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'ABSTRACT OF LETTERS FROM INDIA 1870' [‎251v] (509/798)

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'ABSTRACT OF LETTERS FROM INDIA 1870'
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Ref: IOR/L/PS/20/CA10

The record is made up of 1 volume (395 folios). It was created in Dec 1869-Dec 1870. It was written in English. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .

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vessel of war, as a means of removing any anxiety which the P •
Government may feel respecting the defence of their coasts • bur 81 *
are strongly of opinion that it is neither necessary nor expedient tlT
the Shah should maintain in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. any number of ar- 1
craft. arme d
Even for purely defensive purposes, the possession of a shin n f
war is quite unnecessary, as the Persian Governor of the Provinc
on the coast has himself admitted. Her Majesty’s Government will
recollect that, after the adjustment of the differences between Persia
and Muscat with respect to the lease of Bunder Abbas, by means of
the good offices of our Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. , in the autumn of 1868 the
Prince Governor A Prince of the Royal line who also acted as Governor of a large Iranian province during the Qājār period (1794-1925). of Pars concurred with Colonel Pelly in thinkin?
that the establishment of a flotilla would prove an unnecessary
expense and a costly failure. He said Persia entrusted the peace of
the Gulf entirely to the British Resident, and that he would be
prepared to issue any orders that Colonel Pelly might draft in view to
securing full support and prompt communication from the local
Governors along the Persian coast line. Since this explicit avowal
of the uselessness of a flotilla, nothing has occurred at sea to en.
danger the safety of the Persian littoral. The attack on Bunder
Abbas last year by Sheikh Said, of Muscat, was not from the sea-
board, and we very much doubt whether the presence of vessels of
war off the port could have prevented the operations by land. We
have several times of late intimated our determination to prevent
Syud Salim, Syud Toorkee, and the Sultan of Muscat, as well as the
trucial Arab tribes, from disturbing the maritime peace. As there-
ore Persia has all the security for her harbours and coast which she
requires, we deprecate strongly the possession of a naval force which
might incline her to aggressive action in the Gulf, or to dispute the
responsibility for maintaining order which we have hitherto exercised
under treaty obligations.
It is clear, however, from Mr. Alison’s letter, that the Shah is
encouraged in ffis desire for the possession of a fleet by the knowledge
a i might be useful in furthering his views on Bahrein.” We
consider that it would be incumbent on us to object firmly to the
possession by His Majesty of such means of offence. We have taken
Y . ppoitunity of protesting against the unreasonable claims to
suzeramty which Persia has asserted over this island, and under these
which 38 an ^ es ’ ]t would 1)6 our duty, in virtue of the treaty obligations
o iW- av |: C0I f acted with Bahrein, to remonstrate against the
anization of such an armed force as might endanger a State, the
independence of which we are bound to maintain.
best int 0Ur f 0 ^ n '° n ’ ^ ers ' an Government would consult their own
by ceasing to aspire to the possession of a naval force,
source of U / bG S 8eri ° US drain u P on her ^sources, but a
evitably ariseTth L

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Confidential printed abstracts of letters received by the India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. from the Government of India, and from senior officials in certain areas outside India, during the year 1870. The letters are dated December 1869-December 1870. The abstracts each have one of the following titles:

  • Abstracts of Secret Letters received from India
  • Abstracts of Letters received from India
  • Abstracts of Military Letters received from India
  • Abstracts of Letters received from Zanzibar and Muscat
  • Abstracts of Letters received from Aden
  • Abstracts of Letters received from Muscat
  • Abstracts of Letters received from Bushire [Bushehr]
  • Abstracts of Letters received from Aden and Zanzibar
  • Abstracts of Letters received from Bushire and Aden
  • Abstracts of Letters received from Zanzibar and Aden.

