Page 59 - Gulf Precis(II)_Neat

Port II—Chop. XIV. 37

CHAPTER XIV,

IMAM’S EXPEDITION AGAINST MIN AD AND BANDAR
ABBASS. CAPTAIN SETON ACCOMPANIES TIIE EXPEDI­
TION. PERSIA’S PROTEST AGAINST HIS CO-OPERA­
TION. THE JOASMIS BROUGHT TO BOOK AND TRUCE
AND TREATY WITH THEM, 1S05-1800.
(i) POLICY OF SYUD BEDER. HIS INTENDED EXPEDITION INTO THE PERSIAN
GULF.
90. Captain Soton waited on 15th May 1805 on Syud Beder, and as Salim Secret and Poll,
had delivered up charge of the Government to him, ho kept back the letter for lefofisS? N°
Salem and in his compliments expressed the Governor’s regret at having not p. 2802.
heard from Beder. Syud Beder went seven times to see the Resident and Captain Seton',
his orders and notions were all meant to impress an idea of his strong desire avisos!123rd
to cultivate the friendship of the English Government in India. He atten­
tively considered the treaties with Syud Sultan and declared he would not
only confirm them hut add something more that would he advantageous to
the English. Confirmation of the treaties was drawn up and he came to
seal and deliver it, but the crowd that came in upon him was so great that
jt was doferrod and he sailed to Burka where the treaties were duly confirmed.
91. The object then of the NVahabi was to take Basrah and they
plundered a village near that place and took many horses, camels, etc., and
ordering Syud Beder to proceed with his fleet to Basrah as Saud was sending
seventy thousand men by land.
92. Captain Seton gives the following outline of Beder’s history. When
the late Syud Sultan was absent in 1803 on a pilgrimage at Mecca, Beder
attempted to seize the forts at Maskat but failing he fled to Zobaraand sought
the protection of Abdul Aziz Wahabi, who ordered the tribes bordering
on the Oman to assist him with them. He twice entered the country but was
driven out and fled to Deraya. When Syud Sultan was killed, he was at
Zobara, and a force was collecting to assist him. Hearing the uews he set off
with three men to Kas-ul-Khima, where they were going to cut him off; but
procuring a fishing boat he reached the Oman coast whilst Syud Khis was
besieging Mattra and refusing any terms except surrender of all the forts into his
possession. In this distress the sister and children of Syud Sultan gave up the
management of everything to Beder, returning to the forts in their own power.
Beder by his influence with the Wahabi caused a diversion towards Sohar which
made Syud Khis retire. And an army of 4,000 Wahabis coming by land
to his aid and 15 vessels by sea by Bahrein, he endeavoured to recover what
Syud Khis had usurped from the late Imam’s ohildren, but the Wahabis
perceiving this would make him independent of them stopped short and
refused to act, ordering Beder and Khis to wait the division of Sehud and in
this state they then remained. The Uttubi fleet returned to Maskat and
entered the harbour with pieces of the winding sheet plundered from the
Tomb at Korbela, flying colours, and firing guns whioh set the women in the
late Imam’s zenana a crying and then screams were heard in the streets. In
the evening when they called to prayer not a soul was in the streets and in the
following night the Uttubis called in the old way which relieved the alarm.
93. An expedition sailed in a few days for Ormus with Syud Beder and
the Uttubis. He requested that the Mornvngton might acoompany them, with
which request Captain Seton complied with. It might be, feared Captain
Seton, that Syud Beder preferred the Wahabi to all others and should his
fleet and that of the Uttubi fall on Sheikh Nair then at Busheab and destroy
bis ships, there would be nothing on the whole coast of Persia able to oppose
them and they would go direct to Basrah whioh would also fall into their
bands. Captain Seton however proposed to aooompany the expedition, and
promised to see that Beder did not act against the Persians or Turks. As he