'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.' [‎54v] (119/208)

12
IY.—THE PRBNOH LIST OE ELAG-
HOLDERS.
The list of Omani dhows which have re- Freuch Case,
ceived French papers, printed at pp. 58 and 59 58 and 59 '
of the Prench Case, shows that thirty Omanis
possess French papers in respect of fifty-six
dhows, with crews amounting in all to 1,060
men, and that France claims (French Case, p. 8)
French protection for the owners and their
families, and the crews of their vessels. The
whole population of Siir, male and female, does
not exceed 10,000, and if to the persons claimed
as French proteges are to be added their wives
and families, one quarter of the population of Stir
will be exempt from the Sultan's jurisdiction.
His Majesty's Government welcome the tardy
delivery of this long promised list, as an admission
of the correctness of the statements made by the
Sultan and the British Consul in Muscat, that
a lar£?e number of Omanis had received French
papers for their ships. They cannot, however,
admit that the list supplied is a complete per
formance of the promise made. No indication
whatever is given therein of the qualification in
respect of which any of the Arabs named (who
are admitted by France to be Omanis) have been
allowed to hold French papers or the French
flag. It is not stated whether any of the Arabs
has his domicil or chief establishment in Oman
or in a French Colony or Protectorate, nor
whether he is a French subject or in the service
of a French subject in Oman or elsewhere,
although from the Statement (at pp. 13 and 14
of the French Case) that Muscat is the " port
d'attache" of these Arabs, it may be inferred
that they are domiciled or resident in Oman.
In view of the small number of Arab personal
names, it is difficult to fix the identity of an Arab
unless he is described more fully than is done in
the French list. The only effective mode of
description for purposes of identification is that
indicated by His Highness the Sultan in his
letter of the 21st March, 1905. But meagre Appendix 4, p. i2.
as is the description in the French list, and
after allowing for the difficulties in setting