‘Letters from India (Secret Dept)’, Vol. 13 [625r] (1258/1978)
The record is made up of 1 volume (983 folios). It was created in 19 Jan 1871-27 Dec 1872. It was written in English, French, Persian and Russian. 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
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Enclosure No. 3.
No. 83, dated Bagdad, the 29th July 1872.
From— Colonel C. Herbert,
Political Agent
A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency.
in
Turkish Arabia
A term used by the British officials to describe the territory roughly corresponding to, but not coextensive with, modern-day Iraq under the control of the Ottoman Empire.
.
To The Secretary to the Government of India, Foreign Department.
In continuation of my letter No. 31, dated 15th instant, I have the honor
to report that on the 20th idem I received a telegram from Colonel Felly in
forming me that the rohber Chief, named Alwan, mentioned therein, and his
servant, had been seized in Bahrein, and I have requested him to arrange for
the conveyance of these two men hy the mail steamer in order to prevent the
Pasha’s sending a vessel for them.
Colonel Felly further informs me that he has given strict instructions
to the Assistant llesident at Bahrein to endeavour to find and capture another
of the ringleaders, named Jassim-el-Khalaf, who is supposed to have fled thither,
and that he has sent to the
Political Agent
A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency.
at Muscat to keep watch and
endeavour to capture some of the robbers who are suspected to have gone
towards that place and the Arab coast.
Meantime every exertion continues to be made to obtain the extradition
of those who have found refuge in Mohumrah and JFelaheea, and Mr. Robertson
is not without some hope of eventual success.
Raoof
Pasha
An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders.
, the recently-appointed Governor General, having, to the
regret of persons of all nationalities in this province, been superseded by
Moostafa
Pasha
An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders.
, late Minister of War, and being consequently, according to
the habits of this government, unable to issue commands, has requested me to
take this matter entirely into my own hands, and I am now sending the Comet
to Busrah to enable Mr. Robertson to communicate personally with Hajee
Jaber Khan, Governor of Mohumrah, whenever he may find it necessary.
I enclose herein a copy of all the telegraphic^correspondence I have had
with the British mission at Teheran, from which it will be seen that, though
I have uro’ed the great importance to British interests of the extradition of the
Persian pfrates and their trial, and, on conviction, punishment at Busrah, where
the piracy was committed, the Sadr Azim, while taking every measure for
their apprehension and the restoration of the plundered property, refuses to
sanction their being given up, and insists on their being tiled an pums e
at Mohumrah.
Experience of Persian administration shews that this would be most
ineffectually done, and it being of the greatest importance that they be
brought to Busrah, Mr. Robertson receives instructions from me to exert every
means in bis power to effect this object, and I have yes erday telegraphed to
Her Majesty’s Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs as.follows:
“Several of nirates who attacked steamer Cashmere, 12th June, Persian
subjects have found refuge in Mohumrah and Eelaheea. Have com-
X.TSt
subjects for trial and punishment at Busrah. This important for
British interests. I solicit Your lordship s intervention.
The total amount of plundered specie recovered up to this date is
Rs. 15,153.
1
About this item
- Content
Government of India Foreign Department letters marked ‘Secret’, ‘General’, or ‘Political’ and sent to His Grace the Duke of Argyll, Her Majesty’s Secretary of State for India, with enclosures. The papers are reporting on the state of affairs in a number of regions including: the Khanate of Khiva, the Khanate of Khelat [Kalat], Afghanistan, Persia [Iran], Yemen, Nejd [Najd], Oman, Zanzibar, and Turkish Arabia A term used by the British officials to describe the territory roughly corresponding to, but not coextensive with, modern-day Iraq under the control of the Ottoman Empire. .
