Page 258 - Gulf Precis(II)_Neat

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,