'Muscat Dhows Arbitration. In the Permanent Court of Arbitration at the Hague. Grant of the French Flag to Muscat Dhows. The case on behalf of the Government of His Britannic Majesty.' [‎53v] (117/208)

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proteges created for tliemselves new families in
Oman (p. 11); the truth being that their real
establishment and domicil was in Oman.
3. That they have residence in a French French Case, p. 12.
Colony.
By this would seem to be meant posses
sion of a house in the Colony, which, under the
Brussels Act, is a further condition superimposed
on those of being a subject or protege of the State
to which the Colony belongs. This point has
already been discussed in the British Case, and
reference to the proces-verhal of the statements
made by the quarantine-breakers shows that the
residence was colourable only (see British Case,
pp. 85 and 80).
At p. 8 of the Case the dhow A term adopted by British officials to refer to local sailing vessels in the western Indian Ocean. -owners are
described as having for the most part a domicil
in a French Colony (French Case, p. 8), But a
few pages later in the Case the same men are
described as having a " port d'attaehe," which is French Case, p. 14.
described as <£ en effet son domicile." This last
description is utilized to justify the practice set
up of registering at Muscat—a foreign port—
proprietors who were subjects of, and resident in,
the State of which the foreign port is capital.
The words domicil and residence appear in truth
to be used in an equivocal sense : either they mean
something short of what they mean in inter
national law, or, if used in the full sense, Siiris
domiciled in Oman, even if naturalized as
Irenchmen, are not qualified in international
law, or under the Brussels Act, to be registered
in Oman as owners of vessels flying the French
flag-
The instructions given to French officials
(French Case, p. 14) only to renew the papers
(" remplacerles titres ") of ships whose home port
is the port where the officials reside, are acceptable French Case, p. 14.
as a measure of precaution, but cannot be regarded
as justifying the issue of French papers at Muscat
by the French Consul to Omanis resident in
Muscat and subjects of the Sultan; and the
process of such registration cannot be regarded
as a mere matter of procedure, since it involves
an assertion of a claim to put the Sultan's subjects
under a foreign flag in his territory and waters
without any capitulation or usage authorizing
such a practice. And France admits the need of
caution, because of " les declarations souvent French Case, p. 14.
inexactes des indigenes," who undoubtedly get on
to the French register by means of misleading
statements.