Page 130 - The Persian Gulf Historical Summaries (1907-1953) Vol IV_Neat

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Indian North-West Frontier, with results wliich
have been described by the Government of
India ns “constituting n grave menace to the
pence of tho border.” To such an alarming
extent has this process been going on that in
February 1907 the Government of India csti- Government of
mated that out of tho 270,000 men belonging India's letter of
February 21, 1907.
to the frontier tribes no less than 94,000
possessed breech-loading rifled arms.
The view is pretty generally held that, until
Muscat is closed to tho importation of arms it
will bo impossible to place any effective check on
tho export trade by native dhows to other ports
on the Gulf littoral.
The total number of rifles imported from Great
Britain into Muscat reached 13,831 in tho ycai
1900. During the two following years thero was
a marked decline, but in 1904-5 tho total number
of imported rifles was believed to be not less
than 20,000. Hecout figures point to a still
more remarkable increase, and tho custom-house
returns show that, during the quarter ending the India Offico to
30th September, 1007, some 10,000 rifles and NovtmbS'
7,000,000 cartridges wero shipped from tho 1907.
United Kingdom to Muscat. Besides the imports
from this country there is known to be a con­
siderable trade with the port of Marseilles. Tho
Government of India calculated in February
1907 that, whereas in 1899-1900 only about onc-
soventh of the imports were from France, by
1905 the proportion of French arras had risen
to two-fifths. M. Goguyer, a local French mer­
chant, who has from time to time lent large
sums of money to the Sultan, is known to bo
dcoply involved in tho arms traffic. Another
French merchant, M. Caracalla, was reported in
July 1906 to have arrived at Muscat, with tho
apparent intention of taking part in the trade.
In the returns for 1906-7 Belgium appears for
the first time as an importer of arras into
Muscat, though it is believed that rifles of Bel­
gian manufacture have for many years past been
imported in considerable numbers.
In 1897 the Government of India determined
to make an effort to check the arras traffic at
Muscat, and, accordingly, in January 1898 joint
representations were made to the Sultan by
the British and Persian Governments, urging
him to co-operate in the suppression of the
traffic. His Highness fell in with the suggestion,
and on the 13th January of that year issued