Abstract: The item consists of copies and extracts of Political Letters and Political Consultations from the Government of Bombay.The item consists of correspondence regarding the abolition of the Residency at Muscat and the consolidation of residencies at Muscat and Bushire. The correspondence is particularly concerned with the resignation, due to the climate, of Nicholas Hankey Smith from the Residency at Muscat and the search for a more suitable residence there.The correspondence consists of letters between the Government of Bombay and the Resident at Muscat. The other correspondents are: Court of Directors of the East India Company; George Cumming Osborne, Secretary to the Government of Bombay; Neil Benjamin Edmonstone, Chief Secretary to Government, Fort William; Captain Wainwright of His Majesty’s Ship La Chiffonne; Lieutenant-Colonel Smith.The title page of the item contains the following references: 'Political No. 28, Season 1814/15, Draft 20' and 'Examiner's Office November 1812'.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 327, and terminates at f 335, as it is part of a larger physical volume; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the bottom right corner of the recto side of each folio.Pagination: the file also contains an original printed pagination sequence.
Abstract: The item consists of copies and extracts of correspondence and minutes cited in, or enclosed with, a Political Letter from the Government of Bombay to the East India Company Court of Directors, 31 March 1852, and found at IOR/F/4/2475/138723. It is the fifth in a series of eight items about the Persian Gulf.The item relates to the leave of absences, first temporary and then permanent, granted to Lieutenant-Colonel Samuel Hennell, Resident in the Persian Gulf, who feels compelled to return to Europe on health grounds. In particular, the item concerns:Arrangements for Hennell's interim replacement, complicated by the temporary absence of Captain Arnold Burrowes Kemball, Assistant Resident in the Persian Gulf, who is filling in for Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Rawlinson, Political Agent in Turkish Arabia [Ottoman Iraq]Details of Hennell's health status and his applications for leaveHennell's suggestion that Mr Edwards, Residency Accountant, should receive rewards on account of his work in Kemball's absenceKemball's return to Bushire [Bushehr] to resume the position of Assistant ResidentHennell's resignation letter, dated 17 March 1852, which includes reflections on the current status of the GulfAppointment of Kemball as Hennell's replacementProposals to abolish the position of Assistant Resident once Kemball becomes Resident.Correspondents include: Hennell; Gilbert James Blane, Acting Civil Auditor; and the governments of Bombay and India.The title page of the item contains the following references: 'Bombay Political Department', 'Draft No. 733 of 1852', 'Collection No 7', 'Vol: 5', and 'Examiner's Office'. Originally, the Collection number was given as '5 of No. 35' but this has been crossed out.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 958, and terminates at f 980, as it is part of a larger physical volume; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the bottom right corner of the recto side of each folio.Pagination: the item also contains an original pagination sequence.
Abstract: The item consists of copies and extracts of correspondence and minutes cited in, or enclosed with, an extract of a Political letter from the Government of Bombay to the East India Company Court of Directors, 31 March 1852. It is the first in a series of eight items about the Persian Gulf.The letter makes brief references to recent events in the Gulf. Related enclosures can be found at: IOR/F/4/2475/138724; IOR/F/4/2475/138725; IOR/F/4/2475/138726; IOR/F/4/2475/138728; IOR/F/4/2475/138729; IOR/F/4/2475/138730; and IOR/F/4/2475/138731.The item also contains correspondence from Lieutenant-Colonel Samuel Hennell, Resident in the Persian Gulf, to the Government of Bombay regarding his imminent departure from the role of Resident and his last tour of the Arabian Coast of the Gulf, on which he is accompanied by his successor, Captain Arnold Burrowes Kemball. Hennell's correspondence includes reports on his conversations with numerous rulers on the coast, including:Shaik Sultan bin Sugger, Joosmee 'Chief', of Shargah [Shaikh Sulṭān I bin Ṣaqr al-Qāsimī, Leader of al-Qawāsim tribe, of Ra’s al-Khaymah and Sharjah]Shaik Abdoollah bin Rashed, leader of Amulgavine [Shaikh ‘Abdullāh bin Rāshid al-Mu’allā, Shaikh of Umm al-Qaywayn]Syed Saeed, Imam of Muscat [Sayyid Sa‘īd bin Sulṭān Āl Bū Sa‘īd, Imām of Muscat]Shaik Saud bin Thanoon, Chief of Aboothabee and Shaik of the Bunyas [Shaikh Sa‘īd bin Ṭaḥnūn Āl Nahyān, Shaikh of Abu Dhabi and the Banī Yās tribe]Shaik Mukhtoom of Debaye [Shaikh Maktūm I bin Buṭṭī Āl Bū Falāsah, Shaikh of Dubai].The conversations cover several topics, notably:Acts of 'piracy' committed by Abdool Ruheem bin Sabir [‘Abd al-Raḥīm bin Ṣābir] and Soheil bin Ateesh [Suhayl bin ‘Uṭaysh]The upcoming expiration of the current maritime truceComplaints by Shaik Abdool Ruhman of Kishm [Shaikh ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Ṣaqr al-Mu‘īnī, Shaikh of Qeshm]Relations between past and current rulers of Bahrein [Bahrain]Recent tensions between Syed Saeed and Syed Ges bin Azan of Sohar [Sayyid Qays bin ‘Azzān Āl Bū Sa‘īd of Suhar].The item also contains minutes by the Governor of Bombay, as well as a copy of Hennell's instructions for James McAllister, Civil Surgeon, who is in charge at Bushire [Bushehr] during Hennell and Kemball's absences.Hennell is also referred to as the Resident at Bushire. There are multiple spellings for individuals’ names and place names.The title page of the item contains the following references: 'Bombay Political Department', 'Draft No. 733 of 1852', 'Collection No. 7 (in 8 volumes)', 'Vol: 1', and 'Examiner's Office'. Originally, the Collection number was given as '1 of No. 35' but this has been crossed out.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 917, and terminates at f 934, as it is part of a larger physical volume; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the bottom right corner of the recto side of each folio.Pagination: the item also contains an original pagination sequence.
