'History of the Indian Navy. (1613-1863).' [‎385] (404/622)

HISTORY OF THE INDIAN NAVY.
385
dramatic, and wholly imaginary, incidents with which the plain,
unvarnished tale is embellished, as we ourselves have often
seen in works of travel. Sir William writes 44 Our final
occupation of Perim would take us back to 1799, a period to
which your question does not refer. You mean the re-
occupation in January, 1857, that term being employed
diplomatically as giving some colour to our proceeding. In
reality we had no legal claim to the island either in 1799 or in
1857; we occupied and re-occupied. Now with regard to my
share in the second occupation, I am familiar with some of the
stories which are current as to its mode, and I have several
times, when an unusually extavagant one has come before me,
half resolved to spoil it by stating the facts, for I chafed under
the imputation of the clever trick with which I was credited, but
this good resolution was never canied out, and my alleged
smartness continues as the stock-story related on board every
steamer that passes the Straits, with divers variations accord
ing to the imagination of the narrator. Now, as I shall show,
there was no trick at all in the proceeding, which was one of
prompt and (I may say it) of intelligent action, and nothing more.
" Under the title of 4 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. and Commandant,' I
administered the government at Aden from 1854-63. During
the years 1855-56, the French were remarkably busy in the
Red Sea; they had their vessels of war poking about every
hole and corner of its southern end, and outside as well as
inside the Straits, in search of a suitable spot for a settlement.
They tried the Camarans first, afterwards the village of Obokh*
and various other places I do not now remember. Of course it
was my duty to keep a watchful eye on their proceedings, and
to report them to Government. I was anxious about Perim.
It would have been a great mortification to the British Govern
ment to have had the French flag flying there. Hence I ad
dressed the Government at Bombay in urgent terms. I have
no copy of my letter, but a private letter of Lord Elphinstone's
to me, dated Bombay, the 3rd of October, 1856, says 6 Your
report about Perim is also a most interesting one, and I have
sent it home by this mail to the Secret Committee Pre-1784, the Committee responsible for protecting East India Company shipping. Post-1784, its main role was to transmit communications between the Board of Control and the Company's Indian governments on matters requiring secrecy. , with a very
strong recommendation that we may be allowed to occupy the
island, which, in the event of the ship canal being made through
the Isthmus of Suez, must become a place of very great im
portance.' There you have the origin of the re-occupation (as
we termed it). On the 17th of December, 1856, Lord Elphin-
stone wrote me a confidential letter, enclosing the Secret Com
mittee's despatch in reply, directing the occupation, which was
accomplished, I think, on the 12th of January, 1857, by Lieu
tenant Tern pier, in the 6 Mahi.'
* The French have purcliased Obokh, in Lat. 11° SS 7 K Long. 43° 14/ E.,
two leagues west from Ras-al-Beer, which is forty miles due south from Perim.
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