Page 166 - PERSIAN 4 1899_1905

14 ADMINISTRATION REPORT ON THE PERSIAN GULF POLITICAL

Part II.—ADMINISTRATION REPORT OF THE MASKAT POLITI­
CAL AGENCY FOR THE YEAR 1900-1901.
Political. 1. During the year under report, the internal politics of Oman have given
His Highness the Sultan little or no cause for any serious anxiety. Reports
current at the beginning of the yoar, pointing to an imminent rising against
Maskat, probably had little foundation, and the other breaohes of iuter-°tribal
peace, which have occurred during the period, kavo been of the ordinary nature
iuseparablc from Oman politics.
2. Early in April persistent rumours continued to reach Maskat to the effect
that a combiuod rising of the Sharkiya and Ghafari tribesmen against Maskat
was immiuent. The Sultan himself always expressed great doubt of the possi­
bility of these two diverse elements making any effective combination, and as
a matter of fact the time of the year (the non-date season) was the least
favourable for the movement of a large force. The prospect of an attack on
Maskat or Muttra was nevertheless for some timo seriously discussed by the
native public, and resulted in some uneasiness among the trading^jommunity.
In order to be prepared for eventualities, the Sultan arranged to increase the
garrisons at Kurryat and Seeb, his two most vulnerable points on either side
of Maskat, and summoned a number of his loyal Ghafari adherents from the
Batineh Coast to strengthen his hands locally. Saiyid Saeed-bin-Ibrabim-bin-
Kais, the holder of the fort of ltostnk, a brother-in-law of His Highness,
immediately on hearing rumours of an intended attack upon Maskat, also
moved towards the capital with between 300 and 400 men to support the
Sultan.
On the 13th of April, however, Shaikh Rashid-bin-Uzaiz, the Governor of
Simail, who had been instructed by the Sultau to carefully watch the move­
ments of the restless tribes, sent in a report to the effect that there was no
serious foundation for the rumour that the Hiuawis and Gkafaris were com­
bining, and that he did not believe that any rising at all was contemplated.
A few days later the Sultan received reassuring letters from other loyal friends
in the Sharkiya, which served to put an end to any remaining uneasiness. The
cause generally assigned to this expected rising at the time was the lengthy
protraction of the punitive tax in force for the indemnification of sufferers in
the last attack on the capital. Happily this burden on the date industry has
since been eliminated.
3. The incidents which follow are of a less important character, but deserve
to be chronicled :—
On the 25th of April information was brought in that some of the
Siabieen bad fired upon a party of Mowalik in the vicinity of Bidbid, about
40 miles from Maskat, under the supposition that they were men deputed by
Saiyid Saeed-biu-Ibrabim on behalf of the Sultan to expel the garrison of the
Bidbid fort who were suspected of being in treacherous correspondence with
His Highness’s enemies. The Mowalik, not unnaturally, prepared for imme­
diate retaliation, but the matter was satisfactorily settled by the intervention
of the Sultau and an adequate apology from the Shaikh of tho Siabieeu.
Early in May news was received that Shaikh Nasir-bin-Hamed was medi­
tating mischief and had asked the Beni Ruwaheli to let him make use of their
passes into the Simail valley. The latter, however, on behalf of the Sultan,
closed their roads against Shaikli Nasir, who then attempted an attack on
Nezwab, in which he signally failed, as the Sultan’s Wali in that town was pre­
pared for him and put his force to rout, recovering at the same time some fifty
camels which had been looted by them. # .
4. Shaikh Khalfan-bin-Thenayan, who was referred to in last year 8 Admi­
nistration Report as having been re-appointed Wali of Nakhl by the Governor of
Simail on tho latter’s own authority and as having been reluctantly confirmed
in that post by the Sultan, again became a source of trouble, in that, according
to report, lie incited some evilly disposed persons to kill a man of tho Rkumud
tribe in the precincts of the town itself. On hearing of this the Sultan dis-
natched a party of Wahabis under the Wali of Burka to arrest this recalci­
trant official ond to bring liim a prisoner to Maskat. Tho Shaikh again