Abstract: The file contains correspondence in the form of telegrams, reports and letters regarding the appointment of a new Financial Advisor to Muscat State instead of Bertram Thomas whose contract ended in 1930. Among the names suggested by the High Commissioner in Baghdad was Stuart Edwin Hedgcock who was serving in Iraq at the time and who had a thorough knowledge of Arabic. The correspondence in the file contains discussions regarding the financial status of the Council of Ministers, Muscat, before Hedgcock starting his position as a Minister, and the terms and conditions of his contract, in particular his salary and annual leave allowance in comparison to Thomas’s.The file also contains correspondence between Thomas and Hedgcock to set the former’s account and recovery of payment of his sea trips allowance. Upon taking his position Hedgcock provided a report titled ‘Levy Budget: Précis of Events’ (ff 123-128), in which he raised a few requests to the British Government which eventually were not answered. As a result, Hedgcock decided to resign in April 1931. Hedgcock’s resignation question went back and forth between British officials, the Council of Ministers and Hedgcock. Initially British officials were inclined to accept his resignation and tried to convince the Council to do so. Later in the correspondence Hedgcock decided to withdraw his resignation letter in agreement with the British Government. The Council of Ministers refused Hedgcock’s withdrawal and confirmed that his service to the State of Muscat terminated on 30 June 1931. The Council approved the payment of three months’ salary as leave pay and halting allowance for the time Hedgcock was in Muscat after June 1931. The file also contains revised budget estimates of Muscat State for the year 1931 (ff 227-230) prepared by the Political Agent, Muscat.Folio 120 contains a letter that is incorrectly dated 8 April 1920 from Bertram Thomas to the Political Agent, Muscat, discussing sea passage allowance. Thomas was appointed as a Financial Advisor in 1925. There is a copy of the same letter on folio 56 of file IOR/R/15/6/57.The majority of the correspondence is dated 1930-1931; the earlier start date given to the file is due to a letter (f 118) from the India Office to Bertram Thomas. Thomas provided this letter as an attachment to a letter he sent to the new Financial Advisor, Stuart Edwin Hedgcock, to support his claim for travel allowance.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 308; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. Three additional foliation sequences are also present in parallel between ff 3-308, these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and ff 38-307 and ff 68-308; these numbers are also written in pencil and circled. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
Abstract: This item consists of copies of a Political Despatch from the Government of India Foreign Department to the Secretary of State for India, dated 26 December and received by the India Office via Brindisi on 19 January 1874, forwarding copies of papers relating to the enforced resignation of the Wuzeer of Persia [Vizier of Iran], his subsequent reinstatement by the Shah, appointment to the Governorship of Ghilan [Gilan], and call to Teheran [Tehran]. The item chiefly comprises telegrams and correspondence between William Taylour Thomson, HM Minister in Teheran, and Earl Granville, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, and includes copies of intelligence reports to Thomson by Sir Joseph Dickson, Physician to HM Legation, in medical attendance upon the Shah, and copies of letters by members of the (Persian) royal household.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 364, and terminates at f 388c, as it is part of a larger physical volume; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. The sequence contains nine foliation anomalies: f 364a, f 365a, f 372a, f 373a, f 374a, f 381a, f 388a, f 388b, and f 388c.
Abstract: This item consists of copies of a Political Despatch from the Government of India Foreign Department to the Secretary of State for India, dated 2 January 1874, transmitting copies of a letter from the Bombay [Mumbai] Government reporting (as conveyed by the Political Resident, Aden), Mr Bircher's resignation and sudden departure from the post of Consul for the German Empire at Aden. In the covering letter the Government of India Foreign Department asks whether the German Government intend to appoint a successor to Mr Bircher.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 8, and terminates at f 11, as it is part of a larger physical volume; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. The sequence contains two foliation anomalies: f 8a and f 10a.