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 37 of 1850, dated 25 July 1850. The enclosures are numbered 3-8, and are dated 16 June to 15 July 1850.The enclosures consist of a minute from the Government of Bombay, and correspondence. They relate to letters from the Political Agent at Aden, Captain Stafford Bettesworth Haines, to the Government of Bombay, reporting matters including:Daily communication and traffic from the ‘Arab tribes’ adjacent to Aden continuing to be ‘unmolested’, supplies at Aden being abundant, and the inhabitants continuing to be healthyThe ‘Arab’ who murdered the European seaman in the boat belonging to the
Aucklandon 29 May not having yet been secured, and having escaped to the Subeihi [Subaīhī] territory, but the efforts of Sultan Ali M’Houssain [‘Alī I bin Muḥsin al-‘Abdalī, Sulṭān of Lahej] to capture him being ‘strenuous’An enclosed report from Lieutenant Adams of affairs at Mussowa [Massawa] and Abyssinia [the Ethiopian Empire], Hodeida [Al Hudaydah] and Mocha, including the state of trade and duties levied on British Indian merchants, and the Pasha promising to give protection and assistance to all British subjects and those under British protection.The correspondence is between: the Government of Bombay; Haines; the Secretary to the Government of India with the Governor General, Sir Henry Miers Elliot; Lieutenant G N Adams, commanding the Honourable Company’s schooner of war
Constance; and HM Consul in Abyssinia [Ethiopia], Walter Plowden.Physical description: 1 item (14 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 32 of 1853, dated 28 April 1853. The enclosures are numbered 3-9 and are dated 31 March-27 April 1853. A handwritten note in red ink indicates that enclosures 7-9 (copies of the overland summaries of the
Bombay Times,
Telegraph and Courierand
Bombay Gazette) are missing.The papers relate to:Attacks on maritime trade involving the Foutheli [al-Faḍlī] tribe and the Sultan of Lahedge [Lahej]Use of HC ship
Elphinstoneto proceed to Jedda [Jeddah] to enquire about excessive duty being levied on goods importedThe return of the HC schooner
Mahifrom Mocha with items of intelligence.Correspondents are the Political Agent at Aden and the Secretary to the Government of Bombay.Physical description: 1 item (15 folios)
Abstract: This part of the volume consists of enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 52 of 1841, dated 19 June 1841. The enclosures are dated 5 May to 16 June 1841, and relate to affairs at Aden and the surrounding area, and at Mocha.The enclosures consist of correspondence, and resolutions of the Government of Bombay in the Secret Department. The main correspondents are as follows: the Political Agent at Aden, Captain Stafford Bettesworth Haines; the Secretary to the Government of Bombay, John Pollard Willoughby; and the Secretary to the Government of India, Thomas Herbert Maddock.The enclosures concern matters including:The state of affairs at Aden and the surrounding area, including the actions of Sultan M’Houssain Fudthill of Lahidge (also spelled Lahedge) [Muhsin ibn al-Fadl al-'Abdali, Sultan of Lahej]The views of the Political Agent at Aden on the inexpediency of reducing any portion of the European troops at Aden, and the relief of the wing of HM 6th Regiment doing duty at AdenThe Political Agent at Aden hiring a house as the post and police office at Aden, and the appointment of a Cazee [kazi, civil judge]The claim of Abdool Russool [Abdul Rasool], the former British Native Agent at Mocha, for indemnification on account of his property stolen by the Sheriff of Mocha, and the policy to be followed in British negotiations with the Imaum of Senna [Imam of Sanaa].Physical description: There is an abstract of contents of the despatch, numbered 1-18, on folios 107-110. These numbers are repeated for reference on the last verso of each enclosure.
