Page 48 - The Pirate Coast (By Sir Charles Belgrave)

some time, British ships patrolled the Gulf, and as long as they
were on the scene the pirates kept quiet, but when the squadron
returned to Bombay, the treaty became a dead letter.
In 1808, another of Mr. Mancsty’s ships was captured by pirates
after a running fight lasting for several days. Most of the crew
were massacred and the Captain was cut into pieces and dropped
overboard. Mrs. Taylor, whose husband was in Bushire, was a
passenger in the ship. She was taken to Ras al Khaima, as
Buckingham says: ‘reserved for perhaps greater sufferings’, but, in
fact, the lady was unharmed and eventually ransomed. In the
same year, the Sylph, a Company cruiser of 8 guns, was captured.
The Captain, Graham, obeyed his orders, and did not fire until
it was too late; his ship was boarded and most of the crew were
killed. Graham, badly wounded, fell down the hatchway. Some
of the crew who were in hiding, dragged him into a cabin and
barricaded the door. Meanwhile, the pirates set sail for Ras al
Khaima. Fortunately, another British ship intercepted the vessel
and gave chase. The pirates took to their boats, and Graham
and the other survivors were rescued. Another ship, the Nautilus,
was attacked off Kishm Island, but the Captain ignored his orders
and opened fire; after an action in which there were many casual­
ties, the British ship gained the day.
The Sylph was carrying members of the staff of Sir Harford
Jones who was going on a mission to Persia. He had the unique
experience of being one of two British Ambassadors who were
sent to Persia at the same time on similar missions, the object
being to counteract French influence in Persia. Jones was sent as
Ambassador from the Court of St. James as Envoy to the Shah.
At the same time, General John Malcolm (afterwards Sir John)
was appointed Ambassador by the Government of Bengal. Mal­
colm was a distinguished man and had been twice before in
Persia; it was he who negotiated the treaty with the Sultan of
Muscat in 1799. Jones, on arrival, was delayed in Bombay, so
Malcolm got ahead of him. After much unpleasantness, orders
and counter-orders and angry correspondence between Lord
Min to, the Governor-General of India who backed Malcolm, and
the Foreign Office, both Ambassadors reached Persia. This curi­
ous affair, which was given much publicity, did not enhance the
prestige of British diplomacy in the East.
After these, and many other incidents, as well as attacks on Arab
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