مجموعة ٣٠ /١١١ "محطات بحرية بريطانية في: إنشاءات في خور قوي والبحرين. إخلاء هنجام وباسعيدو." [و‎‎٥‎٤‎٨] (١١٥٤/١١٠٢)

Between 1913 and the present dav TT u •
dedmed, and since the War it has been of neofeiw’ nterest in M «scat has steadily
the Peace negotiations of 1919 the Question r P ortaDce - In the course of
Commercial Treaty of 1844 and a free hand forGreatTt 1 "? • the of the
considera ion, but does not appear to have been ours ,e l mu In l luScat was ™der
m Muscat was relinquished in 1920- the n,n, P K t Ihe FreDcl1 coal depot
French flag had in that year fallen to seven of which °f, “"w I’ 10 " 8 fl y in S ‘he
subjects, and it is improbable that any Muscatis y beIong P d to Mus cat
to flv flip, Frp.nph Ann- n 1 i c _ 8 cl t the nresent timo
British Connection with Muscat, 1770 to 1934.
23. The British connection with Muscat rtatp^ fm™ ^ i si
The first formal treatv hptwppn Tf M n 1 iiom the early seventeenth century,
me nrst tormai treaty between H.M Government and Muscat, under which Muscat
undertook to co-operate with Great Britain against the French, was signed in 1798
1 hat treaty has, since the beginning of the nineteenth century, been supplt
mented by a large number of engagements. Of these the mosV important are
the Ireaty of Commerce of 1839, which has since been replaced by the Treaty
of Commerce of 1891, and the Exclusive Agreement of 1891, to which reference
is made in paragraph 3 above. In addition, Muscat has contracted engagements with
n.M. Government m regard to the suppression of the slave trade, the arms traffic,
piracy, the grant of concessions for oil aud coal, the making of air regulations;
and she has conceded exclusive jurisdiction over British subjects (including British
protected persons) and the subjects of Indian States to H.M. Government.
> 24. It is not unfair to say that through much of this period the continued
existence of Muscat has been possible only because of the moral, financial and,
occasionally, the military or naval assistance lent her by the Government of India
and H.M. Government. But for these she might have succumbed to the Wahabis at
various periods between 1800 and 1870 ; she would have found difficulty in retaining
her control in Dhofar in 1896-97 ; and the ruling house might well have been
driven into the sea by the tribal rebellion of 1895 or by the fanatical Imam of
the hinterland and his Ibadhi followers between 1914 and 1922. Since 1873,
moreover, when Zanzibar ceased to make the annual payment due to Muscat
under the Canning Award to which reference is made in paragraph 8 above, the
payment, now known as the Zanzibar Subsidy, and amounting to Us. 86,400, has
been made annually by the Government of India, from 1913 to the present day
an annual subsidy of 1 lakh of rupees (the discontinuance of which has recently
been under consideration) has in addition been paid to successive Sultans ay the
Government of India in recognition of their co-operation in the putting c own o
the arms traffic.
25. The interest of H.M. Government in Muscat has thus throughout the period
under consideration been substantial and of vital practica impoi ance o e
continued existence of Muscat as an independent State. 18 i unfairlv
with the interest taken in Muscat by the French Government, " ot
he described as having been actuated k°ri e ! v p P° * lra ’J’ . re cent times
directly related to the special interests of !dl,8ca ‘"^Government to assert itself
appears to have been based on the ^0^6 00 ^Jbeen predominant, or to use the
nuGncfTalnl of tt A^glo-French Declaration oH862jo secure concess.ons m
other areas of the international field from H.i . ov
t x- * 1 qro ■ its imnortance in Muscat Policy, and the
Ths Anglo-French “U , , ,86! „ ,8,
86. The =» 06^ fifSChh™.., «
so-called Bunder Gisseh incident of 18 • . may be placed on record
with the discussions to which that men en g years bulked largely in British
that the existence of the Declaration ia^ _ , • r ' t p e Declaration was concluded
policy in this ^iV^nm^tnnees in wn , . .xAihrmt.
are described
3227
area.
m
The circumstances in ^ ^ ^ it was made without
paragraphs 8 9 above ,