'Précis of correspondence regarding the affairs of the Persian Gulf, 1801-1853' [‎138r] (275/344)

Part VII—Chap. LIV.
255
CHAPTER LIV.
QUESTIOIV ABOl'T (nn vi\i\(i REDRESS FOR RECENT OUT
RAGES, INSISTING ON EXCLUSION OF 8I1EIKII HUSSEIN
FROM THE ADMINISTRATION, HARBOURING REFUGEES
IN THE RESIDENCY An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. , BUILDING A DEFENSIBLE RESI
DENCY BEYOND THE WALLS OF BUSHIRE AND OUR
TREATY RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS TO ASSIST THE
PERSIANS AGAINST ATTACKS IN THE PERSIAN GULF The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ,
1827.
478. Tlie Bombay Government asked the opinion of the Envoy at Teheran,
on the abovementioned points. His
Volume 284 of 1827, psgs 295. reply, dated 8th July 1827, is quoted
below:—
i 1007 n.i , •! ioo» o . c , n ,, . 1 have the hononr to acknowledge the receipt
1827. P P of several despatches e£ the dates speeitied
in the margin.
In reference to the letters addressed by Prince Hussein Ali Meerza to His Highness the
Imam of Muscat, adverted to in No. 438, I have to observe that I never for a moment
entertained the idea, though a solicitation to that effect was made to me bv the Shah, of
deputing a gentleman to Shiraz, in order to effect an accommodation between that Govern
ment and Sied Syed. Nor did I conceive myself authorized to interfere further in their
disputes, than to communicate to the Governor-General the request of the King that his
Lordship would intercede with the Imam in behalf of the imprisoned Sheikh.
The events and transactions which have since taken place at Bushire will I hope put
this question finally to rest, in as far as we are concerned.
I have, since the arrival of the King in Azerbijan, again brought the conduct of the local
authorities in I'ars towards the British representative under the consideration of His Majesty's
Ministers, who have given me the most solemn assurances that every reparation in His
Majesty's power will be made for the insults, which drove Lieutenant-Colonel Stannus from
the Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. , that Mahomed ZeeJcee Khan has been fined in 40,000 Tomans 10,000 Persian dinars, or a gold coin of that value. , for his conduct
on that occasion, and that Sheikh Hoossetn has, in the most positive manner, been interdicted
from the exercise of any authority in the Government of Bushire.
The tenor of the Firman A Persian word meaning a royal order or decree issued by a sovereign, used notably in the Ottoman Empire (sometimes written ‘phirmaund’). which was a short time ago addressed by the Shah to his son,
and of which I had the honour to forward to you a copy has, I doubt not, produced a salutary
effect on the mind of that personage ; and probably led to the sudden alteration in the tone of
his communications to the Kesident,
In reply to the 3rd paragraph of No. 545, I beg leave to observe that the treaty concluded
by Sir Gore Ausby with the Persian Government is no longer in force, the engagements which
we entered into on that occasion having been abrogated by the subsequent arrangements made
hy Messrs. Morier and Ellis. In the Treaty negotiated by these Gentlemen, and which is in
Jact the only convention now existing letween the two States, it is stipulated as follows:
<f Should his Persian Majesty require assistance from the English Government in the Persian
Gulf, they shall, if convenient and practicable, assist him with ships of war and troops. The
expenses of such expedition shall be accounted for and defrayed by the Persian Government,
and the above ships shall anchor in such ports as shall be pointed out by the Persian Govern
ment, and not enter other harbours without permission, except from absolute necessity.
But whether these stimulations allude to European or Native Powers, it is impossible for me
to decide. The Persian Government asserts that they have reference to both, and further say
that they consider all the commercial engagements entered into by Sir InsMalcolm in 1801 as
annulled by the compact of Messrs. Morier and Ellis, who quitted the country without
carrying into effect their intention of forming a new Commercial Treaty. A note addressed by Mr,
Ellis to Meerza Shefee, and to which no written reply was ever given, would appear in some
measure to verify this interpretation, though I have, in all my official communications to this
Court, invariably considered the engagements entered into by Sir InsMalcolm, relative to the
commerce of the two countries, as still binding on both contracting parties.
In answer to paragraphs 8 and 9 of No. 543,1 have to remark that any proposal to build
a defensible Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. beyond the walls of Bushire would most probably be objected to by the
Persian Government, on the same grounds formerly urged, and which afterwards led to the
total destruction of the mansion, erected bv Captain Bruce, the walls of which were razed to
the ground.