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236             Part VI—Chap. XLVII.


                                             CHAPTER XLVII.


                        INVASION OF OMAN BY ABDULLAH BIN FEYSAL-SUBMIS-
                          SION OF THE ABAB TH1BES—BRIIISH INTERVENTION-.
                              PEACE BETWEEN THE IMAM AND THE AMIR OF
                                                NEJD, 1S52-53.

                            430.  Towards tbo close of tho year 1852, His Highness Syud Said left
                        Maskat and returned to Zanzibar and his African possessions. His departure
                                                     was the signal for revolt: fresh disturb­
                         Bombay Selections, Volume XXIV, pago 282.
                                                     ance? arose; signs of disaffection  were
                        freely manifested by the tribes in Batinah, and the whole of His Highness’s
                        dominions was in a blaze with dissensions. At this conjuncture, too, the
                        advancing steps of tbo Wahabi Chief were heard thundering onco more in
                        the distance. He came in tho character of arbiter and redresser of wrongs
                        suffered by his children (tho Sheikhs) in Oman. He took up his position at
                        Brymi, and summoned the Chiefs to attend him. The force despatched on
                        this occasion was so unusually large, and entrusted to the command of 60
                        influential a person,—that person being no less than a son of tho great Amir
                        liimsolf,— that all the tribes, struck with awe, hastened to meet its commander,
                        and seemed to vie with each other in acts of submission and homage towards
                        him. The maritime Chiefs, too, repaired with haste to pay their addresses,
                        and to relate their tales of woe.
                           431.  Scarcely had Abdullah bin Feysal arrived, ere ho sent forth demands
                       for the immediate cession of Sohar, and the payment of tribute so large in
                       amount that it was plain he sought but a pretext, in the refusal that must of
                       necessity follow, to attack and lay waste the districts of Batinah. The Sohar
                       Chief, it cannot be doubted, added fuel to the flame, by recounting with fiery
                       eloquence the wrongs he had suffered, the indignities that were heaped on his
                       ill-fated brother. A blow, it was manifest, was about to bo aimed at His
                       Highness’s dominions, that would imperil their safety, and endanger their
                       integrity. The aspect of affairs was gloomy indeed, and had it not been for
                       the opportune presence of the Resident on the Arabian Coast, and the steps
                       he adopted to stay the storm, coupled with the noble stand of Sheikh Syud bin
                       Tahnun in support of His Highness, matters would have proved most truly
                       serious, for not only was Bis Highness threatened with ruin by the confe­
                       deracy in league against him, but great fears also existed lest a renewal of the
                       Maritime Truce, about to expire, should not be effected ere hostilities com­
                       menced. The Resident had proceeded to the coast for tho express purpose of
                       arranging a firm and lasting peace among the Arab tribes, and now so
                       engrossed was their attention with the designs of the Wahabis, that not one
                       of their number found himself either able or willing to return to his post.
                       It seemed highly probable, therefore, that unless the crisis had passed ere the
                       coming month of June, either His Highness would fall a prey to his enemies,
                       and maritime disorder in every shape and form arise, or else the British
                       representative must act, on his own responsibility, with a degree of coercion
                       entirely opposed to the rules of British policy.
                           432.  Such was the position of affairs when the Resident reached the Coast
                       of Arabia,—a position, it must be admitted, highly difficult and embarrassing.
                       He at once addressed a letter of strong remonstrance to Sheikh Sultan bin
                       Saggar, charging him in the name of the British Government to abstain from
                       intriguing, and desiring him to return to his scat, to meet the British repre­
                       sentative, who awaited his coming. Syud Soweyni was likewise apprised of
                       his presence, and his intention, if dangers thickened, to repair to Muskat in
                       person, for the purpose of assisting him. To Abdulla bin Fysul teas conveyed
                       the extreme surprise of the Resident that any circumstances whatsoever should
                       induce him to prevent the Sheikhs from obeying his call. These measures,
                       backed by the presence of a vessel of war sent to cruise on the Arabian Coast,
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