Page 296 - Gulf Precis(VIII)_Neat

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salute of thirty-one guns, and, next to the Royal standard, ordered to be treated
with the highest marks of respect.
There could, therefore, he thought, be no question that the Viceroy’s flag
should never be hoisted at sea, cxqcpt to denote the presence of the Viceroy
himself, and the use of any other flag by lesser officials was, he considered, as
meaningless as if every Lieutenant in command of a gun-boat was to hoist an
Admiral's flag whenever he was sent on a mission.
104. The Government of India (Military Department) replied as follows

No. jdi-S., dated Simla, the 23rd June iSSx.
From—The Secretary to the Government of India, Military (Marine) Department,
To—Hi* Excellency Rear-Admiral W. Gore Jonbs, C.D., Commander, Her Majesty’s Naval
Forces, East India Station.
I am directed to acknowledge the receipt of Your Excellency's letter, dated the 4th April
1881, and to state that the two questions of requiring Her Majesty's ships in the Persian
Gulf to fire salutes in the case of the Political Officers and native Chiefs of the Gulf, and
to carry flags when the former arc on board, have been very carefully reconsidered by the
Government of India, and that the Governor-General in Council, while concurring in Your
Excellency’s opinion that, under the circumstances explained in your letter, these salutes
may be discontinued, docs not desire to make any change in the practice of allowing the
political representatives of this Government to hoist their flag in the manner prescribed.
It is considered important that the presence of officers of Government in positions of
responsibility and power, such as the Resident in the Persian Gulf, the Political Agent
in Turkish Arabia, the Political Agent at Maskat and other Political Officers, who have
hitherto been entitled to display a flag when afloat, should be made generally known at the
places visited by sonic mark of distinction, and the Government of India anticipate no
difficulty or misapprehension as regards the flying of the distinguishing flag, in view of the
instructions contained in the Notification* of the
* Home Department No. 1008.
14th June 1880.
105. The Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty informed the India Office
that they saw no objection to the arrange­
Political A., November i88r, Nos. 96*97.
ment proposed, viz., “ that the firing of
salutes shall be discontinued, but that the existing regulation as to the hoisting
of the Governor-General’s flag by the Government officers in position of resp­
onsibility shall remain in force” (letter dated 16th September 1S81).
106. The above orders were at first taken as applying to all classes of salutes.
But the discontinuance of salutes was
Political A., March i8Sa, Nos. 018-220.
very keenly felt by the Trucial Chiefs.
The matter was brought to the notice of Government by Colonel Ross, and it
was pointed out by him that apparently the objections as to firing salutes did not
apply where the number of salutes to be fired was not more than five which
could not cause much injury or inconvenience.
The Commander-in-Chief thereupon passed orders that salutes should be
continued to the Trucial Chiefs as hitherto.
107. In 1896 Captain Saddler was asked by Captain Baker of the
Sphnix whether he should fire a salute
Secret E., Auguji 1896, Nos. 79-81.
to the Sultan’s flag on arrival at Maskat.
It was a non-saluting ship like the Lapwing and Pigeon. Captain Saddler
thought that they should fire a salute once a year as the Cossack and Brisk did:
the Arabs did not understand the distinction between a saluting and non-saluting
veSsel and mis-interpreted any omission to salute.
108. The following reply was given to Colonel Wilson by Mr. Barnes:—
F

Demi-official letter dated Simla, the 16th July 1896.
From—H. S. Carnes, Esq., C.S., Officiating Secretary to the Government of India, Foreign
Department,
To-~Colonel F. A. Wilson, Political Resident in the Persian Gulf.
Please refer to your demi-official letter to Talbot, dated theCth February 1896, on the
question of salutes to the flag of the Sultan of Maskat.