Page 130 - Historical Summaries (Persian Gulf) 1907-1953

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Indian North-West Frontier, with results which
have been described by the Government of
India as “constituting a grave menace to the
peace of the border.” To such an alarming
extent lias this process been going on that in
February 1907 the Government of India esti- Government of
mated that out of the 270,000 men belonging Febniary^T, 1907.
to the frontier tribes no less than 94,000
possessed breech-loading rifled arms.
The view is pretty generally held that, until
Muscat is closed to the importation of arms it
will bo impossible to place any effective chock on
the export trade by native dhows to other ports
on the Gulf littoral.
The total number of rifles imported from Great
Britain into Muscat reached 13,831 in the ycai
1900. During the two following years there was
a marked decline, but in 1904-5 the total number
of imported rifles was believed to be not less
than 20,000. Recent figures point to a still
more remarkable increase, and the custom-house
returns show that, during the quarter ending the India Office to
30th September, 1907, some 10,000 rifles and Foreign Office,
November 26,
7,000,000 cartridges were shipped from the 1907.
United Kingdom to Muscat. Besides the imports
from this country there is known to be a con­
siderable trade with the port of Marseilles. The
Government of India calculated in February
1907 that, whereas in 1899-1900 only about one-
seventh of the imports were from France, by
1905 the proportion of French arras had risen
to two-fifths. M. Goguyer, a local French mer­
chant, who has from time to time lent large
sums of money to the Sultan, is known to be
deeply involved in the arms traffic. Another
French merchant, M. Caracalla, was reported in
July 1906 to have arrived at Muscat, with the
apparent intention of taking part in the trade.
In the returns for 1906-7 Belgium appears for
the first time as an importer of arms into
Muscat, though it is believed that rifles of Bel­
gian manufacture have for many years past been
imported in considerable numbers.
In 1897 the Government of India determined
to make an effort to check the arras traffic at
Muscat, and, accordingly, in January 1898 joint
representations were made to the Sultan by
the British and Persian Governments, urging
him to co-operate in the suppression of the
traffic. His Highness fell in with the suggestion,
and on the 13th January of that year issued