"دليل الخليج. مجلد I. القسم التاريخي. الأجزاء Iأ و Iب. ج.ج. لوريمر ١٩١٥" [‎٤‎٣‎٣] (١٧٨٢/٥٧٦)

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occasioned moet friction with Britain ; and as late as 1801 it became
necessary to remonstrate with him on the continued presence of
Justaig-ne at Masqat.
In 1797-98 ; and even ]ater ; there seems to have been constant communi
cation between Masqat and Mauritius. In 1 797 the " Lakhshmi/' com
manded by Captain Crouch^ who was possibly an American, visited Masqat
from Batavia and then sailed for Mauritius ; and in 1798 it was reported
by Captain Spence of the u Pearl" that there was a Frenchman at
Masqat who kept two small vessels running 1 between that port and
Mauritius.
The case of the " Pearl/'' already referred to above, is somewhat
obscure; but the following seem to be the facts. On the 23rd of Septem
ber 1799 a French war vessel either passed Masqat at sea, or called there
and was hospitably received ; she then proceeded up the Gulf in search
of British shipping. On the 29th ©f the same month a British cruiser
with a crew of only 60 or 70 men arrived from Bushehr at Masqat, took
in supplies, and went in pursuit of the Frenchman. Meanwhile the
French warship had apparently captured the " Pearl/"'—a native vessel
under the British flag, with a partly British crew, and bound for India,—
on board of which were some horses belonging to Mr. Manesty, the
British Resident at Basrah, and some property of Mirza Mehdi J Ali Khan,
the British Resident at Bushehr. The British and French war ships
seem after this to have encountered, with the result that both took fire
and blew up; but the <c Pearl " was brought by the French to Masqat,
where Mr. Manesty's horses were bought in by the Company^s broker
and the rest of the cargo was disposed of as already mentioned.
Mr. Cramlington, one of the officers of the ill-fated " Pearl," died at
Bombay in November 1799 before full information had been obtained
from him on the subject.
The dealings of Saiyid Sultan with Tipu Sahib may be regarded as a
branch of his relations with the French, with whom the ruler of Mysore
maintained a connection. The Mysore political agency founded at
Masqat in the reign of the Imam Ahmad continued to exist under Saiyid
Sultan, but it was now apparently described as a " Factory 3> ; and in
1797 it was reported that five or six vessels under Mysore colours visited
the port every year. Tipu Sahib's representatives seem to have quitted
Masqat somewhat hurriedly soon after the installation of Dr. Bogle there
as British Political Agent, and suffered shipwreck, it was said, on the coast
of Kach in returning to India ; their master, it should be remembered,
was by this time dead.
37
Communica"
tion with
Mauritius,
1797-98.
Case of the
" Pearl,"
1799.
Dealings of
Saiyid Sultan
with Tipu
Sahih of
Mysore,
1792-1800,