Page 328 - Gulf Precis (VII)_Neat

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6c 5. Since the above list was received
Secret P.. February 1905 Nov 1546*1555.
Secret E„ Juno 190:, Nrs. 3.-8*33°* customs ports have been established at the
Secret E.. September 1905, Nos. 54*67. following places in the Persian Gulf:—
Secret E . October 1905, Nos. 170*171.
Secret E., November 1505. Nos. 1I0*MI*
Ormuz Island • ••
Hcnjam Island
YIn the Bundar Abbas
Pulkhana I Customs Circle.
Bostana • • • ...J
Dishkoon, near Bassidorc ... In the Lingah Customs
Circle.
Kharak Island • •• • •• ... In the Bushirc Customs
Circle.
Laz Ml • M ... In the Sheikh Shuaib
Island.
696. In connection with the list of customs stations drawn up in pursuance
of Article V of the Anglo-Persian Agree­
Secret E , September 1905, Nos. 54'67 (No. 56).
ment, it was pointedly laid down that no
modification of that list would be made without the previous notification to the
British Legation, but subsequent experience of the procedure of the Customs
Administration has shown that in practice this provision has been ignored.
Major Cox urged that it was of importance that we should insist on strict adher­
ence to the provision in question (Major Cox to Sir A. Hardinge, dated 29th
April 1905).
697. When the Customs Administration was reported to be contemplating a
customs port on Kharak Island, the Gov­
Secret E., February 1905, Nos. 1546*1355.
ernment of India telegraphed to Mr. Grant
Duff on 2 tst November 1904 :—
“We think establishment of customs port on Kharak likely to lead to harassment of
Indian and Arab trade, and we trust you may be able to prevent it,”
698. The British Legation was not, however, able to prevent the measure ;
a customs port was established on the Island in January 1905 in pursuance of
an order of the Shah, dated 14th December 1904.
(civ) Jolly boat incident off Lingah, 1904.
699. In June 1904, a jolly boat belonging to a subject of Debai landed
some passengers with goods opposite Haji Abdul Rahman’s house at Lingah.
The nakhoda of the boat was thereupon arrested by the Customs Guards and
after being detained for some days was released. The Director of Customs,
however, detained the jolly boats pending payment of a fine of 1,140 krans,
being five times the duty leviable on goods landed presumably by the passengers.
700. From the correspondence between Captain Trevor and Mons. Waffa-
laert, Director-General of the Customs of the South, it appears that the
latter—
(1) admitted Captain Trevor’s right to interfere in cases of Arab sub­
jects, of the Chief of Debai by asking him to recover the fine due
from the nakhoda;
(2) in spite of this, did not admit that the nakhoda, an Arab subject,
was entitled to proper enquiry by the Director and a representative
of the British Government under article 15 of the additional obser­
vations to the Anglo*Persian Convention of 1903 or article 106 of
new Rdglement Legal (which had not come into force at the
time);
(3) contended that article 97 (£) of the Rfcglement was applicable to all
persons, Persian and Foreign alike;
(4) declared that he had “no knowledge whatever” of the Anglo-
Persian Convention.