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 17 of 1853, dated 1 March 1853. The enclosures are numbered 3-9. Enclosure numbers 3-6 are dated 3 to 24 February 1853.Enclosure number 3 is a letter from the Political Agent at Aden, Captain Stafford Bettesworth Haines, to the Chief Secretary to the Government of Bombay, Arthur Malet, reporting that he has requisitioned the East India Company’s schooner
Mahito proceed to Mussowa [Massawa or Mitsiwa] with despatches for HBM Consul at Abyssinia [the Ethiopian Empire], and requested that its Commander, Lieutenant King, stop at Hodeida [Al Hudaydah] and Mocha on its return and report to Haines on the state of political and commercial affairs at each port. The letter includes an enclosed copy of the requisition letter from Haines to the Senior Naval Officer at Aden. Enclosure number 4 is a minute by the Governor of Bombay concurred in by the Board, approving Haines’s actions.Enclosure number 5 is a letter from Haines to Malet reporting on the state of affairs at Aden and in its vicinity. Haines reports matters including:The intention of the Sultan of Lahedge [Lahej or Lahij], Sultan Ali M Houssain [‘Alī I bin Muḥsin al-‘Abdalī], to build a small fort at Sheik Othman [Ash Shaikh Outhman] to protect the roads leading to Aden, opposition to this from Sultan Hamed Ibn Abdulla Foutheli [Aḥmad bin Abdullāh al-Faḍlī] and Haines informing the Sultan of Lahedge that in his opinion he had the right to erect any building he wished on his territory and to prevent other tribes entering and crossing his territoryThe sea port towns of Mocha, Hodeida and Loheiha [al Luhayyah] being in danger of attack from the Bedouin divisions of the Beni Yam [Banī Yām] tribe‘Mahomed’ Pashah [Kürt Mehmed Pasha] reaching Hodeida with a firman from the Sublime Porte [the Government of the Ottoman Empire] as Supreme Pashah over all the Turkish possessions in Yemen, and that finding on his arrival all the interior roads closed on their seaport towns and the inhabitants in great alarm, he has been collecting together all the Turkish soldiers he can, and that therefore news of a conflict may be expected.Enclosure number 6 is a minute by the Governor of Bombay concurred in by the Board, stating that a copy of Haines’s letter (enclosure No. 5) is to be sent to the Government of India and the Secret Committee.Numbers 7-9, listed in the abstract of contents as copies of overland summaries of the
Bombay Times, the
Bombay Telegraph & Courier, and the
Bombay Gazettenewspapers, dated 1 March 1853, are noted as missing.Physical description: 1 item (10 folios)
Abstract: This item comprises copies of enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 55 of 1856, dated 29 July 1856. The enclosures are dated 19 June-12 July 1856.The enclosures comprise:Reports by Brigadier William Marcus Coghlan, Political Resident in Aden, to the Government of Bombay, on: the recent dispute between the Sultan of Lahej [Sulṭān ‘Alī I bin Muhsin al-‘Abdalī] and the ‘Chief’ of the Azaiba [a sub-tribe of the ‘Abdalī] over fees for the use of the water wells at Shaik Othman [Shaykh Uthman]; the poor relations between the Abdali and Foudelie [Faḍlī, also spelled Foutheli in this item] tribes; and the Sultan of Lahej’s message to Coghlan that he has concluded a one-year peace with the FoudelieA report by Stephen Page, HM Acting Vice-Consul and Officiating Honourable Company’s Agent at Juddah [Jeddah], to the Government of Bombay, that the former Scerriff of Mecca, Abu Montallib [Sharīf ‘Abd al-Muṭṭalib bin Ghālib bin Musā‘ad], left Tayf [Taif] on the 19 June under Turkish [Ottoman] custody, for Cosseir [El Qoseir] en route to Constantinople [Istanbul].Physical description: 1 item (5 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 2 of 1853, dated 3 January 1853. The enclosures listed in the abstract of contents are numbered 3-8.Enclosure numbers 3 and 5 consist of letters from the Political Agent at Aden, Captain Stafford Bettesworth Haines, to the Chief Secretary to the Government of Bombay, Arthur Malet, dated 14 and 18 December 1852 respectively. The letters report on affairs at Aden and in its vicinity, mostly Haines's actions in relation to the apparent threat posed by the Foutheli [Fadhli] Sultan (the potential destruction of the Abdali grain crops and the prevention of supplies from entering Aden), including the actions which he advised the Sultan of Lahidge [Lahej or Lahij] to take.Enclosure number 4 is a minute by the Governor of Bombay, dated 29 December 1852, directing that Haines's reported proceedings in his letter of 14 December be approved, and that a copy be sent to the Government of India and the Secret Committee.Numbers 6-8, listed in the abstract of contents as copies of the
Bombay Overland Times, the
Bombay Overland Telegraph and Courier, and the
Bombay Overland Gazettenewspapers of 3 January 1853, are noted as missing.Physical description: There is an abstract of contents of the despatch, numbered 1-8, on folios 29-30. These numbers are repeated for reference on the verso of the last folio of each enclosure.
