'File 14/115 VII Annex (B 9) Abu Musa oxide: collected background material on the case' [‎126r] (262/1904)

, As Regards Shaikh Sagai^s letter of 11th October 1902 to the British Resi-
den i. jIib Statement tnat balim granted the concession *' as regent would
still SiAiid bO -r.j as it went, and the motive of its assertion is quite an intelligent
one and quite different to the far-fetched one that the German Eeioinder seeks
t0 u fc " .1 m y say I ! \ a or,-. being llnder t}ie mistaken belief "that he was
prohibited by the Treaty of 1892 from entering into such transaction with any
one^but a Bxitish subject, and Nakhoda AH being a Persian subject, he waa
anxious to persuade Colonel Kemball that Nakhoda Ali was not a ' concession-
aire at all and that if there had been any fault it was Salim's and not his. The
only basis tor this, view is a garbled ^ version of a remark said to have been
dropped uy shaikh oagar, and there is no real foundation for the hypothesis at
To go back to the letter itself and Colonel Kemball's letter to which it is a
reply. I would explain that business with the Trucial Chiefs Is carried on almost,
entirely through 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. Agent. Direct letters between the Resident
and the Shaikhs are of comparatively rare occurrence, and when they are neces
sary the Resident's letters are always sent to the Agent under flying seal Letters which could be freely opened before reaching their destination.
(or accompanied by a copy for the Agent's record) for delivery. Similarly the
Shaikh s reply ao-dressed to the Resident direct is given to the Agent to close
and forward. No Shaikh "would think of answering a letter of the nature of this
one (Colonel Kembali's) without consulting the Agent before replying. In this
particular case too. Shaikh Sagar knew that the Agent himself was personally and
financially interested and consulted him fully as to the terms in which he had
best reply. In proof of this we have the fact the Sagar's letter, above quoted,
is found to be written on the Agent's office paper bearing the Government of
India watermark. It is obvious that unless Shaikh Sagar wanted to quarrel
with Abdul Latif, the answer must be what the latter wanted and advised, and
what Shaikh Sagar said to the Resident, in other words, was :—
W hat you have heard about the Abn Musa oxide concession being in the
hands of Nakhoda Ali, of whom I know you have a bad opinion, is not true ; the
concessionaires are three of your own people and I supposed your agent 'had
given you the necessary details of it. In case you may notice that the conces
sion was executed by Salim and not by me, I would explain that Salim granted
it with full powers as regent for me, during my absence at Mecca, and it is still
operative, and has my support, so I hope you. will not think it necessary to make
any difficulties about it."
His object was not to disclaim responsibility at ail, but on the contrary to
make it clear to Colonel Kemball that the concession was in order and had' bis
own approval.
As a matter of fact so far as we were concerned there was no ban whatever
against Nakhoda Ali, gm Persian subject. The position at the time in this
regard is set forth in item 26 following.
(13) Sheikh Sagar increased this allowanchy
cluding that derived from the red oxide min —This statement is correct.
(14) Memorandum of Shaikh Sagar, is a
clerical error. It should, of course, be 1908.
(15) Attention must he called to an inacc Memo
randum. —There is no such inaccuracy. What Shaikh Sagar stated was
(Annex 5 of British Memorandum):
' £ I have absolutely not given any deed in connection with the island nor
in regard to the mines thereof ; all 1 did was to relinquish the income to him. in
the way of financial assistance * * *"
There was no stipulation or mention that the income to bo left for Salim
was to be restricted to that of the mines. This was obviously not the case because
Shaikh Salim was also allowed to enjoy the fees for landing and storing muhar
and zinni oyster-shells for export {vide Annex 5, British Memorandum)^
Also see Annex 1, British Memorandum, in which Salim writes : " You
were kind enough to place Abu Musa under my supervision, so that I misht
cultivate therein and reap from it the means of subsistence."
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