Page 49 - Gulf Precis (1-B)_Neat

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“ surely lie cnnnot be a man so void of Honor to think that we defraud him,”
upon the whole the expedition to Ormuse appears a most imprudent and
indiscreet notion, and if attended with success must embroil us with the Caun
in such a manner as never to be ended unlos9 our servants and effects are with­
drawn from Bushire before the ships return from Ormuse.
8. In your letter undor date of the 15^ November you mention a resolu- Paswsto oountrj-
tion you have taken and put into execution of giving passes under the,h,p*’
Oompanys seal to the vessels and boats trading in the Gulph for which they
pay one hundred Rupees yearly, in order to protect them from being plundered
by the several Arab Shaiks: this may be very well for them, but with re«pect
to your Employers it appears to he a very destructive and unwarrantable
measuro; for though Meer Mahanna now says ho shall have regard to the
passes. You may judge he will not long remain in that disposition, as the
consequence would be fatal to him, his principal dependence being the plunder
he is to get from those very people whom you wish to protect, besides he is
only one of many others lower in the Gulph who follow the same trade, and
will now bo more induced to do it than ever, seeing the bad success we have
had with our forces at Bussorah, which is the first time they have known
such an instanco. You must expect constant complaints that no regard has
been paid to the passes which you have no power to redress, unless the fleet was
kept whole year in the Gulph; besides this we must then be in a general state
of war with all the Arabs, and if no notice is taken of the insult our credit is
lost. Upon the whole it appears these most extraordinary transaction that
could have ocourred to you, and executed without any orders from your
superiors.
9. There is another circumstance that appears very extraordinary, when
you resolve to send the fleet to Ormuse you say it is designed to take the place
for Carim Caun, but you afterwards hear that he i9 much displeased at this
measure and declares the Shaik of that place to be his subject, and on that
account must not be touched, from whence it appears you cannot have settled
any plan with him ; In short, if you had met to consider of a mode to embroil
our affairs, it is very doubtful if you could have done it so compleatly as by
the measures you have now taken.
10. We do not find that you have any power from the President and
Council to send a force against Ormuse the general orders for endeavouring to
recover the effects plundered from the Islamabads cannot be deemed so. And
the you say that this was a favourable opportunity having no immediate want
of the fleet at Bussorah, we are not of that opinion for you might very reason­
ably expect orders from the Presidency for your guidance before Christmass,
by which time the fleet oould not possibly return from Ormuse and in the way
attack the island of Kist which was part of the orders. If it should so happen,
orders from the Presidency cannot be executed untill the fleet returns—the
consequence of which at that time of the year must be very prejudicial.
11. The orders you gave to our convenant servants to take one lack of
Rupees for our Expenoes, Forty thousand for the captors, and three or four
lacks for the owners of the Islamabad appears very well upon paper, but no
stipulation having been made with Carim Caun on this account, you may be
assured he will not allow it, nor can it be supposed that the Shaik of Ormuse
is possessed of such sums of Money, but if it should be so, you may be assured,
he is provided with suoh a number of Forces, as to prevent your doing any
thing against him, with the small one you have sent.

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