"دليل الخليج. مجلد I. القسم التاريخي. الأجزاء Iأ و Iب. ج.ج. لوريمر ١٩١٥" [‎١‎٢‎٦‎٧] (١٧٨٢/١٤٢٢)

1267
mended, as a means of doing this without risk to the servants or property to a Resi-
of the Company, that leave should first be obtained from Karim Khan 1777 "
for removing the Agency to Bushehr, and that thereafter the establish
ment at Bushehr should be reduced to a single European employe, the
stock in whose charge was never to exceed Rs. 10,000 in value. Should
the Turks recover Basrah, however, they would permit a Resident to
be sent there, but not without previous sanction from themselves.
The Bombay Government must have hesitated to comply with these
orders, which were dated 4th July 1777, but did not reach India till the
30th April 1778, for no steps were taken to execute them before August
of the latter year. By that time a prospect of war with France had
arisen ; and the Government ol Bombay, as tliey thought that in case
of hostilities it would be necessary to have a representative of some
kind at Basrah for forwarding despatches between Europe and India,
decided to retain a Resident there. Another consideration by which
they "ueie influenced was that, if only one employe remained in the
Gulf, there would be no one at hand, in case of an accident befal
ling him, to take charge of the Company's interests and effects.
Accordingly they offered the appointment of Resident to Mr. Latouche,
at the same time directing his assistants, Messrs. Abraham and Galley,
as well as the Surgeon, Mr. Robinson, to return to India immediately
in the ' Eagle '; and the mercantile stock at Basrah was at the same
time ordered to be removed to Bushehr, and thence to India.
Latouche, in his reply, thanked the Bombay Government for the
honour that they had done liim in appointing him Resident; but he
was as slow to obey the orders of his superiors in regard to the reduction
of his staff as those superiors had themselves been in giving effect, in
a modified degree, to the intentions of the Court of Directors. On
the Jioth of April 1779, by which time the Persian occupation of Basrah
had ceased, Mr. Abraham and the Surgeon were still with the Resident
at Basrah.
When Basrah passed into the hands of the Persians, the private British trade
trade carried on there by Europeans declined almost to vanishing point; at Basrah
nor did it, with the lapse of time, show many signs of recovery. Almost Persifn 1116
the only kinds of merchandise that continued to be imported were coffee occu P ation »
and other gruff " or heavy goods from Masqat and Bushehr and a few 1 76 79 '
piece-goods from Surat. This state of matters occasioned serious incon
venience to the Resident, who received, as a supplement to his pay,
consulage at the rate of 1 per cent, on imports by Europeans ; in 1777
his income from this source amounted to little more than Rs.iSGO, and
89 a