The correspondence related to the state of affairs in Oman and Zanzibar [Sultanate of Muscat and Oman] covers: the violation of the rights of British subjects at Sohar [Suhar] by Ibrahim bin Ghes [Ibrāhīm bin Qais Āl Bū Sa‘īd, Governor of Sohar]; ‘the application of Seyd Toorkee [Sayyid Turkī bin Sa‘īd Āl Bū Sa‘īd] for payment of the Zanzibar subsidy’; ‘the alleged importation of slaves on the Arabian Coast under the French flag’ from Zanzibar; the hostilities by sea between Syed Ibrahim bin Ghes and the Sooltan [Sulṭān] of Muscat; the re-lease of the Customs Revenue of Zanzibar by Syud Burgash bin Saeed bin Sooltan [Sayyid Barghash bin Sa‘īd bin Sulṭān]; and ‘An account of the Tenets of the IBADHI Sect of ‘Oman’, translated from an Arabic manuscript work by the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. at Muscat.
The correspondence related to the state of affairs in the Khanate of Khelat covers: a raid committed from Khelat territory into Persian territory by a Persian subject; the demarcation of the Perso-Khelat boundary; the disputes between the Khan of Khelat and his nobles; the Marri [also spelled in the volume as Murree] and Bogtee [Bugti] tribes’ activities; trade routes and trading activities; proposed measures for preserving the peace of the Sind [Sindh] frontier; and petitions raised by a number of Sirdars Leader of a tribe or a polity; also refers to a military rank or title given to a commander of an army or division. from Khelat.
The correspondence contains copies of Cabul [Kabul] diaries reporting on the state of affairs in Afghanistan. The diaries include news on the deputation of an envoy from the Khan of Khiva to the Amir of Afghanistan, Sher Ali Khan [Shīr ‘Alī Khān, also spelled in the volume as Shere]; the spread of cholera; military operations; the appointment and dismissal of local governors; the Budukshan [Badakhshan, also spelled in the volume as Badakshan] affair; the boundary between Afghanistan and Bokhara [Bukhara]; relations between Afghanistan and the Russian Empire; and correspondence between the Governor General of Russian Toorkistan [Turkestan] and the Amir in relation to border affairs.
The correspondence contains news reports of affairs at Aden covering: the spread of cholera at Aden and Hodeida [Al Hudaydah]; the attack on Hodeida by the Arab tribe of Asseerees [‘Asīr]; accounts of the trade routes leading to Aden and the principal tribes in the neighbourhood with which the Government of India have treaty relations; 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. at Aden, Major-General Charles William Tremenheere, visiting Lahej territory; the advance of Turkish troops in Yemen; reports of incidents on board British ships; military action towards the Munsooree [Al-Manṣūrī, also al-Manāṣīr] and the Soobaihee [al-Ṣabīha, also spelled in the volume as Soobahees] tribes of Yemen; an agreement signed between the Soobaihee chiefs of Yemen and 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. at Aden related to roads safety; a detailed ‘report of the Arab tribes and the vicinity of Aden’ prepared by Captain William Francis Prideaux, Assistant 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. at Aden; and an agreement signed between the tribe of the Foodthlees [al-Faḍlī] of Yemen and 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. at Aden.
Other topics covered in the volume are:
- The military operations of Russia in Central Asia
- ‘The subject of the sovereignty of Kohuk [Kuhak, also spelled in the volume as Kuak]’ with detailed description of the Perso-Baloch frontier
- The employment by the Ottoman Government of an English diver, James Thomas, in seeking for pearls on the Arab Coast of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
- ‘Complaint made by the Persian Government of instructions having been issued to Her Majesty’s representative at Gwadur [Gwadar] to recognise Charbar [Chah-Bahar, a town on the Makran coast of Persian Baluchistan] as belonging to Muscat’
- ‘A piratical attack on the British India Steam Navigation Company’s steam ship Cashmere at Busreh [Basra, also spelled in the volume as Busrah]’
- The claim of Hajee Moosa Meymennee [Ḥājī Mūsa Mīmanī, also spelled in the volume as Meymenee], a British Indian subject, to compensation for ‘the wheat supplied by him to the people of Bushire [Bushehr] under a compulsory order of the Persian Government’
- ‘The infraction of the interdict on the export of grain and provisions from Persian ports’
- An account by Dr David Livingstone, Her Majesty’s Consul in Inner Africa, of his explorations in Central Africa
- ‘The trade between India and the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , and the proposal for a new Commercial Treaty with Persia’
- The dispute between Turkey and Bahrein [Bahrain] concerning the murder of a Turkish messenger, and other Bahrein Affairs
- The Turkish expedition to Nejd
- News of the arrival and departure of ships at Kateef [Qatif], Ojair [Al-Uqayr], Ras Tanoorah [Ras Tanura] and other ports
- The request of Messrs Gray, Paul and Company for permission to place steam barges at Bushire for the purpose of landing and shipping cargo
- Relations between the Russian authorities and the Turkoman tribes
- ‘Captain St. John’s explorations in Persia, and containing information on certain points of Persian geography’
- The arbitral opinion given by Major General on special mission Frederick John Goldsmid, in the matter of the Seistan [Sistan] arbitration
- News of appointments of British Agents and other officials in various locations in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. and Afghanistan.
