telegraph
ship “ Patrick Stewart.”
4 . Early on the morning of 18 th November we arrived at Maskat, and
stayed there until the following evening. During this time official visits were
exchanged with the Sultan, I received an address from the Indian traders in
Enclosure No. i. Maskat territory, and I held a Darbar A public or private audience held by a high-ranking British colonial representative (e.g. Viceroy, Governor-General, or member of the British royal family). on
Ditto No*, li. board the “ Argonaut,” followed by the
investiture of the Sultan with the G.C.I. E. Copies of my speeches to the
British Indian subjects and at the Darbar A public or private audience held by a high-ranking British colonial representative (e.g. Viceroy, Governor-General, or member of the British royal family). are included among the enclosures to
this letter. It was not necessary to say in them anything beyond what has been
said before; although the circumstances in which the statements and assurances
were now repeated, no doubt invested them with a new and special significance.
His Highness the Sultan on all these occasions conducted himself with simpli
city and dignity, his demeanour was that of a loyal feudatory of the British
Crown rather than of an independent sovereign, and it is clear that he trusts
implicitly to the British Power for spport and protection. He did not plead for
any further engagements, nor did he seek to extract any fresh pledge. The
situation and its surroundings were evidently sufficient in his eyes to confirm
him in reliance upon our friendship, and in an attitude of deference to our
wishes, which is not only of good omen for the future, but which reflects the
greatest credit upon Major 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. whom I appointed to
Maskat in 1899 , and who in little more than four years has converted the ruler
from feelings of suspicion, if not of direct hostility, to those of confidence and
regard. On the other hand, in proportion as the desire of the Sultan to range
himself, so to speak, alongside of the Indian Princes in their relations to the
British Crown was made manifest, so did the incongruity of his international
position become more apparent: while the contradiction between the actual
state of affairs—with a ruler, a people, and a trade almost entirely dependent
upon ourselves—and the theoretical status, under which Prance, represented
only by a Consul, with no subjects, and next to no trade, enjoys a treaty
equality with Great Britain—was such as to emphasize the desirability of
terminating with as little delay as possible a situation so anomalous and it
might almost be said so grotesque. On the concluding afternoon of my stay at
Maskat I invited His Highness the Sultan to a private interview at which I
asked him to say anything that was in his mind. Before conferring upon
him the insignia of the G.C.I.E., by order of His Majesty the King-Emperor,
on the morning of the same day, I had stipulated that His Highness should
place himself entirely in the hands of the Government of India and should act
upon their advice in respect of his desire to abdicate, previously reported by
me to you. Ibis subject accordingly was not mentioned during the private
conversation. The Sultan raised two small points about which it is unnecessary
for me to trouble you in this letter, and I spoke to him about the management
of his Customs, which is not altogether satisfactory. He expressed anxiety
to know when the flag question between himself and the French would come
before the Hague Tribunal, to which I could return no more satisfactory reply
than that that Court had a good deal of work on its hands which might occupv
some time. The Sultan evidently feels keenly on the matter, as he very
reasonably may; and it is one in which I would press upon His Majesty’s
Government the desirability of accelerating progress as much as possible.
leaving Maskat I spent an entire day in making, in company with
Admiral, a most careful inspection of all the harbours and inlets on both
the jiastern and Western Coasts of the rocky and deeply indented promontory
commonly known, from its extreme point, as Has Musandim. The upshot of
these investigations will be separately dealt with.
, . , 0 “ . 21st November I arrived at Shargab upon the so-called Pirate Coast,
. , b ® en selected as a central point at which the Arab Sheikhs, who
are
in close Treaty relations with the British Government, and who are commonly
known as the Irucial Chiels, should be brought together to meet me in the
ceremony of a Darbar A public or private audience held by a high-ranking British colonial representative (e.g. Viceroy, Governor-General, or member of the British royal family). The Chiefs of Abu Dhati Shargah, Debai and Ajman,
coneetedffi th 8 ’ "p Son „ of the old Chief of Um-el-Kawain, had been
o 1 c ed in the latrick Stewart from different parts of the Coast; and the