Page 48 - Gulf Precis(II)_Neat

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Pa. t II—Chap. ix.
the Surat piece-good trado to that port, from whence they exported them to
Graino, Katif and JJasa for the consumption of Nojd. The goods of the
Mussalliin and Imam wore reciprocally passed at the lowest rates in their
respective ports, viz., 3 per cent, and the Turks would now as well ub Persians
conciliated him as much as possible on account of the Wahabi.
62A. Oman is surrounded by hills and mountains, in which were many
cultivated valleys iuhabited by independent tribes hereditary enomios to one
another. Whilst they opposed, the Wahabi could not enter Oman, but they
were being gradually converted to Wahabi faith, which calming their feuds
united them against those of a different faith. The Wahabi thus had advanced
olose to Rostak.
63. With Outch, the Imam had merely a mercantile communication
without any particular privileges. lie was in general courted by all the northern
Mussulmen Afghans, etc., as they must come to him to go on pilgrimage
to Mocca.
64. Ho had also a communication with Abyssinia and received slave girls
and ounuchs yearly as presents and had intentions of setting a factory at
Kapine a port to the eastward of the Straits of Babolmandeb.
65. The vessels at Maskat numbered fifteen ships from seven hundred to four
hundred tons, and three brigs, 60 dows and 50 largo dingeys at Sur and Jabelan,
260 dows and buglas and a great number of small dingeys were every year freight­
ed by the Maskat merchants to go to Bombay and Outch. The ships went to
Bengal and returning some went to Batavia aud the Malay Coast, others touched
on the Ootomandel Coast and Malabar. The large dingeys which were the pro­
perty of Hindus went to Surat, to which they made two voyages yearly touch­
ing at Bownaghur for cotton, wool and oil seeds. Dows and buglas went
the beginning of the season to Basrah, took in dates copper and horses while
some of the large dingeys went to Bombay, Surat, Rajaporo, and the Malabar.
One or two dows proceeded direct to Goa and Malabar and the African
Coast,
66. The articles imported were from Surat, coarse piece-goods, silk and
cotton fabrics ; from Bownaghur, oil, cotton and gruin; from Bombay, iron,
lead and other Europe goods ; Malabar, rice, spars and timber ; the Ooromandal
Coast calicoes and chints; Bengal, rice, muslin, sugar, silks and piece-goods ;
Batavia, sugar and cloves ; the Malay Islands, Bpices, etc.; Zanzibar, oouries,
rice, wood, elephants’ teeth, hides, wax, and gums and drugs; from the Coast of
Katar and Bahrein, pearls and black oamalines ; from Bussorah, dates and
oopper; from Persia, copper, hardware, drugs, brimstone, salt, carpets, cama-
lines, and dried fruits; from Mekran, sheep, joaree and grain ; from Sind,
cotton, cloth, saltpetre, tallow, butter, grain, oil, hides and indigo; from Cutch,
cotton, oil, silk, and cotton stuffs. On all these articles they paid 6 p.c.
import duty, if they sold them ; if not, 2J per cent. And every boat going
up and coming down the Gulf must touoh at Maskat. They had no export
duty to pay. All these articles were exported again with the addition of dates
the only production of Oman.