"دليل الخليج. مجلد I. القسم التاريخي. الأجزاء Iأ و Iب. ج.ج. لوريمر ١٩١٥" [‎٩‎٣] (١٧٨٢/٢٣٦)

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In? I*
they had required wae hie " opinion of any flace of security in the Gulph
he might judge proper ; " and, as the constant changes and confusion at
Bandar 'Abbas prevented their forming an opinion of their own on the
subject, they invested him and his Council with discretion in the matter
of removal, subject to the condition that, if it were undertaken, all the
treasure, copper, wool, etc., then at Bandar 'Abbas should be returned
to Bombay along with the artillery and garrison, except the sepoys, and
that one " covenant servant " and the Linguist should remain behind to
receive the wool investment. It was explained to the Agent that no
scheme involving expenditure could be adopted without the sanction of
the Company's Court at home, and that no hostile action could be taken
against the Persians during the continuance of the war with France;
but the Agent was to favour the President and Council with his " clear
and explicit sentiments " in regard to the whole situation. It was added
in the Presidency letter: "We still think a House with a servant at
" Gombroon will be necessary in order to preserve a communication
u with Carmania, and also to keep open an intercourse with the Caravans
that may come from the Interior Provinces of Persia."" About the
beginning of April 1761, soon after these orders reached Bandar 'Abbas,
the Agent, Mr. Alexander Douglas, proceeded to Basrah intending to view
by the way all the islands in tk a Gulf which might seem suitable for
a settlement, and on his return journey he visited Bushehr and had an
interview with the local Shaikh ; but he was slow in submitting his
opinion, and at the end of the year the Presidency found it necessary to
remind him that they " impatiently expect his sentiments about removing
from Gombroon."
Mr. Douglas's opinion, when it was received at the beginning of 1762,
was that trial should be made of Bushehr, to which place he advised that
a covenant servant should be sent ; the port was secure, being surrounded
on three sides by the sea and on the fourth by a wall mounted with
serviceable artillery; it was full of inland merchants, who seemed to
enjoy complete liberty of trade; and the Shaikh, with whom alone it
would be necessary to deal, bore an excellent character and was anxious
for the presence of a British Factory. A polite letter from the Shaikh to
the Governor of Bombay was enclosed, explaining that Bushehr was
now the principal port for the interior of Persia, the communications with
which were safe, and that there was a trade with both coasts of the
Gulf ; and the Shaikh promised, though the Presidency did not consider
his assurance sufficiently explicit until it had been repeated, that the
goods of the Company and those of their servants should be exempt from
customs duty. In regard to the islands other than those near Bandar
1762.