'Travels in Beloochistan and Sinde; accompanied by a geographical and historical account of those countries, with a map.' [‎337] (379/476)

MISSION TO SINDE.
337
further official intercourse either with the Nuwwab or the Akhoond;
but to write a letter to the Umeers and regulate his future measures
in conformity with their answer. At the same time he announced
this resolution to those officers, and requested that the latter would
attend at the British encampment, in order that he might hear the
proposed letter read, ere it was sent off to Hyderabad. He accord
ingly came, and, while it was preparing, a very long conversation
took place, in which he laboured to convince the envoy that the
mission had been received in the most friendly way, that the simple
fact of its being permitted to land, and hoist the British flag, was
decisive evidence of this assertion, " for," added he, " if you had
" attempted to enter the port without leave, the guns of the fort
" would have sunk your vessels." To this bravado it was replied,
that had affairs come to that crisis, it would have been seen whether
English or Sindian guns were best, and that the result was very
obvious.
The Akhoond next adverted to the expressions which were com
plained of in the Umeers correspondence, and endeavoured to prove
that they were according to the idiom of the Persian language as
used in Sinde: he swore repeatedly that " Moolazimat," (services)
meant a friendly meeting; that " Mowuddut," (friendship) was
highly disrespectful as used in the envoy's letters; and that
" Hoozoor," (the royal presence) had been the title of the Umeers
for twenty years, and could not be altered without putting every man
in Sinde to death. Mr. Smith reminded him that it was absurd to
expect that he should be acquainted with the peculiar idiom of Sinde,
or adopt it, even admitting he were so ; that he used the two first
words pointed out, and all others, agreeable to their general accep
tation ; that " Hoozoor" was only applicable to an independent
sovereign, and not to a tributary government like that of Sinde. The
Akhoond here interrupted the envoy by saying that the tribute was
of late years only nominal, and that he might attribute his not
receiving answers to his former letters to the diction used in them.
The letter about to be dispatched to the Umeers was then read aloud
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