'Extracts from Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf, Oman and Central Arabia by J G Lorimer CIE, Indian Civil Service' [‎38v] (81/180)

66
enter into any agreement or correspondence with any power other than the British
Government; (2) without the assent of the British Government not to consent
to the residence within their territories of the agent of any other Government; and
(3) on no account to cede, sell, mortgage or otherwise give tor occupation any part
of their territory save to the British Government. These engagements were ratified
by the Viceroy of India on the 12th of May following, and were subsequently
approved by Her Majesty's Government. ¥
The difficulties which had arisen did not disappear immediately on the
conclusion of the Exclusive Agreement, for the Shaikhs of Sharjah and Dibai at
first pretended to think that the return to them of ratified copies meant that the
Agreement had not been confirmed, and the Shaikh of Dibai, annoyed at British
interference with the slave trade, was reported to have proposed " taking the
French flag and so escaping from the malice of the English ^ By degrees, however,
the results of the supposed French agents' visits were effaced.
PERIOD SINCE THE EXCLUSIVE AGREEMENT
British relations with Trucial 'Onianj 1892—1907.
General
features of
the period.
Observance
of the
Treaties of
1820 and
1853.
1892.
Injuries to
persons under
British
protection.
The closeness of the relations existing between Great Britain and Trucial
'Oman increased greatly after the conclusion of the Exclusive Agreement in 1892.
British influence began to permeate the country; and, as will be apparent from
facts related further on, the preferential rights of Great Britain in Trucial Oman A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates.
became a factor of importance in questions arising between the Shaikhs and
external powers.
The Agreements of the Shaikhs for the maintenance of peace at sea were
observed with great exactitude. Even trivial breaches ot these became almost
unknown, and no difficulties of any sort arose, except from a minor question of
the use of the Trucial flag. _ .
In March 1892 some Dibai subjects crossed over to the island ot Sir Bu Na air,
a possession of the Shaikh of Sharjah, and disarmed and ejected from one of the
fishing grounds some natives of Sirri Island, who were then, on account of the
connection of Sirri with Lingeh, regarded as Qasimi dependents; in accordance
with the orders of the British Resident, however, the aggressors were required to
withdraw and to return the arms seized; and the Shaikh of Dibai undertook
that in future his subjects should not resort to Sir Bu Na'air without express
permission from the Shaikh of Sharjah. In September ot the same year the Shaikh
of Dibai despatched an armed boat to the assistance of the Shaikh of 'Ajman,
who was then threatened with a land attack by the Shaikhs of Sharjah and Umm-
al-Qaiwain; but on account of this lawless proceeding he was condemned to pay
a fine, and it was realised in the following November at a visit of the Resident to
the coast. .
No maritime irregularity deserving of mention was committed after this by
the inhabitants of Trucial 'Oman; but in 1893 a Shihhi Shaikh ol Khasab in
Ruus -al-Jibal, having put to sea with an armed party, attempted to enforce a
claim upon the property of his deceased father-in-law at Sha'am. In consequence
of this misdemeanour the Sultan of 'Oman, acting on British advice, summoned
the Shaikh to Masqat, where after much delay he appeared and was mulcted in
the sum of Rs. 50.
Cases in which it was necessary to demand redress on behalf of persons
enjoying British protection were, similarly, few and insignificant. In 1904, a Hindu
having died at Abu Dhabi, Shaikh Saqar, who was in charge of the town in the
absence of his father Shaikh Zaid, extorted $100 in return for permission to
dispose of the body according to Hindu rites; but the money was afterwards
refunded on a requisition by the Resident. In November of the same year a Hindu
was robbed on Dalmah island, in the jurisdiction of the Shaikh of Abu Dhabi, of
a considerable sum in money and pearls; and again the unsatisfactory attitude of
the Shaikh necessitated a remonstrance by the British political authority.
* Annexure No. 8 to this chapter gives the text of the Exclusive Agreement.