"دليل الخليج. مجلد I. القسم التاريخي. الأجزاء Iأ و Iب. ج.ج. لوريمر ١٩١٥" [‎٦‎٠‎٨] (١٧٨٢/٧٥١)

60S
l«?Q r 7i tendencies; and, when in April ]869 Xasir, a son of the Sultan
Tbuwaini, escaped from detention at Masqat and arrived at (iwadar the
people received him with open arm-; and expelled Saivid Saif in his
favour. 'Azzan wished to send a force to re-instate the displaced TVali
but the preservation of the maritime peace in th^ Gulf of "'OmaE. as well
as in the Gulf of Persia, was at this time a part of the policy of the
British Government ; and an interdict was placed by Colonel Disbrowe
the Political Agent at Masqat, upon the sailing- of the intended expe
dition A little later the idea of attacking Afasqat was mooted by
NasL'-bin-Thuwaini, which obliged Major Ross, the Assistant Political
Agent at Gwadar, to address to him a similar prohibition. 'Azzan-bin-
Qais. however, continued to press for permission to attack Gwadar
which he regarded as part of his hereditary dominions, in a regular
m»nner ; and eventually, as his relations with the British authorities
inproyed, the latter became disposed to concede the point. The desired
authorisation, however, was withheld until 'Azzan should have been
officially recognised by the British Government —a condition which in
consequence of his premature death was never fulfilled. Nevertheless
in February 1869, an annual payment of Ks. 1,500 to the ruler of Masqat
was sanctioned by the Government of India on account of telegraph
facilities afforded at Gwadar and Chahbar, two-thirds of the sum beino"
it was understood, on account of the former port.
At the end of January 1870, Saiyid 'Abdul'Aziz, son of the late
Sultan Sa'id and younger brother of Saiyid Turki who was 'Azzan's
principal rival, appeared off Gwadar in a native coasting vessel and was
decoyed ashore and seized by Nasir-bin-Thuwaini ; but the latter, pre-
feuing to deport lathei than to imprison him, at the suggestion of
Major Ross sent his captive to Bushehr in a British maiT steamer
In October 1870, in consequence of a report that 'Abdui 'Aziz was about
to attack the place, alarm prevailed at Gwadar; and the Indian traders
there were allowed to take refuge in the British telegraph station
r lhis arrangement was objected to by Dahu-bin-Muhammad, the African
Wazir of the Arab Wall of Gwadar, who one day appeared in the office
and presented a pistol at the head of Mr. Possmann, then in charge *
but Mr. Possmann struck the weapon out of his hand with a ruler',
and his followers were cleared off the premises by the telegraph staff!
Two days later Major Ross, who had been absent, returned from
Karachi with the "Dagmar " and the I.M.S. " Kwangtung " ; and on
the following day, under threat of a bombardment of the^ fort, Dahu
gave himself up and was removed to India, where he was detained as a
political prisoner for two years.
c a - y -j Tin-ki-bm-Sa'id succeeded 'Azzan-bin-Qais at Masqat,
Saiyid "Abdul n ib Wthe 1 ai yd Abdul Aziz, already mentioned, after declining the
'^iz, command of an expedition ag-ainst Sohar and the prospective governor-
1871 -72. ship of that place, crossed over in June 1871 to Gwadar, and established
himself there in place of Nasir-bin-Thuwaini, who had meanwhile
taken ship for Zanzibar. At his arrival the functions of government
were apparently being carried on in the name of Sayid Turki, but
mos me cientlv, by a Baluchi who had once been a peon on the
staff of the British Political Agency. The action of 'Abdul 'Aziz was
not apparently authorised by Saiyid Turki, but neither did he at once
j a 1