"دليل الخليج. مجلد I. القسم التاريخي. الأجزاء Iأ و Iب. ج.ج. لوريمر ١٩١٥" [‎٣‎٢‎٨] (١٧٨٢/٤٧١)

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^Abbas., have deposited on shore. But the British Government, apprised
beforehand of the " Gilyak's " probable intentions, had arranged that
wherever she went in the Gulf she should be preceded by a British vessel
of superior force, though in no ostentatious or offensive manner; and in
conformity with these orders H. M. S. " Pomone " was lying at Bandar
'Abbas before the " Gilyak's " arrival and remained there until she left.
Secret instructions for action had also been prepared by the Admiralty for
the guidance, in the crisis which was feared, of the British Senior Naval
Officer in the Persian Gulf. The presence of the British ship of war at
Bandar 'Abbas, however, possibly caused the situation to develop along
lines which it might not otherwise have followed ; for the Russian coal,
instead of being landed, was eventually transferred to two native boats.
This averted the principal danger. The secret instructions prepared for the
guidance of the British naval commander were not issued ; and on the 24th
February, the " Gilyak " having left Bandar ; Abbas and arrived at
Bushehr, the orders for shadowing her were cancelled. On the 23rd of
February M. MuraviefE assured the British Ambassador at St. Petersburg
that the Russian Government had not the slightest desire or intention of
acquiring a coaling or other station in the Persian Gulf ; but he added that
the commander of the " G ilyak " had been warned not to entertain any
such idea,—a remark which seemed to betray the previous existence of
some project. In any case the belated assurance, given after au attempt
to land the coal had been frustrated, cannot be regarded as of much value.
The a Gilyak " did not call at Bandar 'Abbas ou her return voyage, and
after some time had elapsed the coal was taken in charge by the Persian
Deputy-Governor who sealed it up in a small warehouse connected with
the " Kulah-i-Firangi 3> ) his own official residence.
The tour of the a Gilyak'^ in the Persian Gulf was the first of what
cannot be regarded otherwise than as a series of Russian naval demon
strations made with a political object, for Russia had no material interests
in the Gulf, and the Gulf lay off the track of her men-of-war proceeding
to the Far East.
The Gilyak which was a sloop of war with a convenient draught
of only 10 feet, but heavily armed, proceeded from Bushehr to Basiah,
where she lay from the 5th to the 17th of March. She had been met at
Muhammareh by the Russian Consul from Baghdad, who obtained a
relaxation of the quarantine rules of the Basrah port in her favour and
arranged a display in honour of her visit. On her return voyage
called at Kuwait, reached Bushehr again on the 19th March, and left that
place on the 21st for the China station. At Basrah and at Kuwait