Page 416 - PERSIAN 4 1899_1905

10 ADMINISTRATION REPORT ON TIIE PERSIAN GULP POLITICAL

Part II.—ANNUAL ADMINISTRATION REPORT OF TOE MASKAT
POLITICAL AGENCY FOR TIIE YEAR 1902-1903.

Internal 1. The internal politics of Oman during the past year have displayed littlo
Folitio*. or no divergence from tho prevailing typo. In the spring, and again in the
autumn, tho usual rumours were rife regarding a supposed intention on the
part of tho tribes of tho Sharkiycli to raid tho small coast-ports near Maskat,
but no developments ensued and it is doubtful if the rumours had auy serious
foundation. At the same two* seasons there were signs of unrest among tho
tribes of tho Upper Scmail Yallcv, the outcome, iu a great measure, of the
drought which has been prevalent for the last three seasons and has reduced
some of tho tribes to sore straits.
2. Beyond the foregoing littlo lias transpired calling for special remark
oxccpt that, on two occasions, when incidents have occurred calculated to lead
to further trouble if not specially dealt with, His Highness the Sultan has found
it advisable to proceed in person to the scene.
S.'eb. The small coast town of Seeb, 30 miles from the capital, where many
of the well-to-do inhabitants of Maskat own date-groves, to which they migrate
in the hot weather, atlorded the first occasion calling for his presence. The
town is inhabited by a motley assortment of Arabs and llalucliis, but the tribes
most strongly represented are the llcni Hina, Beni Undid and Beni Awarnir,
who, in a desultory way, arc perennially at feud with one another. In recent
years these three communities, partly for self-protection and partly with a view
to being in a better position to annoy their neighbours when any quarrel is in
progress, have, as opportunity offered, quietly built themselves fortified towers
in their respective parishes, if I may use such a term, and when any incident
occurs affording sufficient pretext for a rupture of the peace they are in tho
habit of taking cover iu their towers and exchanging random shots with their
adversaries or picking off individuals among them who expose themselves
unwarily. As their tribal settlements arc a considerable distance apart promis­
cuous long range practice of this kind naturally disturbs the geuerai tranquillity
of the place and endangers the lives of unoffending inhabitants and on this
account the tribal Sheikhs have been repeatedly ordered by the Sultan, through
his local Wali, to vacate or dismantle their fortifications. Tho Sheikhs,
howover, were contumacious, owing to tho orders not being backed by any show
of force, and continued from time to time to break the peace and paralyse the
trade of the port. Accordingly His Higlmcss the Sultan taking advantage
of an occasion when hostilities of the nature described were in progress, owing
to the murder of an Awamir man by a negro belonging to the Beni Hadad,
set out for Seeb in the month of April for the purpose of demolishing the
objectionable towers. Accompanied by a small force taken from the Maskat
garrison, he carried out his plan without any opposition to speak of and
returned to Maskat on 14th idem after 10 days* absence. The murderer was
captured and put to death and a heavy fine imposed upon the Sheikh primarily
responsible for tho outbreak of hostilities.
3. The Sultan had hardly settled down when he was called away a second
Awabi.
time. In this case Awabi was lus objective, an inland town about 70 miles away
to the south-west, near Rostak, ono of the ancient capitals of Oman. Here
much bad blood appoars to have arisen between the "Wahabi garrison of His
Highness’s fort and the male population owing, it is believed, to the intrigues of
6omo of tho former with women of tho village; and eventually local feeling ran
so high that romc specific disagreement over the hire of "a donkoy having
given tho villagers a pretext for open hostility the garrison were set upon in the
bazaar and two of their number killed on the spot. Leaving Maskat on 24th
April immediately on receipt of his representative's report, and arriving at
Awabi three days later, tuo Sultan proceeded to incarcerate three of the
principal greybeards of the town pending production by them of tho actual
culprits. After some procrastination ono man was produced, and togethor with