"ملف ٨/ ٤٣ شؤون دولة مسقط: السياسة وعلاقات مسقط مع الحكام العرب الآخرين - الحدود، وادي القور، كلباء ورأس الخيمة" [و‎‎١‎٠] (١٨٠/١٩)

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to order his officials not to violate them.
3 * T ^e Sultan answered that he could not comply for
two main reasons (a) if he endeavoured to enforce such an
order he would be in effect breaking up a time honoured
custom (b) that though he no doubt could extract obedience in
BUCh a m atter from the Walis of the two places mentioned who
were under his control he certainly would not be able to do 50
in tne case of other Walls and the bheikhs of the tribes whose
districts were contiguous to that of the Trucial Oman.
The inhabitants of all these regions, the Sultan
pointed out, were closely related by ties of blood, similar
sectarian beliefs and speech and they regarded themselves to a
large extent as belonging, certainly to the same race, often
some
to the same tribe though/might be subjects of the Trucial
Sheikhdoms and others of the Muscat Government.
?or centuries, the Sultan went on to say, these
people had maintained constant intercourse with each other
and such problems as grazing and water rights, arrest of
iugitive robbers and trade matters had invariably been settled
airect oy the Sheikhs and Headmen concerned on each side with
out reierence to the iauscat Government. Any attempt by him
to prevent his subjects in these regions following these
customs of their fathers would, the Sultan asserted, be certain
to fail and^he added,he could see no real necessity, in s^ite
ol the treaties, to interfere with matters such as the one
complained of iifcii mki which should be beneficial to all parties
concerned.
In all big questions of course such as a boundary
dispute or any sort of a quarrel arising between his subjects
and those of the irucial Sheixhs the Muscat Government would,
the Sultan declared, at once approach His Majesty’s Government.
4# In the present case the Sheixh of Has al Khaimah
was, according to the Sultan, equally to blame with his Walie
m aiscussing the matter with them and if it was desired that v
all airect intercourse between his subjects and the i'rucial
Sheiichs