'Extracts from Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf, Oman and Central Arabia by J G Lorimer CIE, Indian Civil Service' [‎34r] (72/180)

57
fine was refused by him to Lieutenant Dyer of the brigantine "Tigris;" but the
arrival of Commodore Balfour on the 15th of February 1860 with the steam frigate
" Semiramis " and the 44 Elphinstone " produced a satisfactory settlement, to which
was annexed a warning to the Shaikh to be " careful how he ever again refused
any demand made on him by the Captain of one of Her Majesty's Indian Navy
vessels."
In January 1860 the " Fath-al-Khair " of Lingeh, in endeavouring to enter I860,
the harbour of Ras-al-Khaimah during a storm, ran aground and was at once
surrounded, with felonious intent, by 15 or 20 armed boats commanded by Shaikh
Ibrahim, a son of the Qasimi Shaikh and Deputy-Governor of the town. The
unfortunate vessel, after being pillaged and wilfully damaged, was allowed to
go, and made the best of her way to the Persian coast, where the owner found
an' effective advocate in Commander Balfour; for that officer, after due enquiry
through a subordinate and a short correspondence with Shaikh Sultan-bin-Saqar,
who merely ordered his son to afford redress, himself proceeded to Ras-al-
Khaimah. Shaikh Ibrahim had recourse to subterfuges, but they were cut short
by the entry of eleven armed boats into the harbour, which took six vessels
belonging to the port in tow. In the result the compensation, amounting to $810,
was disgorged within 48 hours, and subsequently an additional punitive fine of
$500 was levied under the orders of the Bombay Government.
In 1866 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. , Colonel Lewis Pelly, submitted for the 1866-68,
information of Government a number of specimen cases illustrative of the petty
irregularities which still frequently occurred in the Gulf. It appears that Colonel
Pelly felt himself precluded under recent orders from resorting to coercive
measures, or even to the imposition of fines, without the previous sanction of
Government; and that the abolition of the Indian Navy, whose ships, always at
the disposal of the Resident, had been replaced by those of the Royal Navy with
more extensive duties to perform, had increased the difficulties of the Resident's
position. The reply to this important reference, in which the Resident clearly
implied that more freedom of action should be allowed him and a greater material
force placed at his disposal, is unfortunately not traceable.
From this time onwards the maintenance of the peace in Gulf waters seems to
have become almost a matter of routine, and recourse to exceptional measures was
seldom required. In September 1868, however, in connection with a great raid by
the Shaikhs of Bahrain and 'Abu Dhabi upon the coast of Qatar, described in the
history of Bahrain, Colonel Pelly found it necessary under the orders of Govern
ment to proceed to Abu Dhabi with the " Vigilant ", " Sind " and " Hugh Rose ",
and a satisfactory settlement was obtained, but not without actual preparations
for a bombardment. The terms enforced included the surrender of a Mashuwah
and two Arab mares and the payment, partly by instalments, of compensation to
the amount of $25,000; but of this large sum, it would appear, only Rs. 3,740 was
ever actually realised. The Shaikh was obliged by Colonel Pelly to give up his
only three guns, which were however returned to him, as their removal might have
exposed the town of Abu Dhabi to Bedouin attacks.
Considerable alarm was caused in Trucial 'Oman by the Turkish expedition 1871.
which annexed Hasa in 1871, for the avowed object of the Turks was the
subjugation of " Najd," and it appeared that by " Najd " they understood all
countries which had at any time paid tribute to the Wahhabi Amirs; the statement
even appeared in an official journal at Baghdad that Sharjah, Dibai and Abu Dhabi
were places in " Najd." The British Government, however, were ultimately
successful, as related in the histories of Hasa and Bahrain, in inducing the Turks
to confine their proceedings to Hasa and Qatar; and meanwhile, in June 1871,
they instructed the Resident in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. to prevent the Trucial Shaikhs from
taking part, on either side, in the struggle between the Turks and the Wahhabis.
In 1876, in connection with an attempt by the people ol Shamailiyah to cast
off the yoke of the Qawasim One of the ruling families of the United Arab Emirates; also used to refer to a confederation of seafaring Arabs led by the Qāsimī tribe from Ras al Khaima. , the question of the despatch by sea by the Shaikh
of Sharjah of reinforcements, military stores, etc., for his garrison at Dibah was
formally raised. The Shaikh contended, not unreasonably, that such a proceeding
on his part was not prohibited bv any of his engagements; but the Resident,
Colonel E. C. Ross, recommended that all such acts should be forbidden by-
Government on grounds of general policy, experience having shown that armed
Arabs, when once afloat, invariably gave way to the temptation to indulge in
indiscriminate plunder. In 1880 the Resident withheld permission from the Shaikh
of Sharjah to attempt the recovery of Fujairah by sea, advising him instead to
proceed by " negotiations and wise arrangements "; and in the following year the
1876-81.