"دليل الخليج. مجلد I. القسم التاريخي. الجزء II. ج. ج. لوريمر. ١٩١٥" [‎٢‎٥‎٥‎٢] (١٢٦٢/١٠٦٩)

2552
Independent
action by
tie Sulton,
1899.
Arrange
ments hand
ed over to
the British
authorities,
1900.
of the Sultan were made applicable at both places to vessels arriving
from Bombay and Karachi; by these rules the landing of persons or of
articles other than mails from vessels infected or nnder suspicion of
being infected with plague was prohibited, and it was provided that
passengers by healthy ships should be detained under observation at
Haramul, 1| miles from Masqat, till the expiry of a period of 9 days
reckoned from the time of the vessel leaving the last infected port.
The Sultan insisted on adding a vexatious condition that cargo should
be worked by ships^ crews and that coolies from the shore should not
go on board vessels from India. The Government of India at this time
considered that the period of observation ought to be 10 days, but the
Sultan does not appear to have deferred to their opinion, for by the
beginning of May 1897 the time had been reduced at Gwadar to 7 days
calculated from the date of arrival ; and in April 1899, when plague
first showed itself at Masqat, detention as practised there was for 6
days only.
In his first alarm at the appearance of the disease in his capital in
1890 the Sultan increased the period of detention to 10 days from the
date of arrival at Masqat; and at the same time he requested the Govern
ment of India to undertake the sanitary control of that port on his behalf.
The British Agency Surgeon having intimated what staff was necessary
for the purpose, two H ospital-Assistants were immediately despatched
from India; but the Sultan, on their arrival, declined to be responsible
for their salaries, and, though they remained at Masqat until September
at the expense of the Government of India, their services, in consequence
of the objections of His Highness, were not utilised. The Sultan also
refused to accede to a wish expressed by the Government of India, that
the detention period of 10 days from arrival at Masqat should be con-
Verted into one of 10 days from departure from an infected port; and on
the 18th of July 1899, acting on the advice of the French Consul at
Masqat, he rejected a fresh code of regulations which had been drafted
by the British Agency Surgeon, Colonel Jayakar, and even abolished
sanitary restrictions at Masqat altogether. In August, however,
cholera broke out at Gwadar, and on the ^5th of that month restric
tions were reimposed at Masqat.
When in January 1900 cholera died out in ■'Oman and was suc
ceeded by plague at Matrah and Masqat, the Sultan obtained by private
arrangement two native practitioners with plague experience from India,
and it seems to have been his intention at first to combat the spread of
the epidemic without other aid or advice. While the disease was still
prevalent, however, a Hospital-Assistant intended for the British Vice-
Consulate at Bandar 'Abbas was temporarily diverted to Masqat for
plague duty by the Government of India, and inoculation was success
fully introduced among the people, over 200 persons being treated by
Colonel Jayakar. The Sultan soon after this fell back on the good
offices of the British Agency, now in charge of Captain P. Z. Cox;
and at length, with effect from the 1st of October 1900, he handed
over the entire protective arrangements at Masqat to the British
Agency Surgeon, under whose orders he placed at the same time his
own sanitary employes. This amicable arrangement still (1907) conti
nues in force, and since its initiation all measures at ports of the ''Oman
ilia