Page 190 - Historical Summaries (Persian Gulf - Vol II) 1907-1953

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of 1939 met most of his requirements. He was given liberty of action in respect
of taxes and tariffs provided British subjects and goods were given most-favoured­
nation treatment, and it was agreed that the British Consular authorities would
at his request apply to British subjects his laws and regulations imposing taxation
and duties, and police and municipal regulations, but apart from this the extra­
territorial jurisdiction conferred by the 1891 Treaty was only very slightly curtailed.
The Sultan’s desire that all privileges granted to Great Britain by the Treaty
should be reciprocal was met so far as was practicable. This Treaty was to
remain in force for twelve years after which it was automatically to remain in
force unless notice of termination was given by one of the parties. The Sultan
gave such notice as soon as he was in a position to do so in February 1950, but
as negotiations for a new Treaty were prolonged the old one was with the consent
of the parties extended up to December 31, 1951. The new Treaty was signed
on December 20, 1951, and came into force on January 1, 1952, and is to remain
in force for fifteen years after which it will automatically continue in force unless
notice of termination is given by one of the parties.(J0) In asking for the
termination of the previous Treaty the Sultan was probably actuated by a desire
to exclude India, in view of the changed conditions there, and to abolish the
extra-territorial jurisdiction of the British Consular authorities which he regarded
as an infringement of his sovereignty. India and Pakistan are not parties to the
Treaty. They were consulted on the subject and preferred to make their own
arrangements. The Sultan was persuaded to agree to the retention of a limited
amount of extra-territorial jurisdiction but this is covered by an exchange of letters
and no mention of it is made in the Treaty. In other respects the new Treaty differs
little from its predecessor.
18. Sa’id while he has met with little success in extending his influence over
the tribes of the interior has made considerable progress in the consolidation of his
control over the coastal areas. In 1931 before his accession he visited Sohar on
the Batinah coast in a State gunboat and deposed the Wali, his uncle Saiyid Hamad,
who was showing too much independence. In 1928 Shaikh Ali of the Bani Bu Ali
at Sur was asserting his independence of Muscat and styling himself Amir of
Jaalan.(31) It is interesting to note that in September of that year Ali hoisted
Ibn Saud’s flag and in 1929 he visited that monarch and subsequently handed to
the Resident at Aden a letter addressed to the Political Resident in which he
virtually demanded independent recognition. In October 1928 a Muscat gunboat
escorted by one of His Majesty’s ships ineffectually bombarded a block-house at
Sur and later in the year one of His Majesty’s ships bombarded the same block­
house without achieving any result. In 1932 a combined operation by the Royal
Navy and the Royal Air Force compelled Ali to yield and a customs port was
established under the Muscat flag in his part of the town. He continued, however,
to adopt a defiant attitude, and it was not until 1938 that he visited Muscat and made
his formal submission to the Sultan. In 1930 the Shaikh of Khassab in the
Musandam peninsula refused to admit some naval survey parties and defied the
Sultan’s authority. The place was bombarded by two of His Majesty’s ships in
company with the State gunboat and the Shaikh surrendered. Since 1932 British
forces have never been called upon to support the Sultan’s authority in any of the
territory which he administers. The position in 1953 was as follows. The Shihuh
in the Musandam peninsula were giving little trouble though it is doubtful whether
the Sultan’s Wali at Khassab exercised full control over them. The whole of the
coast of the Gulf of Oman from the Muscat-Sharjah boundary in the north to Rus
al Hadd in the south is under the Sultan's effective control. The southern coast
of Arabia from Ras al Hadd to the western boundary of Dhofar is very sparsely
inhabited by the Janabah, and although the Sultan had no organised administration
there he appeared to have acquired sufficient influence over the tribe to contemplate
constructing a road through their territory to Dhofar. Over the latter province
he had completely established his authority at any rate up to the northern base of
the hills and according to his own account up to and including the Mughsin oasis,
where he had established a post.
19. At the outbreak of war in 1939 the Sultan promised His Majesty’s
Government all assistance in his power. Shortly afterwards he prohibited all
trading with Germany, and he and his subjects contributed generously to war funds.
(**) No. 11 V.T.G
(Sl) Para. 42 at p. 51. P.G. 13.
46639 2 A 2