1. ‘Bussora. Orders issued by the Turkish Government that vessels sailing under Flag from the Port of Bussora shall be provided with a Register.’

Description:

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.

2. ‘File 12/7 I Shipping. Arrival of Sailing Crafts at Qatar and other places with Cargo.’

Description:

Abstract: The file comprises correspondence relating to the shipment and transhipment of cargo on local vessels (frequently referred to as country craft) from Karachi to Qatar (spelt in various ways, including Kattar, Gutter, Quatar) and, to a lesser extent, other ports on the Arab coast of the Persian Gulf, including Bahrain, Jubail [Al Jubayl], Katiff [Al Qaṭīf], Ra’s al-Khaymah, and Dubai. The file’s principal correspondents are: the Collector (and Assistant Collector) of Customs at Karachi; the Political Agent at Bahrain (Captain Charles Geoffrey Prior, Lieutenant-Colonel Percy Gordon Loch, and staff from the Agency’s Vernacular Office); the Director of Customs at Bahrain (Claud Cranbrook Lewis DeGrenier); the Ruler of Qatar (Shaikh ‘Abdullāh bin Jāsim Āl Thānī).Much of the correspondence is routine, and follows an established pattern: 1) enquiries from the Assistant Collector of Customs to the Political Agency at Bahrain after specific vessels, listing the contents of their cargo and requesting confirmation of their arrival at port and the landing of their cargo; 2) letters from Political Agency staff, in English and in Arabic, forwarding enquiries about inbound vessels to the Director of Customs at Bahrain (for vessels headed to Bahrain), the Ruler of Qatar (for vessels headed to Qatar) or the Residency Agent at Sharjah (for vessels headed to the ports of the Trucial Coast); 3) replies from the Director of Customs at Bahrain, the Ruler of Qatar, and the Residency Agent at Sharjah, either confirming the arrival of vessels and the landing of their cargo, or writing that the vessel has not yet arrived in port; and 4) letters from the Political Agency back to the Collector of Customs at Karachi, replying to the original enquiry, occasionally making reference to enclosing landing certificates, which are accepted as proof of the landing of the cargo. Some letters from the Assistant Collector of Customs at Karachi to the Political Agent at Bahrain, dated 1936 and later, make reference to enclosed export manifests, and enquiries about the authenticity of their endorsements.In addition to the routine correspondence, the file also includes:correspondence between the Political Agent at Bahrain and the Director of Customs at Bahrain, concerning the shipment of goods to Bahrain via Qatar as transhipment cargo (ff 12-15);correspondence between the Political Agent at Bahrain and the Secretary of the Calcutta Marine Insurance Association, relating to loss of vessels at Persian Gulf ports, and regulations at Dubai for registration of vessels (f 28, ff 30-31, ff 46-50).Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 298; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 4-273; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.

3. ‘File 12/18 Registration of sailing vessels’

Description:

Abstract: The file comprises correspondence exchanged between the Political Residency in the Persian Gulf and the Political Agency at Bahrain, relating to the registration of sailing vessels. Included in the file is a copy of a Government of India notification No. 2394-E, dated 23 August 1884, relating to the issue of certificates to sailing vessels, to which a letter from the Residency refers, enquiring whether it is still necessary to make provision for the local registration of sailing craft sailing under the British flag (ff-3-5). The Agency’s response (f 6) states that almost all vessels in Bahrain are registered by Bahrain Customs, meaning there is no necessity for registration under the 1884 notification. In response, the Residency states that order No. 2394-E of 1884 may be considered as cancelled (f 7). A handwritten note in the file notes, dated 24 June 1950 (ff 8-9), provides more details of the Agency’s response to the Residency’s enquiry regarding registration of sailing vessels at Bahrain.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 10; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.

4. ‘File 12/20 Correspondence regarding ships articles deposited with the Agency’

Description:

Abstract: The file chiefly comprises letters received by the Political Agency from Gray, Mackenzie and Company, enclosing articles from vessels at Bahrain, for endorsement by the Agency. Most of the letters have dated handwritten notes, usually made by the Assistant Political Agent (A.P.A.), confirming that the endorsements had been signed. The file also contains a single letter from the Political Agent at Bahrain, to Gray, Mackenzie and Company, dated 25 March 1950, noting that articles received from the SS City of Chelmsfordwere deposited at the Agency forty-eight hours after the vessel’s arrival at port, in contravention of Section 257(1) of the Shipping Act (quoted in the Agent’s letter, f 4).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 35; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.