Page 290 - Gulf Precis(VIII)_Neat

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8i-A. The views of the Government of India were expressed in the following
despatch
No. 8, dated Simla, the 3rd November 1904.
From—His Excellency the Viceroy and Governor-General of India in Council,
To—The Right Hon'ble St.John Drodrick, His Majesty's Secretary of Stato for India.
We have the honour to refer to paragraph 3 of your military despatch No. 91,* dated
•Proceeding* 113 in Secret E., September 1903, 3rd July 1963, in which it is stated that the
No*. 113-114- details of the arrangements for the employment
of the vessels of the Royal Navy for which a contribution is paid by India, would be settled
in conference by representatives of the India Office and Admiralty.
2. We have recently received a communication on the subject from the Naval
Commander-in-Chief who proposes that -
(i) His Majesty’s ships Sphinx, Lapwing and Redbreast should, with efTcct from
October 1st, 1904, be the ships for which the annual subsidy is paid instead
of the Fox, Perseust Lapwing and Sphinx ;
(\i) these vessels should not, without the consent of the Government of India, be
employed south of an imaginary line from Aden passing south of Sokotra to
Bombay;
(iii) each ship in turn should be stationed at Colombo from May to September
annually in order that the musketry course may be carried out, the European
crew being tent to the naval camp at Diyatalawa.
These proposals, which arc now referred for your consideration, have been accepted
by us subject to any decision that may be arrived at by you in communication with the
Admiralty.
3. We would here explain that political requirements necessitate the presence of three
vessels in the Persian Gulf Of these, one is required at the head of the Gulf during the
summer months to check piracy during the date season, a second on the pearling banks
and in the shallow waters around Bahrein, and a third at the mouth of the Gulf between
Maskat, Henjam and'Bander Abbas. Under the proposals of the Naval Commander-in-
Chief, by which one ship proceeds annually to Colombo, only two vessels will he available
for these services. We would therefore suggest that, in addition to the three gunboats
referred to above, a special light draught vessel should be provided to police the pearl
banks in the neighbourhood of Bahrein and to be available for service in the creeks and
inlets at the head of the Gulf, which, as shown in
f Vide yo-H telegram of tho 15th March 1904.
the recent t case of piracy in Khor Hindian, the
existing gunboats are unable to enter. If such a vessel were ordinarily stationed at
Bahrein, it would no longer be necessary to provide the special boat J proposed for the
: correipondeoce ending with vour Secret use of the Political .Agent, and any difficulty
Dcapatcb No 33, dated ibe sth August 1904. arising out of the employment of an armed ship
not sailing under the King’s Commission, would thus be avoided. The additional vessel
which we now suggest could be manned by a native crew under charge of a petty officer
and the Political Agent's military guard could be made available for shipment should
occasion arise. At the request of His Majesty's Minister at Tehran we are now construct­
ing five sea going steam § cutters for the use of
| Secret E., February 1905, Noi. I539 «545.
the Belgian Customs Department in the Persian
Gulf, and this display of maritime activity on the part of the Persian Government is an
additional cause for rendering the presence of such a vessel as we have suggested
desirable.
We also consider that, as none of the subsidised vessels can be spared for employ­
ment in the Gulf of Aden, the imaginary line referred to in paragraph 2 (ii) above should
run from Dhofar, south of Sokotra, to Bombay.
5. We wish to bring to your notice that the tonnage of the vessels for which the
annual contribution will now be paid is reduced from 6,605 tors 10 3i74° tons, and, as
stated in paragraph 37 of our military despatch No. 141, dated 12th September 1901, we
trust that when the financial relations between the United Kingdom and India are
reconsidered in 1906, the views expressed in paragraph 314 (3) of the report of the Royal
Commission and in Mr. Buchanan’* reservation may be taken into consideration by His
Majesty's Government.