Abstract: Letter in Arabic, with an English translation on the verso, of a letter from Faysul ibn Torky Al Saood [Faisal ibn Turki Al Sa-ud] sent 2 Ramathan [Ramadhan] 1281 (29 or 30 January 1865) and received by Lewis Pelly 7 February 1865 informing Pelly that he may come on to Riyadh from 'the Sirkar' and that he will be treated with hospitality along the way.The Arabic letter contains an ink seal, most likely belonging to Amir Faisal.A draft copy of the translation to the letter, with corrections, is given on folio eight. This letter is a reply to the letter at folio two.Physical description: The paper contains a watermark.
Abstract: Letter making arrangements for any mail addressed to Pelly to accompany Captain Henry W Warner to Bahrain, and requesting two sowars and mounds of barley and grain.The letter goes on to request that his rooms are cleaned thoroughly during his absence and that Hajee [Haji] Ahmed translate various papers relating to Bahrain; makes arrangements for the care of a little horse that was being sent to Bushire by steamer; and re-affirms the arrangements for sending and receiving mail.Physical description: 1 folio
Abstract: Letter regarding Pelly's departure for Riyath [Riyadh] and providing sailing instructions for Captain Henry W Warner.The letter goes on to provide detailed instructions regarding the cleaning of his rooms in preparation for his return and on the packaging of some pistols which are gifts from the Government of Bombay.The letter also refers to some enclosed letters (no longer there) which need to be produced as fair copies for Bombay and requests additional copies for his own information if there is time.Parts of this letter are very similar to the first few paragraphs of the letter at folio 10.Physical description: Condition: The top of both folios has some minor damage caused by insects.
Abstract: Letter requesting a copy of his demi-official letter to Sir Bartle Frere on proceedings in Russia to be ready on his return to Bushire; regarding the accounts of the Residency Library; and making correspondence arrangements including details of who to write to him via in Koweit [Kuwait] and what to do with mail received for him in his absence.Physical description: 1 folio
Abstract: Letter, in Arabic and English, informing Pelly that the bearer of the letter, Abdool Assis Ben Assass [Abdul Aziz bin Aziz], will be his guide into the interior of Nejd if Pelly is still willing to employ him.Physical description: 1 folio
Abstract: Enclosures to Despatch to the Secret Committee No. 22, dated 27 December 1837.The enclosures relate to the affairs of Sinde [Sindh], Lahore (the Punjab), and Afghanistan, and are dated 3 June to 25 September 1837.The main correspondents are Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Pottinger, Agent to the Governor General for the Affairs of Sindh; Captain Claude Martine Wade, Political Agent, Loodiana [Ludhiana]; and the Political Secretary to the Government of India (William Hay Macnaghten).The papers cover: correspondence from Captain Alexander Burnes, on a Commercial Mission to Cabool (Kabul); intelligence from Lahore; correspondence concerning the need for a British Resident in Hyderabad; reports on the conflict between the Sikhs and Afghans over Peshawar; overtures by the Amir of Kabul (Dost Mohomed Khan [Dost Muhammad Khan]) to the King of Persia [Iran] for assistance against the Sikhs; reports by Wade on the attitude of Maharajah Runjeet Singh [Ranjit Singh]; reports by Charles Masson on the political situation in Afghanistan; reports by the Native Agent, Hyderabad; correspondence concerning the diplomatic mission of General Jean-Baptiste Ventura to the King of France on behalf of Ranjit Singh; itemised tables showing merchandise exported from Ludhiana, with comparative prices realised, and further information on trade in the region (folios 568-573); and correspondence between the Government of India, John McNeill (HBM's Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary at the Court of Persia), and Burnes, acknowledging receipt of despatches concerning Persia and Afghanistan (the despatches themselves are not included).Physical description: There is an abstract of contents of the despatch, numbered 1-110, on folios 367-378. These numbers are repeated for reference on the last verso of each enclosure.
