IOR/R/15/6/190

This volume relates to the finances of the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman. The correspondence is primarily concerned with the Sultanate's customs tariffs. It features extensive discussion between the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, the Political Agent and Consul at Muscat and officials of the India Office, Foreign Office, Dominions Office, Government of India, and the Board of Trade on the following related matters: Muscat's existing treaties with the United States and France (dated 1833 and 1844 respectively), and the advisability of these treaties – or at least their commercial clauses – being modified or denounced by the Sultan; the case for increasing customs import duties on certain goods (e.g. tobacco and alcohol), in an effort to increase revenue and restore the stability of the Sultanate's finances, and the likely effects that such an action would have on trade; the threshold (based on alcoholic content) to be used for identifying which alcoholic drinks should be subject to the proposed customs duty increase for alcohol, and the difficulty in translating the technical phrase 'under proof' into Arabic; the efforts of the British Government to secure the agreements of the Sultanate's other treaty partners (namely Canada, the Irish Free State, and France) regarding the proposed customs duty increase.

The French language material consists of letters from the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the British representative in Paris. The Arabic language material mainly consists of letters between British representatives and the Sultan of Muscat and Oman, most of which include English translations.