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 11 of 1853, dated 12 February 1853. The enclosures listed in the abstract of contents are numbered 3-6. Enclosure number 3 is dated January 1853.Enclosure number 3 is a letter from the Political Agent at Aden, Captain Stafford Bettesworth Haines, to the Chief Secretary to the Government of Bombay, consisting of a general report on the state of affairs at Aden and within its vicinity, mostly concerning relations between the local tribes, in relation to the quarrel between the Foutheli [Fadhli] Sultan and the Sultan of Lahedge [Lahej or Lahij].Numbers 4-6, listed in the abstract of contents as copies of the
Bombay Overland Times, the
Bombay Overland Telegraph & Courier, and the
Bombay Overland Gazettenewspapers, dated 12 February 1853, are noted as missing.Physical description: There is an abstract of contents of the despatch, numbered 1-6, on folio 280. These numbers are repeated for reference on the verso of the last folio of each enclosure.
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 32 of 1842, dated 31 March 1842. The enclosures are dated 24 February to 31 March 1842. They consist of a general report by the Political Agent at Aden, and other correspondence, on the state of affairs in Aden and its hinterland, the Gulf of Aden, and the lower part of the Red Sea Coast.The enclosures discuss matters including:British relations with the tribes around Aden, including relations with the Sultan of Lahidge [Lahej]The reason why orders were issued deferring the transportation of fifty Irregular Horse to AdenThe recommendation of the Political Agent at Aden that two Arab prisoners, previously sent from Aden to one of the East India Company's jails in the Bombay Presidency, be sent back to Aden to be released with a warning regarding their future conductThe view of the Political Agent at Aden that it was inadvisable to send Mr Hatchatoor to again reside as an Agent at Tedjoura [Tadjoura]The Political Agent at Aden having despatched the HC [Honourable Company] schooner Constance to Mussowah [Massawa] for the purpose of obtaining information about the state of affairs in Northern Abyssinia [the Northern Ethiopian Empire] and Arabia, at the request of HM Agent and Consul General in EgyptMeasures undertaken by the Political Agent at Aden for the protection of trade on the coast of AbyssiniaThe request of the former Native Agent at Mocha, Hajee Abdool Russool [Haji Abdul Rasool], that a decision be made by the Government of Bombay regarding his case, and that he be granted an allowance until his property at Mocha is restored to himStatements of stipends granted to different Arab 'chiefs' in the interior of Aden.The primary correspondents are the Political Agent at Aden and the Secretary and Officiating Chief Secretary to the Government of Bombay.Physical description: There is an abstract of contents of the despatch, numbered 1-28, on folios 365-371. These numbers are repeated for reference on the verso of the last folio of each enclosure.
Abstract: Letter and Enclosures to HM Secretary of State for India, dated 17 October 1871, concerning the claims of the Sultan of Lahej to Little Aden, part of the territory of the Akrabee [Akrabi] tribe.The papers cover: summary of relations between Lahej, the Akrabi tribe, and the British Government; the question of the payment of compensation to the Sultan of Lahej for expenditure incurred by him in coercing the Akrabi tribe in 1850, following the murder of an English seaman; the question of the formal recognition by the Government of India of the independence of the Akrabi tribe; and the agreement of the Government of India to a proposal to give $2500 as a present to the Sultan of Lahej.The main correspondent is the Political Resident at Aden.The Enclosures are dated 15 August to 30 September 1871. The Enclosures also contain copies of correspondence dated 1850-51 from the Political Agent, Aden.Physical description: There is an Abstract of Contents on folio 251, numbered 1-6.
Abstract: The volume comprises correspondence and other papers relating to the financial and military support Britain gave to tribes in South Arabia (present-day Yemen) during the First World War. Subjects covered include: in 1914, a declaration by the ‘Abdali Sultan of Lahej [Laḩij] of his longstanding friendship and allegiance to Britain; the sale of arms to the ‘Abdali Sultanate; the maintenance of the Sultan and his followers at Aden, after they had fled from Lahej when it was seized by Ottoman forces; a grant of £10,000 given to the Sultan of Lahej in 1919, to enable him to ‘restart his regime’; arrangements made in 1919 for the sale of two mountain (also referred to as Maxim) guns and ammunition to the ‘Abdali Sultanate; continued arrangements for the sale of arms to the ‘Abdali Sultanate, including high explosive and shrapnel shells. The volume’s principal correspondents are: the Foreign Office; the Foreign and Political Department of the Government of India; and the Political Resident at Aden.The volume includes a divider which gives the subject number, the year the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.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 287; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.