"تاريخ البحرية الهندية. (١٦١٣- ١٨٦٣)." [‎٣‎١‎٩] (٦٢٢/٣٣٨)

HISTORY OF THE INDIAN NAYY.
319
In an earlier chapter detailing the action fought in the
Persian Gulf, by the 4 Elphinstone,' in 1834, with the Beni Yas
pirates, we described the dealings of the Company's cruisers
with that tribe up to the date of the conclusion of the peace of
the 4th of May, 1853; but such instruments as treaties of
peace, even though they be denominated " perpetual," are con
sidered as binding by Arab tribes only so long as they are too
weak to break 'them, or their interests are involved in their
maintenance. Bearing this in mind, the reader will not sup
pose that " Othello's occupations's gone," and that the Indian
Naval squadron had henceforth a sinecure in keeping the peace
of the Persian Gulf. On the contrary, after, as well as before,
the year 1853, the Hon. Company's ships were seldom many
days in Bassadore harbour, before they w T ere despatched here and
there on the requisition of the British Political Resident of the
Persian Gulf, who resided at Bushire, off which a ship gene
rally lay at his disposal, to restrain the predatory instincts of
the Arab tribes, which were too deeply ingrained not to crop up
in piratical acts directed against each other and the British
flag. As the historian of the Indian Navy, we will now briefly
detail the instances in which the services of the squadron were
called into requisition, both to keep the peace and maintain the
authority of the British Government as the controlling power
in the Persian Gulf.
In May, 1825, hostilities having arisen between Sheikh
Sultan bin Suggur, the Joasmi chief, and Sheikh Tahnoon, of
the Beni Yas, who, as being a dependent of the Imaum of
Muscat, resented the occupation by the former of the towers of
mained for a week or two, then crossed over and ran down to Massowah, and
finding all quiet there, returned to Aden; took the Assistant Resident over to
the Soomali coast, settled some disputes, then brought him back to Aden, and.
started for Bombay." The 4 Queen' was now in the last stage of decrepitude, and
that she did not share the fate of the ' Cleopatra,' was due to the Captain's skill.
Captain Adams writes to us :—" We fell in with the tail end of a cyclone, and
our non-arrival at Bombay caused great anxiety to Government, particularly to
Sir Henry Leeke. We put back to Aden, where I had the ' Queen ' condemned.
I found on the arrival of the mail, that the 4 Ferooz,' Captain Rennie, had been
sent out to seek for any vestiges of the ' Queen,' and that my brother officers had
given themselves promotion by striking us of the ' Queen ' out of existence. I
received a semi-official letter from Sir H. Leeke, telling me to offer the Peninsula
and Oriental Company 1,000 rupees to tow the " Queen' to Bombay, but I took
the responsibility of the ' Queen' being condemned, and towed the ' Elphinstone'
to Bombay. I did this, knowing that if the 4 Queen' foundered with the ' Eiphin-
stone' in tow, we could escape to her. We arrived safely at Bombay, where the
Persian Grulf Expedition was fitting out. Sir H. Leeke wanted me to take the
' Queen' to the Grulf to be anchored in Bushire creek, on our capturing the town,
but I declined, and took command of the ' Semiramis,' Commander Alan Hyde
Gardner proceeding to England sick. I prepared her for sea, when Captain
Young was appointed to the command, and Captain Jenkins to the 'Assaye,'
of which I was made second captain." For the judgment displayed by him
at Hodeida, Lieutenant Adams received the thanks of the Bombay Government,
under date the 5th of May, 1856.