'Matrah - Proposal to make it Port of Call for B.I. steamers instead of Muscat' [‎6r] (24/56)

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C OlJFIDiillTT I AI j .
T).O.No. ^5
Political Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. ,
Muscat, the 6th April 1926#
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T enclose a letter from T^r. Thomas which gives his
views on a memorandum "by Mr. 'Jills forwarded with your D*C.lTo.
81-S of 3rd LTarch 1926.
The merchants I have consulted are unanimous in their
opinion that : arU^rn-vould be a better port of call for B. T.
steamers than lluscat, if the Customs wiiarf Y;ere extended
At present it is far too small to admit of the landing and
storing of goods brought by tne Bombay and Karachi steamer.
The I T uscat Customs House on the other hand is commodious
and quite capable of meeting the demands made upon it. he
majority of the merchants consider tnerefore that Muscat
should continue to be the port of call "or the Bombay end Ka
rachi steamers for the time being.,/ Apart from the 1: e'e of
Customs house facilities however is superior to TTuscat
as a port of call,as the harbour is protected from the Shsmal
and Kaus winds and open to the Hashi wind only whereas Muscat
cove is exposed to both the ohamal and the Pas hi w i no. s» Iiuscat
is moreover cut off from the interior by tne hills which sur
round it whereas Muttra is visited by all camel caravans.
TyuCUL
As a result all tne biggest nercnants live in which is
the natural "oort of Oman. The only portion of tne Muscat
trade which does not pass through is tnat which it;
merchants carry on with Kuriys.t and Soor. This is comparative^
of
tain B.S. Horner,
Secretary to the Hon ? ble the
Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ,
Eushire.