'P. 1 733/1904. Muscat Arbitration. (1904-08).' [‎337r] (680/778)

of India in the Foreign
S! l a , m > and , he had Wm
Dated Karachi, the 17th April 1904.
From—M ajor P. Z. Cox, CA.E
T0 “ L ' D; p a r ront ESq -’ t0 the GOT ™‘
»yo„ r l, f e° g u r : d m f h : “r a T , - * -
my ii:z th : TT f : eatyou through whi %-sX°c? w^h ra-tM o„ o P ; olunteer
iteternng to the draft article as a whole I am cnrp +V, Q u *
heart nor forget, if we pressed him nr f -fi ^ sure ^e Sultan would never forgive us at
ment on such line" tE it “ ac, l uiesoe “ any^arrange-
the matter he might be obliged or heavily bribed^ do sof"^ ° £ ° Ur S ™ path y and su PP ort in
such tV^ToooLsLfaT^l^hdrib “ifbein^^Tll 40 Fra,1?e r Crything she wants -
examiued. included m it being wholly meaningless when practically
For instance—
t ZtT^lTn^ th0 Fren ° h C ° U,d DOt ha - thdr — ^ injured
“ property in French Colonies”.-this clause would simply legalise the present
colourable device by which a Suri, wheu he wants a flag, pays the pric^of a hut in a Ech
rmanently LmS^afsar^ ^ ^ biS £ortearS d ° and a1 '^ ^ave
GUuse III. “ Their immovable property on land to be subject to local laws”—This
LTm,Plf COn TT!! K ^ eS r ta Vn Who11 ^ illuSOr > r ’ for if a Maskat sub Ject living in Sur
rat^^nnl^ 0 ^^^!^ a ^ ail ? st tb e Sultan, it stands to reason, afd at any
^ e J°" ld certaml J ^ the case in practice, that the Sultan would not dare to interfere with
him or his property, and the protege and his household might snap his fingers at the local
with 1 Hp any n exten 1 i y for lf m 0 . les ted, or his property were in danger of being interfered
with, he would merely have to insinuate a French flag, and if it were touched, a case would
in Su^creek 00000 ^ ^ 1DSU fc to tiie as was tbe case w ben the dhow A term adopted by British officials to refer to local sailing vessels in the western Indian Ocean. was recently fired at
“ Protection to be extended to families in direct descent from Trench Proteqes ” —In
time, and with the assistance of a little jugglery in the matter of Arabic names, which
is a simple matter, the greater part of the male population of Sur would claim French
protection against the jurisdiction of the Sultan and his local Wali, with little dano-er of
detection, as the latter would not be in a position to verify, and would be afraid to run risks
^ bh® Sultan of Maskaf s administration were at all a civilised one, it might be different
but knowing as they do how unscrupulously he has been taken advantage of in the past and'
the dubious methods by which the protege venture has been fostered, I confess it is somewhat
heartbreaking to me to see such a scheme seriously passed on by the Home Government)
We might just as well have conceded the whole position when the issue was first raised in
1900, and thereby have saved the Government of India and its local officers a good deal of
worry during the last four years.
The Hague Tribunal is at all events a presumably fair and unbiassed Court. The case
will be treated on its merits, and none of the parties concerned can have legitimate cause to
complain at the verdict whatever it is. Where is the advantage in upsetting that arrangement
now, and giving away to France a locally important case, which we are almost certain to win ?
Even if the British Government can get some compensating concession from the French
for letting them have their way in this, I cannot see that we have any right to allow the
Sultan to go to the wall on our account, and I can assure you that if that contingency should
arise, it would do lasting harm to our good name in Oman.
I have little doubt that the Government of India have set their faces against the proposal,
but I have seen so much of the question, and it has given me so many anxious moments, that
it can hardly be wondered at if I feel strongly about it and, perhaps, exaggerate its importance.
If the Viceroy were at home one would have no anxiety, but knowing how keen the
French Government will be to rush it through, as they have everything to fear from the Hague
Arbitration, and knowing that His Majesty’s Government will be in a conciliatory mood owing
to the recent happy rapprochement and agreement with France, I cannot help fearing that
Maskat interests may go to the wall.
With apologies for writing at such length.