Page 486 - PERSIAN 4 1899_1905

n ADMINISTRATION REPORT ON THE PERSIAN GULF POLITICAL

his robes of a Grand Master of tho Ordor, and tho Chapter having been
formally oponed tho Sultan was conducted before tho Viceroy with the usual
ceremony by the Foroign Secretary and duly invested with tho ltibbon, Bndgo,
Star, and Collar of the Order. The gathering then broke up, Ilia Excellency
leaving under tho same salute as that which greeted his arrival, followed by
tho Sultau and Admiral a few minutes lator.
After leaving tho Argonaut tho Sultan proceeded direct on board the
JLardingc for a short personal interview with Lord Curzon, and also to tako
leave of him, as His Excellency proposed to lcavo in the course of the
afternoon.
Tho two days of tho Viceregal visit had been observed as a public holiday
in Maskat and the fete culminated in the afternoon, while the squadron waa
preparing to get under way, in a scries of native dances on tho strand in front
of the British Consulate, where somo 20 or 30 hands of nimble dancers in
grotesquo costumes and disguises disported themselves until nightfall.
Thus ended a most august event in the history of Maskat which the Ruler
and his subjects havo every reason to remember with the liveliest pleasure.
As tho principal addresses which were delivered in the course of the visit
have a permanent interest and importance, tho full text of them is here ap­
pended for facility of future reference.

I.

Address presented to Uis Excellency the Viceroy by the Co??imic,iity of
British subjects and other British protected persons in Mu skat.

May it please Your Excellency,
We, the er.tiro community of British subjects, nindu, Muhammadan, Porsi,
and other British protected persons, settled in ihe towns of Maskat and Mattra,
most respectfully be?, on behalf of ourselves and our fellow subjects residing
in other parts of His Highness the Sultan’s dominions, to ofFer Your Excel­
lencies a most heartfelt welcome on the occasion of your visit to Maskat.
In doing so, we venture to congratulate Your Excellency, with much
respect, on being tho first Viceroy and Governor-General of India, since the
passing of tho destinies of the Indian continent to the British Crown, to visit
these distant shores, and to have thus inaugurated a new and vigorous political
departure in a sphere where so many Indian interests are involved; and it has
been a source of enhanced gratification to us to know that since Your Excel­
lency's happy decision to accept an extension of your term of office (a decision
which has been received by all classes of His Majesty the King-Emperor’s
subjects with lively satisfaction), the first great act of policy which Your
Excellency has undertaken has been this most auspicious tour in the Gulfs of
Oman and Persia.
Accustomed as the races peopling these shores are to receive impressions
from outward appearances, we cannot but feel confident that this happy under­
taking will prove to be an epoch-making event in the progress and enhance­
ment of British prestige and influence. It will serve, too, as an abiding
demonstration to the inhabitants of the littoral that the preponderating
influence of Great Britain in these waters is no shadowy or remote force, but a
lively and dignified reality, and that the Viceroy of the King-Emperor, who
holds benevolent sway over the millions of the vast continent of British India
watches with no less zeal and keen interest the welfare of His Most Gracious
Majesty’s subjects scattered all over the Gulf.
Except to give Your Excellencies a respectful and hearty welcome, and
to give expression to our loyalty and devotion to the great Government whose
subjects we are, we Lave little cause to tresj ass on Your Excellency's time, and,
so far as our own local and particular needs and circumstances are concerned,
have an encouraging tale to tell