‘Persia – especially Seistan’ [‎290r] (578/949)

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Address by His Excellency the Viceroy at a Public Durbar 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). held on board
JZ M. S- “Argonaut ” on the 21 st November 1903 at Shargah Jor the
Arab Chiefs of the littoral.
Chiefs of the Arab Coast who are in Treaty relations with the British
Government,-—!, have come here as the representative in the great Empire of
India of the British authority which you and your fathers and fore-fathers hare
known and dealt with for more than a hundred years; and my object is to show
you that though you live at some distance from the shores of India, you are
not forgotten by"the Government, but that they adhere to the policy of guardian
ship and protection which has given you peace and guaranteed your rights for
the best part of a century ; and that the first Viceroy of India who has ever
visited these waters does not quit them without seeking the opportunity of
meeting you in person and of renewing the assurances and engagements by
which we have been so long united.
Chiefs, your fathers and grandfathers before you have doubtless told you of
the history of the past. You know that a hundred years ago there were constant
trouble and fighting in the Gulf; almost every man was a marauder or a
pirate; kidnapping and slave-trading flourished; fighting and bloodshed went
on without stint or respite ; no ship could put out to sea without fear of attack ;
the pearl fishery was a scene of annual conllict; and security of trade or peace
there was none. Then it was that the British Government intervened and said
that in the interests of its own subjects and traders, and of its legitimate influence
in' the seas that wash the Indian coasts, this state of affairs must not continue.
British flotillas appeared in these waters. British forces occupied the ports and
towns on the coast that we see from this deck. The struggle was severe
while it lasted but it was not long sustained. In 1820 the first general Treaty
was signed between the British Government and the Chiefs ; and of these or
similar "agreements there have been in all no fewer than eight. In 1839 the
Maritime Truce was concluded, and was renewed from time to time until
the year 1853 , when it was succeeded by the Treaty of Perpetual Peace that has
lasted ever since. Under that Treaty it was provided that there should be a com
plete cessation of hostilities at sea between the subjects of the signatory Chiefs,
and a “perfect maritime truce to use the words that were employed—“for
evermore ; ” that in the event of aggressions on anyone by sea, the injured parties
should not retaliate, but should refer the matter to the British Resident in the
Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , and that the British Government should watch over the peace
of the Gulf and ensure, at all times, the observance of the Treaty. Chiefs, that
Treaty has not, of course, prevented occasional trouble and conflict; it has some-
times* been neglected or infringed; but on the whole it has well deserved its
name • and under it has grown up a condition of affairs so peaceful and secure
that the oldest among you can only remember as a dim story the events of the
past while the younger ha ve never seen warfare or bloodshed on the seas. It is
now’ eleven years since the last disturbance of the peace occurred.
Chiefs out of the relations that were thus created, and which by your own
consent constituted the British Government the guardian of inter-tribal peace,
there «rew up political ties between tbe Government of India and yourselves,
whereby the British Government became your overlords and protectors, and you
have relations with no other Power. Every one of the States known as the
Trucial States A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. has bound itself, as you know, not to enter into any agreement
or correspondence with any other Power, not to admit the agent of any other
Government, and not to part with any portion of its territories. These engage
ments are bimling on every one of you, and you have faithfully adhered to them.
They are also binding in their reciprocal effect upon the British Government, and
as long as they are faithfully observed by the Chiefs there is no fear that anyone
else will be allowed to tamper with your rights or liberties.
Sometimes I think that the record of the past is in danger of being forgotten,
and there are persons who ask why should Great Britain continue to exercise
these powers ? The history of your States and of your families, and the present