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File 4011/1923 Pt 2 'PERSIAN GULF: NEGOTIATIONS 1928 HENJAM' [908r] (1822/1934)
The record is made up of 1 volume (962 folios). It was created in 6 Jul 1926-25 Jan 1934. It was written in English and French. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
19
7. The course which ought to be pursued in this and other similar cases is, in the
opinion of His Excellency m Council, as follows The crime should be treated as one com
mitted in a foreign territory, in which the British Government has a representative for
political purposes, and where there is no proper tribunal to take cognizance of such cases
and to bring offenders to justice. It is said by Colonel Belly that there is no official in
these regions who has authortiy to try a case of murder, and it is not even clear from the
correspondence, especially from the Resolution of the Bombay Government dated the 17th
of July last, ISo. 1857, whether any one has jurisdiction to take cognizance of minor
offences.
8. If this be the case, some official at Bassidore should be at once empowered to hear
and decide petty criminal cases, as well as to hold sessions for the trial ofe persons accused
of the heinous crimes of muider, robbery, and the like, and to refer the proceedings on such
trials, for confirmation, to 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.
. The official holding
the trial at Hassidore would, in the eye of the law, he thus merely using the delegated
authority of Persia and Maskat. 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.
should be empowered to pass
sentences in all referred trials within the limits assigned to Sessions Judges in the Bombay
territory, and in all cases in which a capital sentence is deemed necessary, the proceed
ings should be referred by the Resident, for confirmation or otherwise, to the Government
of Bombay.
9. This is the system which has been adopted on this side of India in the cases of
crimes committed in Rajputapa, Indore, and other Native States, where a high official
resides and exercises political and judicial authority. Such cases are there tried by the
representative of the British Government, using the delegated authority of the Native
ruler, and the sentences are referred eventually for confirmation to the Government of
India in the Foreign Department. Copies of proceedings in two trials so held are forward
ed for the information of the
Government of Bombay
From c. 1668-1858, the East India Company’s administration in the city of Bombay [Mumbai] and western India. From 1858-1947, a subdivision of the British Raj. It was responsible for British relations with the Gulf and Red Sea regions.
.
10. His Excellency in Council is aware of no reason why this form of procedure
should not be successfully followed in the case of Bassidore : and, subject to any opinion of
suggestion which the Bombay Government may wish to offer on the matter, he thinks
measures should be immediately taken to provide for the administration of justice and
the punishment of crime in this case and all others in the mode above indicated, and thus
to put an end to a state of things so obviously derogatory to the credit of the British
Government.
67 The following letter of Colonel Ross at Bassidore contains an interest
ing review of our position at Bassidore :—
^ In your office No. 2282-P., dated 2nd October 1877, a report is called for showing
the grounds for the opinion expressed by Lieutenant-Colonel Prideaux m his letter No. 183
dated 19th duly 1877, that the station of Bassidore has always been regarded m the Persi
Gulf as a British dependency, I have now the honour to comply to t e est o my power
with this instruction.
2 I presume it is desired that the report should include all available information o
enable Go"—t to iudge. not only as to the Bght in tt potiont
tually regarded as concerns our tenure or otherwise of the ^rounds f P
assumed.
3. In this view it might be convenient to consider the following three points
separately :—
(1) Onr actual position at Bassidore adhering to the simple facts of the ease apart
from questions of jurisdiction or rights of possession, etc.
The nature of the tenure as habitually regarded by British^authorities^aUn
others, as shown by correspondence on record, a y
assumed rights and prerogati\ es. ,
+>,0 -fi+lp under which we occupy
The nature and validity or otherwise ;„| lt 0 f possession has
Bassidore, and whether under the circumstances a right P
been established. n
it will be seen that iff the Administration Reports^ the
Persian Gulf
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
for the past four years Bassidore (or Basiduh) is
(2)
(3)
4. As regards the first point, ^s— ^as a^British
station, and in the occupation of the British Goyernment.andjs repore ^ ^
from Persian and Arab ports or territories. 0 _^ red at Bassidore, as much perhaps for
qU ' We are thus, or so far, m
present time a guard of a native regiment is
presellL lime a guaxu. ur « o mirnoses vVe are tnus, Oi fee
the sake of marking our position as for protec P _ "riroperty of the British Gov-
military occupation of the place. We ha\e m i depot. The British flag, i.e.,
ernment ; likewise a good stone pier, water tan s, ^ ^ and Maskat, to mark the
constantly flown, not, as at Busmre ana
the plain Union Jack is
’ isn-s
About this item
- Content
This volume relates to British policy regarding the Gulf island of Henjam [Jazīreh-ye Hengām], occupied in part, on and off, by the British since the late nineteenth century.
