Abstract: The item consists of copies and extracts of correspondence and minutes cited in, or enclosed with, an extract Political Letter from the Government of Bombay to the East India Company Court of Directors, dated 30 November 1847.The item relates to news from Major Henry Creswicke Rawlinson, Political Agent, Turkish Arabia, that the Ottoman Government has instructed that all boats belonging to the port of Bussorah [Basra, also rendered in text as Bussora] must have certified papers. Rawlinson has suggested steps that Johannes Parseigh, British Agent at Bussorah, can take to prevent fraud and a notification is subsequently ordered to be published in the Bombay Government Gazette in English, Persian, and Arabic.A draft of the notification, prepared by the Collector of Customs, can be found at folio 897.The title page of the item contains the following references: ‘Bombay Political Department’, ‘Draft N. 152/48’, ‘Collection No. 5 of No. 150’ and ‘Examiner’s Office’.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 891, and terminates at f 898, 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.