Each abstract contains summaries of one or more letters from the specified source, each with a title giving the subject of the letter. Letters from India are divided within each abstract by the branch or department of the Government of India they originated from. The correspondence covers issues including:

  • Pay, pensions, recruitment, and other personnel issues in the Indian Civil and Military establishments
  • Public works, including: railways, including a proposed railway from the Mediterranean to the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ; roads; canals; irrigation; docks; and river embankments
  • Revenue, expenditure, and taxation
  • Land issues, including: the cultivation of cotton, cinchona, and silk; forestry; and coal mining
  • Education
  • Banking
  • Telegraphy, including international telegraphic links to India
  • Affairs concerning Princely States, including internal administration, debts, allowances, issues of succession, investment in railways, and territorial claims
  • Issues around emigration from India to British and French colonies
  • Legislative and judicial affairs, including the question of jurisdiction over British subjects in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
  • Military affairs, including the organisation and supply of military units and a proposed naval force for the Indian seas and the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
  • Frontier affairs: relations with tribes on the Northwest and Northeast Frontiers and frontier raids
  • Affairs in Persia [Iran], including: Persian claims to sovereignty over Bahrein [Bahrain] and objection to British actions in Bahrein; frontier disputes around Khelat [Kalat], Mekran [Makran], and Seistan [Sistan] and proposed arbitration of the Persian-Afghan border; anticipated food shortages and subsequent disturbances involving British subjects exporting grain from Bushire
  • Affairs in the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman, including: the consolidation of and challenges to the rule of Syud Azan [Azzān bin Qays Āl Bū Sa‘īd]; debates around British policy towards Syud Azan; confrontation between Muscat and the Wahabees [Waḥabī movement]; the issue of the Zanzibar subsidy; and Syud Azan’s claims to Bunder Abbas [Bandar-e ‘Abbas], Gwadur [Gwadar], Charbar [Chabahar] and other territories on the Mekran Coast
  • Affairs in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , including: the campaign of Colonel Lewis Pelly in Bahrein and the installation of Esau bin Ali [‘Īsá bin ‘Alī Āl Khalīfah] as Ruler; trade and shipping in the Gulf; the desire of the Shah of Persia for a naval presence in the Gulf; Dutch and Turkish [Ottoman] activity in the region; and tensions between Bahrein and the Wahabees, including Wahabee inroads in the Guttur peninsula [Qatar]
  • Affairs in Affghanistan [Afghanistan], including relations with Bokhara [Emirate of Bukhara] and Russia
  • Central Asian affairs, including the Russian advance in the region, trade and communication from India to Central Asia via Cashmere [Kashmir] and Ladak [Ladakh], and affairs in Eastern Turkestan [Xinjiang]
  • Affairs in Zanzibar, including the slave trade, relations with Muscat, the death of Syud Majid [Mājid bin Sa‘īd Āl Bū Sa‘īd], and the accession to the throne of Syud Burgash [Barghash bin Sa‘īd Āl Bū Sa‘īd]
  • Affairs in and around Aden Settlement, including: relations with neighbouring polities, including Lahej [Laḥij Sultanate], Houshebi [Ḥawshabī Sultanate], Fodtheli [Faḍlī Sultanate], and Kathiree [Kathīrī Sultanate]; the purchase of Little Aden; the defences of Aden; an attack on Hodeida [Al Hudaydah] from Aseer [‘Asir] and the threat to Lahej from the Zaidees [Zaidīs]
  • Affairs in the Red Sea, including attempted French, Austrian, Turkish, and Egyptian inroads in the region
  • Affairs in Burmah [Burma/Myanmar], Bhootan [Bhutan], and Nipal [Nepal].

The primary correspondents are:

Extent and format
1 volume (395 folios)
Arrangement

The abstracts are arranged in roughly chronological order. A detailed index of subjects, places and people mentioned in the correspondence is included on folios 384-393.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 395; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers.

Pagination: the file also contains an original printed pagination sequence.

Written in
English in Latin script
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'ABSTRACT OF LETTERS FROM INDIA 1870' [‎251v] (509/798), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/20/CA10, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100135113393.0x00006e> [accessed 29 July 2026]

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Reference
IOR/L/PS/20/CA10
Title
'ABSTRACT OF LETTERS FROM INDIA 1870'
Pages
front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, 1r:116v, 119r:395v, back-i
Author
East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
Usage terms
Open Government Licence