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No. 538, dated Maskat, the 21st November 1905 (Confidential).
From— Majok W. G. Grey, Officiating Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. and His Britannic Majesty's
Consul at Maskat, J
To—The Under-Secretary to the Government of India in the Foreign Department.
I have the honour to forward, for the information of the Government of
Enclosures r. India in the Foreign Department, copies
of this office letter No. 520 of 1905 and
its enclosures, which I have addressed to the 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. in the Persian
Gulf.
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No. 520, dated Maskat, the 18th November 1905 (Confidential).
From— Major W. G. Grey, Officiating Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. and His Britannic Majesty's
Consul at Maskat,
To—The Political Besident in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. .
With reference to the memorandum communicated by the Foreign Office
to Mons. Geoff ray, a copy of which was forwarded to you hy the Assistant
Secretary to the Government of India in the Foreign Department with his
endorsement No. 3933 E.-B., dated 23rd October 1905, I have the honour to
report as follows.
2. On the 7th instant, the French Consul informed me that he had
received instructions from his Government
to announce to His Highness the Sultan
that, in accordance with clause six of the Hague Arbitration award, those
subjects of His Highness who are authorised to fly French flags are not, in
future, to be considered as having been removed, in consequence of that
fact, from his sovereignty and jurisdiction. Mons. Laronce suggested that he
should wait until the end of the fasting month of Bamzan before taking action,
but I replied that in my opinion it would be better to save further delay by
making the announcement at once. On the 10th instant, I received from
my colleague the letter which forms enclosure (1) to this report, and which
I briefly acknowledged on receipt.
3. On the morning of the 11th instant, I paid a visit to the Sultan. His
a j * i o a . Highness showed me an Arabic transla-
“ Protocole IV. Seance du mardi le 3 Aout . & „ . , . ^
1905” (enclosure in Foreign Office letter of 11th tlOU of the document noted in the margin,
August 1905 ). which he had received from the French
Consul the previous day with enclosure (2), and asked me to compare it with
the original. I did so, and found two serious mistakes in the translation, which
it appeared necessary to correct without delay. I therefore wrote to Mons.
Laronce the letter attached (enclosure 3), and sent him the translation. Within
an hour, I received his reply (enclosure 4) with the translation corrected in
accordance with my suggestions. I then returned the document to His High
ness.
4. The French translation of the Arabic passage quoted in my letter to
Mons. Laronce is as follows
“ Considerant que les dispositions de Particle 4 du Traite Franco-Mascatais
de 1844 s’appliquent aux personnes qui demandent des titres de navires dans
le but d’exercer quelque commerce ”.
The gravity of this mistake is at once apparent; a considerable portion of
the paragraph has been omitted in copying. With regard to the second error,
the meaning of here is f< in this connection , which expression
raises an obvious doubt in the mind of the reader. It should he
“ on this account ”, or preferably as recommended by me to Mons. Laronce.