Page 714 - PERSIAN 8 1931_1940_Neat

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9. War. {a)'War Measures.^—The Sultan has Continued to -iudentify him-*
self with the Allied cause and his expressions of friendship have the merit of being
.sincere. He has followed with interest the varying fortune of the British forces and
has never, even in the dark days of May and June, lost faith in the ultimate success
of the British Empire.
Notifications forbidding trading with the enemy have been issued by the
State and the Sultan has issued precise instructions to his Governors to prevent
Muscat dhows from carrying goods to the Italian Colonies.
The prohibition of the export of silver except in the form of rupee coin has
been continued throughout the year.
The local reserve of foodstuffs was reduced in December from three months’
supply to one and a half mont hs’ supply. It became possible to do this when the
shipping position in the Persian Gulf made it unlikely that there would be any
prolonged delay in the arrival of steamers from India.
The work on the Batinah fortifications has been very slow due partly to the
annual exodus of labourers in the late summer to work at the date harvest and
partly to a lack of competent masons. The work is now in hand and some of the
projects are nearing completion. Merani Fort at Muscat has been largely restor­
ed and a 3-poundor gun has been placed on a permanent mounting on one of the
towers commanding the approaches to the town from the Interior and to the
harbour from the sea. Unfortunately owing to circumstances outside the State’s
control the wireless equipment ordered early in 1940 has not yet been delivered
although it is reported to have been shipped.
In November it was noticed that abnormally large quantities of kerosene were
being exported principally to Aden and Mukalla and in order to conserve h.cal
supplies and prevent as Jar as possible any consignments finding their way to the
Italian East Africa it was round necessary to prohibit the export of petrol and kero­
sene except under special permit from the Director of Customs.
(b) War Contributions.—Muscat has not been backward in offering financial
assistance to His Majesty’s Government and the various charities specially designed
to meet hardship caused by the war. In January £10-10-0 were subscribed to
the Red Cross Fund. In March Rs. 2,419 were remitted to the Viceroy’s War
Purposes Fund for comforts lor Indian soldiers in France. In July a local War
Purposes Fund was formed and by the middle of November £l ,200 had been remitted
to the India Olficc. In November the Resident’s Persian Gulf Fighter Fund
was started and to date Rs. 4,595-15-3 have been contributed. All the Indian
merchants and other merchants of British nationality voluntarily contribute
monthly sums to the Fighter Fund based on the value of their imports and exports.
(c) Publicity.—While there has never been any anti-British propaganda in
Muscat other than enemy wireless broadcasts it was considered desirable to so pre­
pare the ground that any attempt to introduce subversive propaganda would,
prove unprofitable and to this end a weekly news letter or paper in Arabic has
been issued from the Agency. This paper which goes by the name of “ Al ITaq ”
reports the latest accurate British wireless news, contains articles received from the
Embassy in Baghdad and the Publicity Officer in Bahrain, and from time to time
publishes articles written by local contributors. In addition items of local interest
are included with the object of making the paper interesting to all sections of the
literate public. The paper is normally of six foolscap pages and has a limited
circulation of one hundred and fifty copies. The circulation could be much
increased but there are various production difficulties which have first to be
overcome. It is issued free of charge and penetrates into the interior of Oman
where it is the only medium through which news of the war reaches the people.
Important copies of the paper are translated into Gujrati for the benefit of the
Hindu merchants. Illustrated papers have been received regularly from the
Publicity Officer at Bahrain and also from the Embassy in Baghdad and have
been much appreciated their appeal being particularly strong to those members
of the population who arc unable to read.
T. HICICIN BOTHAM, Major,
Political Agent dC* //. B. M.’s Consul, Muscat.

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