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File 2830/1914 Pt 1 'Persian Gulf: Sponge Fisheries. Sponge Exploration Syndicate.' [38v] (81/488)
The record is made up of 1 volume (240 folios). It was created in 18 May 1905-11 Dec 1916. It was written in English and French. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
Annex 1.
Foreign Office to Messrs. Paddison, Trevor, and de la Chapelle.
*N 0 23 778 Foreign Office,
Gentlemen Angnst 1907.
With reference to my letter No. 20,633, of the 21st ultimo relative
to the concession for the fishing for sponges granted by the bultan ot
Muscat to the Sponge Exploration Syndicate, Limited, 1 am directed by
Secretary Sir E. Grey to inform you that a report on the subject has been
received from the Government of India.
I am in the first place to explain that there was found to be an
important discrepancy between the wording of the translation of the
concession forwarded by you in your letter of 3rd May, and that which
had already reached this Department through the
India Office
The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors.
, and of
which a copy is enclosed herewith, for whereas the preamble of the
latter only states that the Sultan gives the Syndicate the permission to
produce sponges from his waters, that of your version declares that he
“ leases ” to them the “ sea of his Kingdoms ” for this purpose.
If fihp, latter were the correct translation of the Arabic text the
concession would grant to the Syndicate an exclusive right to fish for
sponges in Muscat waters during the period of the lease, and would,
in the opinion of His Majesty’s Government, constitute a violation of
Article IV. of the treaty between Great Britain and Muscat of 19th July
1891, which forbids the establishment of any kind of monoply or
exclusive privilege of trade in the dominions of the Sultan of Muscat.
The Government of India, having now compared both versions with
the original text, have declared their own version to be the correct one,
so that the concession is not open to objection on this score.
With regard, however, to the statement contained in the preamble
of both versions alike that the permission or right to fish for sponges is
granted to a distance of 10 miles in breadth, I am to point out that
His Majesty’s Government are unable to recognise the right of the Sultan
of Muscat to confer such a privilege outside the territorial waters and
over high seas situated between 3 and 10 miles from the coast, and that
it is proposed to make a communication in this sense to the Sultan.
I am to add that if the syndicate or company formed to work the
concession—subject, of course, to the above-mentioned limitations—-is
able to satisfy His Majesty’s Government that it is a bond fide British
undertaking and is satisfactorily constituted, and that it is willing to
respect the rights of the Arab tribes in the pearl fisheries, His Majesty’s
Government are prepared to assure it of their due support in the legitimate
exploitation of its concession.
Messrs. Paddison, Trevor, and
de la Chapelle.
I am, &c.,
Annex 2.
Foreign Office to Messrs. Russell and Arnholz.
Draft.
No. 23,778. Foreign Office,
Gentlemen, August 1907.
AVith reference to your letter of 26th April, relative to con
cessions to fish for sponges granted to the Sponge Exploration Syndicate,
Limited, by the Shah of Persia and the Sultan of Muscat, I am directed
by Secretary Sir E. Grey to inform you that His Majesty’s Government
are aware of the granting of these concessions, but that whereas the
Persian concession is for 50 years, and grants exclusive rights to fish
About this item
- Content
The volume concerns the attempts of a British company called the Sponge Exploration Syndicate to obtain concessions for the fishing and exploitation of sponges in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. . However, the papers indicate that it was felt by British officials that the real object of the company was to exploit the Gulf's pearl banks, which entailed the risk of infringing Britain's treaty obligations with the Arab states.
The principal correspondents are the Foreign Office; Major Percy Zachariah Cox, acting as Consul-General for Fars, Khuzistan etc., and 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 The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ; officials of the India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. and the Government of India; the Viceroy of India (the Earl of Minto); and the Sponge Exploration Syndicate Limited.
The papers include: letters of application for concession rights from the company; the granting of a concession to the company by the Government of Persia; the granting of a concession to the company by the Sultan of Muscat; a report by the British Museum, on the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. as a possible area for successful sponge fisheries (folios 175-176); the involvement of the company with the rulers of the Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. ; and the rights of British-protected Arabs. The volume also contains an Admiralty chart of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. on folio 50.
The French language content of the volume consists of an agreement on folios 129-131.
The date range gives the covering dates of the main items of correspondence. This is mainly dated 1905-09, with one item dated 1916. The correspondence also includes enclosures dated 1892 (folios 214-215).
Each part includes a divider which gives the subject and part numbers, year the subject file was opened, subject heading, and list of correspondence references contained in that part by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence (folio 1).
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (240 folios)
- Arrangement
The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume.
The subject 2830 ( Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. : Sponge and Pearl Fisheries) consists of two volumes, IOR/L/PS/10/456-457. The volumes are divided into two parts with each part comprising one volume.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 242; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio.
- Written in
- English and French in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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File 2830/1914 Pt 1 'Persian Gulf: Sponge Fisheries. Sponge Exploration Syndicate.' [38v] (81/488), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/456, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100038235550.0x000052> [accessed 20 January 2025]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/10/456
- Title
- File 2830/1914 Pt 1 'Persian Gulf: Sponge Fisheries. Sponge Exploration Syndicate.'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, 2r:9v, 11r:11v, 13r:18v, 21r:33v, 36r:49v, 51r:70v, 73r:83v, 85r:89v, 90v:98v, 99v:128v, 132r:157v, 165r:199v, 203r:209v, 211r:220v, 223r:233v, 236r:238v, 241r:241v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence