Abstract: This item comprises enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay [Mumbai] Secret Department to the Secret Committee [Bombay Secret Letter], No. 20 dated 2 February 1857. The enclosures are dated 5-20 January 1857.The enclosures comprise despatches of Lieutenant-Colonel John Jacob, Acting Commissioner in Sind [Sindh], to Lord Elphinstone, Governor and President in Council, Bombay, in which he forwards intelligence received from or via Captain William Lockyer Merewether, Acting Political Superintendent on the Frontier of Upper Sind.The papers notably cover and include:Intelligence claiming that the representative of the King of Persia [Shah of Iran], who approached Sirdar Goolam Hider Khan [Ghulām Ḥaydar Khān], the Governor of Candahar [also spelled Kandahar in this item], offering friendship with Dost Mahomed Khan [Dūst Muḥammad Khān Bārakzāy] and the Afghan people, was rebuffed by the Governor who emphasised that the nations will remain at war whilst Persia occupies Herat and reaffirmed the Afghan alliance with the BritishIntelligence purporting that the Murree [Marri] tribe have ‘assembled in large numbers for the purpose of plundering’ (f 271) and that British troops at the frontier outposts are on the alert for signs of an attackA report by Captain Henry Green, Assistant Political Superintendent on the Frontier of Upper Sind, concerning relations with the Khan of Kelat [Kalat], notably the Khan’s: reaffirmation of his friendship with the British; concerns about potential Persian incursions on his north and north west frontiers; belief in the unreliable loyalties of the tribes in the area of Candahar and Kelat; and support for the establishment of a British force at Quetta. Green also asserts the destabilising effect on the frontier of Upper Sind caused by the withdrawal of a regiment of Sind Irregular Horse for service in the Persian GulfConfirmation by the Governor of Kandahar of the receipt of treasure and arms despatched through the Bolan Pass for the Ameer Dost Mahomed Khan in October 1856.Physical description: 1 item (11 folios)
Abstract: This item comprises enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay [Mumbai] Secret Department to the Secret Committee, [Bombay Secret Letter] No. 1 dated 2 January 1856. The enclosures are dated 3-17 December 1855.The enclosures comprise three letters from Henry Bartle Edward Frere, Commissioner in Sind [Sindh], to the Governor and President in Council, Bombay, and one letter to Frere from Lieutenant-Colonel John Jacob, Political Superintendent on the Frontier of Upper Sind.The papers cover the following matters:The alleged plan of Dost Mahomed [Dūst Muḥammad Khān Bārakzāy] to attack Herat and to take it from Persia [Iran] and the arrival of Sirdar Munowur Dil Khan of Khandahar [Serdār Munawwar Dil Khān of Kandahar, also spelled Candahar in this item] in Kurrachee [Karachi] and his rumoured plan to visit Muscat to induce the Imaum [Imam] to make a diversion in the Gulf, thus preventing Persian forces being sent to HeratReports of Murree [Marī] raids in Boogtee [Bugṭī] territory, the number of Boogtees killed, and Jacob’s intention to meet with the Khan of Khelat [Kalat] to discuss this ‘inroad’.Physical description: 1 item (10 folios)
Abstract: This item comprises enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay [Mumbai] Secret Department to the Secret Committee [Bombay Secret Letter], No. 6 dated 15 January 1856. The enclosures are dated 8 December 1855-11 January 1856.The primary correspondents are Henry Bartle Edward Frere, Commissioner in Sind [Sindh]; the Governor and President in Council, Bombay; and the Secretary to the Government, Bombay.The papers cover the following matters:The request of a nephew of Dost Mahomed Khan [Dūst Muḥammad Khān Bārakzāy] who is at Kurrachee [Karachi], for British assistance, as an ally, in obtaining accommodation on a steamer to Bombay and then to Aden, en route to MeccaNews concerning the son of the Governor of Candahar [Kandahar] who refused the summons of Dost Mahomed Khan and went to Seeistan [Sistan] and then Chaka [Chakah?] and intends to ‘go to Hindoostan’ [Hindustan, the Persian name for the Indian subcontinent] (f 39)The question of whether to authorise Meer Alem Khan [Mīr ‘Ālim Khān], son of Rahm dil Khan [Raḥīm Dil Khān], who left Kandahar and is in Dadur [Dhadar, also known as Dadhar, Balochistan], to carry out his intention of going to JacobabadThe question of whether to authorise the entry of Sirdar Munwar Dil Khan [Serdār Munawwar Dil Khān], a relative of Sirdar Rahim Dil Khan [Serdār Raḥīm Dil Khān], to enter British territory, in view of the lately renewed ‘friendship’ between Dost Mahomed Khan and the British Government in IndiaReports of a clash in the Marree [Mari] Hills between members of the Murree [Marī] and Boogtee [Bugṭī] tribes resulting in the defeat of the former.Physical description: 1 item (11 folios)
Abstract: This item comprises enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay [Mumbai] Secret Department to the Secret Committee [Bombay Secret Letter], No. 15 dated 16 February 1856. The enclosures are dated 14 January-4 Feburary 1856.The papers comprise two reports forwarded by Henry Bartle Edward Frere, Commissioner in Sind [Sindh], to the Governor and President in Council, Bombay, as follows:The annual report on the ‘Political State of the Province of Sind’ for the year 1855, by Lieutenant-Colonel John Jacob, Political Superintendent on the Frontier of Upper Sind, 4 January 1856 (ff 229-231). Frere commends Jacob for the ‘tranquil’ state of the West and North West Frontiers and the treaty with Khan of Kelat [Kalat], and welcomes the ascendancy of Dost Mahomed Khan [Dūst Muḥammad Khān Bārakzāy] at Kandahar especially since it has led to the ‘restoration of order’, the reduction of ‘excessive duties’, and the encouragement of trade and commerceExtracts of the ‘Digest of Intelligence of the Customs Department, Kurrachee [Karachi]’, 10-31 December 1855 (ff 234-241), notably recommending that now is a good time to suggest to Ameer [Emir] Dost Mahomed Khan a reduction in ‘oppressive duties’ (especially on wool) levied on the import trade at Candahar [Kandahar], in order to boost commerce.Also included are a Resolutions of the Board approving of Jacob’s report, and forwarding extracts, or portions, of the Customs Department digest to the Government of India and other relevant departments and authorities.Physical description: 1 item (16 folios)
Abstract: This part of the volume consists of copies of enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay [Mumbai] Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 97 of 1847, dated 15 November 1847. The enclosures are numbered 3-8 and are dated 2 to 15 November 1847.The enclosures concern the battle axe of the Emperor Nadir Shah [Nādir Shāh, Shāh of Persia or Iran] selected from the ‘Sind Prize Property’ to be forwarded to England to be ‘placed at the disposal’ of Queen Victoria, including the estimated value of the battle axe.The enclosures consist of minutes of the Government of Bombay, and correspondence between the following: the Chief Secretary to the Government of Bombay, Arthur Malet; the Sind [Sindh] Prize Agents; and the Sub-Treasurer, Bombay.Physical description: 1 item (8 folios)