Page 562 - PERSIAN 4 1899_1905

2a ADMINISTRATION REPORT ON THE' PERSIAN' GULP POLITICAL

any further information. Letters, however, continued to arrive- fasam the?
interior- giving'details; of the crime, and eventually Hjs. Highness-tho Sultan cob
off again in. his steamer Nour-cl-B'ifir on tho 26th Soptembor to- mnko
further investigations. After an absence of 12 days- ho returned, having
discoverd the mnttor, and bringing with him thirty prisoners, and a few Police,
of the murdered party. It appoared that during a houso to houso search in
the: village of Ras Half at the north end of the Island, the place mentioned in
most of the letters.as having boeu the scone of the murders, part of a mariner's,
jacket wss: found riddled with bullet holes and Btainod with blood. Tho search
party/on finding this commenoed making arrests on the spot and one discovery
led to another. Eventually the party returned with 9 of the actual murderer®
and 21 of the chief residents of the Island including the Sheikh. From tho
prisoners’ statements it appeared that the actual, murderers wore 19 in-
number, 14 of which belonged to Ghafiri tribes and 5 to Hinnvi. Of
these 9 had escaped to the mainland, 1 was in. hiding on the Island and
oould. not be found, and 9 were in custody. The principal residents of the
Island were imprisoned by His Highness for having hushed up the matter on
the occasion of his first visit. On the return of the Nour-el-Bahr to
Maskat the Government of India were communicated with at the Sultan’s,
request^ and. the following proposals received sanction :—
(1) That bbe murderers should be conveyed to the scene of the massacre
for execution.
(2) That the village of Ras Half should be burnt and all arms found in
it should he confiscated.
(3) That the principal residents referred to above should he imprisoned
for a time.
(4) That the Sheikh should be deported.
(5) That the remaining murderers should he executed on arrest.
(6) That ESs Highness should he asked to station a guard on Maseerah
Island.
The majority of these proposals have been carried out, hut hitherto Hia
Highness has found it impossible to arrest the culprits who are still at large.
It is considered, however, that a salutary lesson has been conveyed to the Arab*,
and that they will deal differently with shipwrecked Europeans in future.
Movements of 10. The Political Agent left Maskat on 1st March with the hope of tour­
the Political
Agent ing as far as Zikki and Manah, but had only arrived at Finza, some 40 mile*
from Maskat, when he was overtaken by important papers which necessitated
bis return. During the greater part of the year it was found impossible for
him to be absent from Maskat.
Resident’* 11. Lieutenant-Colonel Kembail, C.I.E., the Officiating Resident, visited
visits. Maskat in April 1904 for two. day*, and Major Cox, CXE., for ten days, in
March 1905. . On each: occasion the usual visits wore exohanged with His
Highness the Sultan..
Wavy. 12. Maskat was visited during the year by His Majesty’s ships
Lapwing, Sphinx, Redbreast, Merlin, Fox, and Porpoise and by the Royal
Indian Marine ships ‘Lawrence and Investigator. Foreign Navies were not
reyeaented..
Official changes. 13. Monsieur Laronce, Vice-Consul of France, left for Europe on relief by
Monsieur Beguin-Billeoocq on 12th July 1904:
Major W, G. Grey was in charge of the Political Agency throughout the
year lender report and Captain W.' Lethbridge of the Agency Hospital!
W. G. GREY, Major,
Offg. Political Agent and 3. B. M. Consul,
Maskat;