Among the main correspondents in the volume are: Charles Umpherston Aitchison, the Secretary to the Government of India, Foreign Department; D C Macnabb, Officiating Commissioner and Superintendent, Peshawur [Peshawur] Division; C Alison, Her Britannic Majesty’s Minister at Teheran [Tehran]; Ronald Thomson, Her Majesty’s Chargé d’Affaires at Teheran; Colonel C Herbert, Her Majesty’s Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. at Baghdad; H LePoer Wynne, Under Secretary to the Government of India; Captain G J Stevens, Commandant, Aden Troop; Colonel Lewis Pelly, 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. ; Dr John Kirk, Acting Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. and Her Majesty’s Consul at Zanzibar; Major Edward Charles Ross, Her Majesty’s Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. and Consul at Muscat; Captain C Grant, Assistant Resident in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ; and Captain C H Harrison, Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. at Khelat.
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (983 folios)
- Arrangement
The Letters and Enclosures are filed in chronological order from the front to the rear of the volume. The volume includes an index on folios 4-91. Entries in the index refer to entries in the volume, in accordance with the pagination system on folios 92-982. Many of the correspondences consist of the Despatch, an Abstract of Contents, and the Enclosures to the Despatch, each numbered in accordance with the number given in the Abstract of Contents. The Enclosures to each Despatch are in approximate chronological order from the front to the rear of the 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 985; 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.
Pagination: the volume also contains an intermittent pagination sequence.
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- English, French, Persian and Russian in Latin and Arabic script View the complete information for this record
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- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/5/271
- Title
- ‘Letters from India (Secret Dept)’, Vol. 13
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge , head, tail, front-i, 2r:95r, 97r:114v, 116r:121v, 122v:123v, 125r:135r, 136v:137r, 138v:140v, 142r:146v, 147ar:147av, 148r:150v, 151v:158r, 159r:168r, 170r:170v, 171v:172v, 173v:174r, 177r, 178r:184v, 186r, 189r:189v, 192r, 194r, 196r, 198r:198v, 200v:203v, 204v:208r, 210r:223r, 224r:229v, 230v:240v, 242r, 243r:269v, 270v:271v, 273r:274v, 275v:280v, 282v:289r, 291r:301v, 303r, 304r:310v, 311v:314v, 316r:328r, 329v:351v, 352v:368r, 370v:386v, 388r:391v, 393r:394r, 395v:409r, 410v, 414v:421r, 422v:424v, 426r:438r, 439v:457v, 458v, 460r:466r, 467r:472v, 474v:480r, 483v:484v, 486r:490v, 492r, 493v:498r, 499r:540v, 542r:547r, 549r:554r, 556v:561r, 565r:569v, 571r:584r, 585r:599v, 601r:607v, 609v:616v, 618r:626v, 629r:633v, 635r:648r, 652r:670v, 671v:673v, 675r:714v, 715v, 716v:742r, 743r:749v, 751r:751v, 754v:779v, 780v:785v, 786v:791v, 803r:806v, 812r:825r, 826r:828r, 829v:832r, 833v:834v, 836r, 837r:838v, 840r:840v, 842v:855r, 856r:863r, 876r:879r, 883r:884v, 886r:888r, 890r:895v, 897r:903r, 906v:908r, 909r, 910r:925v, 928r:933r, 935r:940v, 943r:944v, 946r:955r, 956v:984v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence