"الاتجار بالأسلحة في مسقط. ١٩٠٨-١٩٠٩." [ظ‎‎٤‎٩] (١٢٨/١٠٣)

62
countenance. This enables the Afghans
to land at Masqat without trouble.
All the Masqat gun merchants have large
guest houses. Having caught their cus
tomers they lodge and feed them through
out their stay at Masqat. r I his is to prevent
Afghans from being seen wandering about
the streets and also to prevent them
from approaching other firms. Afghans
are not to be seen in the Masqat st eets,
they all remain shut up in the houses.
The Afghans and Baluchis mostly hire
their boats on the Makran coast. They
generally land at or above Mafcrah. The
Masqat merchants are also prepared to
make all arrangements for hire of boats.
Dhunjee Mararji, gun merchant, owns
3 £ bagalas’—(a type of boat) which he
hires out for gun-running. On the Masqat
side the rate charged is one real (Rs. 1 - 5 - 0 )
per rifle, on the Makran coast the rate
is Re. 1. The loading of rifles into small
boats at Masqat is done quite openly,
nobody knows where they are bound for,
and the merchants declare them for Kuwait.
This goes on just below the palace.
The small boats then go to Matrah where
the sailing boats usually lie up.
From here they usually work up the
Batinah coast, and then make a dash for
the Makran side. With a favourable wind
boats can cross in one night.
Those who intend to land further down
the M kran Coast at Chahbar, etc., usually
work down the Arab Coast to Sur and
then bolt across.
The gun merchants have to give a week
ly return of arms they have received
and sold to their respective Consulates.
In these returns they show Afghans and
Baluchis as Arabs.
With reference to the trade in 1907-08
the Masqat merchants say that the Af
ghans bought about Rs. 9,00,000 of rifles
and ammunition, and they calculate the
number of rifles bought by Afghans
and frontier Pathans at 30,000. The
C iibtoms people also put down the num
ber at this.
Hire of boats.
Falsification of returns.
The 1907-08 trade-