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: Enclosures no. 2-5 to a despatch from the Secret Department, Governmentof Bombay, dated 24 August 1844. The enclosures are dated 6 March-26 June 1844.The enclosures consist of copies of correspondence relating to affairs in Persia [Iran], including:Inhabitants of Karrack [Kharg] seeking asylum in Koweit [Kuwait], and a demand by the Governor of Fars for the removal of the British Coal Agent from KarrackThe departure from Tehran of Persian Agents to Bokhara [Emirate of Bukhara] and Khiva, in return for diplomatic missions previously sent to Tehran from those countriesThe expulsion from Persia of two French clergymen accused of proselytisingBorder negotiations at Erzeroom [Erzurum] between Persia and the Ottoman Empire, and a joint Anglo-Russian request for both governments to send agents to the frontier to ‘restrain the border Chiefs from committing the usual predatory incursions’Preparations in Kurachee [Karachi] by Agha Khan Mahlatee [Āghā Khān I], exiled former Governor of Kerman, to lead an assault on Kerman, and a demand from the Government of Persia that the British authorities in Sinde [Sindh] either arrest or exile himReports of an alliance between Dost Mahomed Khan [Dūst Muḥammad Khān Bārakzāy], Emir of Afghanistan, and Yar Mahomed Khan [Yār Muḥammad Khān ‘Alī Kūzāy], Vizier of HeratAn account (ff 64-67) by Hajee Mahomed Ali [Ḥājjī Muḥammad ‘Alī], a grandson of the late Shah of Persia Kerreem Khan Zend [Karīm Khān Zand], of an Ottoman attack on Kerbala [Karbala] in which his wife and two eldest children were killed and his two younger children 'carried away [as] captives’ to Damascus, and British attempts to secure their releaseA journey to Bokhara by German missionary Dr Joseph Wolff, and his reports confirming the executions there in July 1842 of Colonel Charles Stoddart and Captain Arthur Conolly.The primary correspondent is HM Chargé d’Affaires, Tehran. Other correspondents include: the Prime Minister of Persia; the Foreign Minister of Persia; the Russian Minister in Tehran; Agha Khan Mahlatee; Dr Wolff; and the Emir of Bokhara.Physical description: 1 item (114 folios)
Abstract: This part of the volume consists of copies of enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 35 of 1842, dated 1 April 1842. The enclosures are numbered 3-84 and are dated 10 December 1841 to 31 March 1842. They mainly consist of correspondence, and also include some minutes by the Governor of Bombay and resolutions of the Government of Bombay. The enclosures mostly concern military affairs in Scinde [Sindh, also spelled Sinde in this item] and Beloochistan [Balochistan], including:Troop movements, such as the advance of troops from Sonmeeanee [Sonmiani] to Candahar [Kandahar]The construction of travellers' bungalows at Kurrachee [Karachi], Gharra [Gharo, also spelled Gorrah in this item], and Tatta [Thatta]The remission of eight lacs of rupees required by the Political Agent in Scinde and Beloochistan to meet the needs of the troops in Lower ScindeThe transport of a train of mountain artillery for service in ScindeMedical officers serving in, or proceeding to, Scinde.The principal correspondents are as follows: the Political Agent in Scinde and Beloochistan; the Secretary to the Government of Bombay; the Secretary to the Government of India; the Military Board, Bombay; the Accountant General of Bombay; the Superintendent of the Indian Navy; and the Quarter Master General of the Army.This item also includes copies of news letters from the Secretary to the Government of India, consisting of précises of intelligence on the state of affairs in various places, including: Candahar and elsewhere in Afghanistan; Upper and Lower Scinde; Quetta; Baroda [Vadodara] and elsewhere in India; Burmah [Burma]; Nepal; and China.Physical description: The copies of enclosures are numbered 3-84. There is a note on folio 438 stating: 'The Abstract of Contents could not be prepared for want of time'.