Interdepartmental correspondence refers to the establishment of a British telegraph station on the island in 1868, following a concession from the Persian Government, which was abandoned in 1881 but re-established in 1904. The correspondence also acknowledges that further developments since then, including the establishment of a wireless station and a naval coal depot, represent an encroachment by the British Government.
The main topic of discussion is the extent of the British claim (or lack thereof) to Henjam, and the continued use of the island as a fuelling and recreational station for British naval forces in the Gulf.
Related matters of discussion include the following:
- The possibility of consolidating the British position at Henjam by offering to surrender Basidu to Persia
- The British response to Persian forces expelling the Arab Shaikh of Henjam from the island in May 1928, in retaliation for the Shaikh attacking and looting the island's customs office the previous year
- The drafting of a protocol (as part of wider Anglo-Persian negotiations, which are referred to throughout) in 1929 between the British and Persian governments, setting out the terms for the British Government's surrender of its claims to Basidu and Henjam, in return for continued access to facilities at Henjam, possibly in the form of a lease
- The consideration of alternative locations for a naval station, in the event of it being necessary for the British to relinquish their hold on Henjam
- Whether the British should be prepared to offer the Persian Navy docking and refitting facilities at Bombay or Karachi, on 'favourable terms', in return for their continued use of the facilities at Henjam
- A request from the Persian Government in September 1932 for the immediate withdrawal of the British naval establishment, following the Persian Government's decision to use Henjam as the location for six recently purchased naval vessels
- The possibility of the British naval depot at Henjam being relocated either to Basidu or Bahrein [Bahrain].
The volume features the following principal correspondents: the British Minister in Tehran, the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, and officials of the Admiralty, the Foreign Office, and the India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. . Other notable correspondents include the following: 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. ; the Viceroy of India; the Senior Naval Officer in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ; the Foreign Secretary to the Government of India; the Persian Minister for Foreign Affairs; officials of the British Legation at Tehran and the Government of India's Foreign and Political Department.
Also included in the volume are the following: a précis of printed correspondence relating to British positions at Basidu and Henjam, covering the period 1821-1905 (ff 898-941); an India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. memorandum entitled 'Henjam. Position and Rights of His Majesty's Government in the Island of Henjam', dated 26 September 1928 (ff 723-726); copies of the minutes of two meetings of the Committee of Imperial Defence's Standing Official Sub-Committee for Questions Concerning the Middle East, dated 17 December 1931 (ff 249-262) and 10 October 1933 (ff 12-28); a copy of a memorandum by the Admiralty and the Foreign Office on the British naval depot at Henjam, dated 23 February 1932 (ff 197-208).
The French language material consists of correspondence from Belgian customs officials writing on behalf of the Persian Government, as well as articles from the aforementioned draft protocol, and correspondence between the Persian Minister for Foreign Affairs and the British Minister at Tehran. English translations are included in some but not all cases.
The volume includes two dividers which give the subject number, the year the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references by year. These are placed at the back of the correspondence (ff 4-5).
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (962 folios)
- Arrangement
The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume.
The subject 4011 ( Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. Negotiations) consists of two volumes, IOR/L/PS/10/1094-1095. The volumes are divided into two parts, with each part comprising one volume.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 964; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio.
- Written in
- English and French in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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File 4011/1923 Pt 2 'PERSIAN GULF: NEGOTIATIONS 1928 HENJAM' [908r] (1822/1934), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/1095, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100081391301.0x000017> [accessed 2 April 2025]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/10/1095
- Title
- File 4011/1923 Pt 2 'PERSIAN GULF: NEGOTIATIONS 1928 HENJAM'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, 2r:7v, 10r:46r, 47v, 49r:60r, 61r:68v, 71r:104v, 106r:117v, 119r:192v, 194r:241v, 243r:283v, 285r:288v, 290r:368v, 370r:401v, 405r:406v, 408r:422v, 425r:471v, 475r:487v, 489r:490v, 492r:516v, 521r:532v, 534r:565v, 572r:610v, 612r:612v, 615r:627r, 629r:654v, 660r:668v, 678r:692v, 694r:792v, 794r:802v, 805r:812r, 813r:854v, 855ar:855av, 855r:859v, 862r:870v, 873r:877v, 880r:911r, 912r:921r, 922r:922v, 924v:932r, 933v:939v, 940v:963v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence