Page 308 - PERSIAN 4 1890_1899

u ADMINISTRATION RETORT ON TI1E PERSIAN GCLF POLITICAL

Owing to the murder of a Ruwahce by a Hadramec in September the r)'i
of tlio Somail valley was again disturbed and fighting ensued between th« o»C°
frees and tho Hinawis. a"
Nothing further occurred in Oman to break the peace until Novemb*
when Sheikh Badr bin Hilal bin Zahir of tho Beni llina was assassinate"Jj
Nezwah by the Beni Shikeyil. u at
This occurrence induced ITis Highness the Sultan to send Suleiman bin Su­
weilim, AVali of Dhofar, by the Sur road to Nezwah to attempt a reconciliation
between the opposing factions, and to induce the Beni Hina in Ghafat to eva­
cuate Nezwah, and to obtain possession of this, the ancient capital of Oman, for
the Sultan. With a view to bringing pressure to bear upon the Beni Hina
Suleiman bin Suweilim obtained possession of Ghafat. This act was naturally
viewed with apprehension by Saleh bin Ali and Saood bin Azzan who moved in
the direction of Nezwah, but before their intrigues could be of any effect, Su­
leiman bin Suweilim had already obtained possession of Nezwah by the simple
expedient of buying out the garrison. Having successfully accomplished hig
mission, Suleiman bin Suweilim returned to M»sknt at the end of February,
where he was received with great honour by tho Sultan who attaches much
importance to the town of Nezwah, and thinks that its possession will be of
considerable political importance to him. The garrison now bolding the town
on behalf of the Sultau is said to number about thirty men.
Jllr'far.—In the month of November trouble was experienced in Dbofar.
Tho Wali of Dhofar, Suleiman bin Suweilim, was very unpopular locally owing
to bis exactions and unjust government, ile having unjustly ordered the
imprisonment of a member of the Al Kathir tribe, sixteen men of the tribe sud­
denly appeared in Dhofar, attacked the Nail) Wali and killed him together with
some other persons, and obtained possession of tlie town. The Sultan accordingly
despatched an expedition in December to Dliofar via Mcrbat. The expedition
was under the command of Seyyid Seif bin Hamad and consisted of ISO ram.
Up to the close of the year uuder report, this expedition had not moved from
Merbat and no steps had been taken to regain possession of Dhofar.
Soliar.—In the month of December reports were received that Soy yid Saood
bin Azzan was making preparations ro attacktbe town of Sohar in the Batineh.
Saood had collected a considerable force from amongst the Yal Sand, Mawnsineh,
Beni Saeed, Maknbil and Beni Naim tribes. The Suit .in seeing the necessity for
prompt action, dispatched a force of 1*j0 men under the command of Shaikh
Jlamood bin Nasir, in a steamer which happened to be in the harbour at the time.
The arrival of these reinforcements enabled the AYali to repulse the attempt of
Saood to seize the town, and Saood was forced to retire. Saood on retiring made
a feint at Khabooreh, but here he was also unsuccessful; he thereupon retired and
joined Saleh bin Ali and no further trouble was experienced from him during
the year under report.
General.—In November of the year under report, the Political Resident in
the Persian Gulf arrived in Maskal and informed Seyyid Feysal that Her Ma­
jesty’s Government would not permit any further attacks upon either Muttra or
Maskat owing to the important interests of British Indian subjects in these
places.
Slave trade.—There were no seizures of slave-dhows during the year un or
report. Thirty fugitive slaves took refuge at the Consulate, of these twenty- '' o
were liberated and eight dismissed not being entitled to freedom under
stipulations of the Treaty of 1873. # f
Navi/.—Maskat was visited during the vear under report by Her Ma jesty s
Ships “Brisk,” “ Lapwing,” “Bramble,” “Sphinx” and “Plassy, also oy
the Royal Indian Marine Ship c< Lawrence.” Foreign navies were represen c j
the Turkish cruiser “ Zakail’ ” and the German gunboat “ Cormoran.
In the month of January of tho present year, the Messagerics
Company having decided to send a vessel to the Persian Gulf in c0?°-iimg
with their line to Bombay, the Company’s S.S. “Alphee” commenced
at Maskat.