'Précis of the Affairs of the Persian Coast and Islands, 1854-1905 By J A Saldanha, BA LL B' [‎23v] (46/212)

34
. r. u t Q„, to arrange for the lease of Bandar Abbas to
Persia was endeavouring m Decern ^ 7 j o{ Maskat chose to send an agent to that
Maskat, the Sadr Azam stated that it the he would no t be officially recognized*
( WT Dickson, Esq., to Her This declaration necessarily precludes the Gov-
Maies^y's'Minister, Tehran, dated 15th December ernm ent of India from encouraging H ls Hlgh-
1871 ness' project of deputing an agent, ^d indeed
j • tKp. <;iihiect" and I am to desire that His
makes it difficult to offer any . ad " ce , U P 0 " ' th at it may be explained to him
Sfrssars ... u - -
G0V The matter of the Snltan's wish to obtain renewal the Ieas=,of Bandar Abbas
does Tot caH for any remarks at present from the Government of Indra.
142. Saiyid Turki appears to have allowed both matters to drop.
XX.—British Position and Jurisdietion at Bassidore, 1868.
14 3. We have seen ahovet how
t Section XIV. important correspondence! from 1064,
t All this correspondence is taken from Proceed- which thfOWS SOme light On OUF pOSltlOH
ings, Political a., august 1880, Nos. 106-23. and jurisdiction of that station.
[For an account of the Naval Dep6t detachment and establishment at Bassidor.
see Section XXXV, paras. 265-276^
,44. The following extract from a demi-official ,etter ./ 1 ® t ^ : ! 2nd
,864 in connection with the proposed telegraph treaty with Maskat puts e
case clearly as to our title by prescription and acquiescence on the part of
Persia. * —
«...
« Our title to a station on the Kwhm island is na v a \ and general station of old standing
based on a •written permission given by the Imam » - . ii j Bassidore.
0i MX1-.ee G«i/paragraphs under our own flag. It IS called Dassmore
6-39. Our title is not written.§ It was based
originally on rightto ^otession'^auTe^hTn at
his successor. Persia has tacitly acKno g p^rcia m iR^6 the Treaty (under which
145. In writing about the TelegraphH
1 Aitchinson's Treaties, Vol. xi. Treaty Colonel Pelly states :
11 Government will observe that Article VI relates to our station at Bassidore. Our
title to that station has, of course, for many years been a bond, fide one. But on tele
graphic and general considerations, the present seemed a convenient opportunity tor
giving to our title the sanction of a written confirmatory deed.'
146. In 1863 a claim was made by the Persian authorites for the
surrender of a slave, who was alleged to have escaped to Bassidore from her
master, an inhabitant of Lingah with certain valuables belonging to the latter.
The following opinion was expressed by Sir Arthur Lewis, the Advocate General,
Bombay, on the question in his letter dated 10th March 1863.
"The right of one State to demand of another the delivery up of its own subjects,
when guilty of crimes, is generally regulated by special treaty or compact, and is not
a right^recognized by the law of nations. It is stated by jurists to be a right of imperfect
See Wheaton on International Law, page 167, obligation. No special treaty or compact
sixth edition, for the extradition of criminals exists between
the British and Persian Government that I am aware of, and considering that the offence
imputed to the slave is not a grave or serious crime, and one resting on mere assertion
without any proof, I think that 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. determined rightly, and for the reasons
stated by him, in refusing compliance in this case also with the demand for the slave s
surrender.
How far in other cases, where no treaty for extradition exists, and heinous
crimes, such as murder, forgery, robbery, etc., may be alleged to have been committed by
a fugitive slave, it would be expedient or proper to comply with a request for the