IOR/P/437/72

This volume contains the Proceedings of the Political branch of the Foreign Department of the Government of India for the months of September to December 1867. These Proceedings comprise copies of correspondence of the Government of India Foreign Department (renamed Foreign and Political Department in 1914).

The subjects covered include:

• Affairs in and around the Aden Settlement, including: the movements of a Turkish [Ottoman] corvette on the southern Arabian coast (78-80, September Proceedings); unusually heavy rainfall at Aden (141-142, September Proceedings); the arrival of an Egyptian war steamer at Aden (143-144, September Proceedings); an increase to the stipend paid to the Foudthelee [al-Faḍlī] Sultan, and a present of five thousand dollars paid to the Sultan of Lahej (60-62, October Proceedings)
• Affairs in the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman, including: ongoing conflict between Syud Toorkee [Sayyid Turkī bin Sa‘īd Āl Bū Sa‘īd] and Sayed Saulem [Sayyid Sālim bin Thuwaynī Āl Bū Sa‘īd] the Sultan of Muscat, efforts made by the Government of India to avert an attack by Syud Toorkee on Muscat, and weaponry sent to various rulers along the Arab littoral by the Sultan of Zanzibar (10-16, September Proceedings); agreement made with Syud Toorkee to prevent continued hostilities towards the Sultan of Muscat (69-70, September Proceedings); payment to the Sultan of Muscat of an advance on the subsidy from Zanzibar by the Government of India (28-29, September Proceedings; 5, October Proceedings); Syud Toorkee’s advance on Muscat with a military force, discussion of British policy in the event of his usurping the Sultanate of Muscat, and negotiations between Syud Toorkee and Sayed Saulem (152-153, September Proceedings); Syud Toorkee’s departure for Bombay [Mumbai] and the restoration of peace at Muscat (3-7, 97, October Proceedings); continuing stability at Muscat following the withdrawal of Syud Toorkee (81, 129-130, October Proceedings; 33-34, December Proceedings); approval of expenses arising from Dr Seward and an interpreter attending to Syud Toorkee (153-154, October Proceedings); rebellion against the Sultan of Muscat near Burkah [Barka] (200-201, October Proceedings); agreement of the Sultan of Zanzibar to pay the subsidy to the Sultan of Muscat (130-134, December Proceedings); and a full summary of the conflict between Syud Toorkee and the Sultan of Muscat, including Toorkee’s advance on Muscat and his subsequent agreement to leave Muscat for British India (1-4, November Proceedings)
• Affairs in Persia [Iran] including: rumoured occupation of Herat by the Persian Army (1-4, 25-27, September Proceedings); denial from the Shah of Persia that he had demanded the Ruler of Herat return Persian weaponry and ammunition (68, September Proceedings); the movements of the Shah of Persia, specifically his departure from Herat and arrival at Meshed [Mashhad] (172-174, September Proceedings); occupation of Seistan [Sistan] by a Persian military force (58, October Proceedings); increasing quantity of opium produced in Persia (111-112, October Proceedings); unsafe condition of the Residency buildings at Bushire [Bushehr], and proposals for their repair or replacement, with an accompanying ground plan of the Residency (141-144, October Proceedings); disagreement between the Persian and British governments regarding the right of British subjects to purchase houses and other property in Persia (175-177, October Proceedings); approval of an increase in the salary of the Residency Surgeon at Bushire (147-151, December Proceedings); intelligence received from the Agent at Meshed (165-166, December Proceedings)
• Affairs in Turkish Arabia [Ottoman Iraq] including: tensions between Persia and the Ottoman Empire regarding competing claims to control over the ‘Mungoor’ [Mangūr] border tribe, and efforts made by the Ottoman administration to control the spread of plague (5-6, September Proceedings); border raiding between Persia and Turkish Arabia (16-17, October Proceedings); the purchase of mules in Turkish Arabia for the Government of India (18-20, October Proceedings); containment of a plague outbreak in Turkish Arabia (122-125, October Proceedings); the replacement of the British steamer ship Comet on the Euphrates river, and the determination of the Ottoman Government to compete with the Euphrates and Tigris Steam Navigation Company by purchasing three Belgian steamers (181, October Proceedings); British complaints about quarantine measures enforced by the Ottoman authorities at Bassorah [Basra, also written in the volume as Bussorah], and the ongoing difficulty of purchasing mules and hiring muleteers in Turkish Arabia for the Government of India (39-41, November Proceedings); an embargo placed by the Ottoman Viceroy of Baghdad on the export of ghee (86-87, November Proceedings); alleged withdrawal of the Ottoman Government’s embargo on the export of Arab horses into India (136-137, November Proceedings); further information regarding Ottoman quarantine enforcement and the Ottoman-Persian border dispute (82-85, December Proceedings); clarification of quarantine measures to be observed by British ships arriving at Bussorah and Fao [Al-Faw] (153-154, December Proceedings)
• Proposals for the transfer of the telegraph and naval stations from Mussendom [Musandam] and Bassadore [Basaidu] to Angaum [Jazireh-ye Hengam] (28, November Proceedings)
• The declining power of Abdullah-es-Saood [‘Abdullāh bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd] in Nejd [Najd] (15, October Proceedings).

The Proceedings also cover:

• The affairs of Princely States in India
• The granting and inheritance of lands, money, titles, and pensions in British India
• Judicial, military, and economic administration in British India
• Ongoing disputes and violence arising from taxation and land ownership in Ghanerao, Marwar
• An enquiry into the violent deaths of the Thakoors [Thakurs] of Lawa at Tonk, and the resulting deposition of the Nawab of Tonk
• Preparations for a British invasion of Abyssinia, including the dispatch of a reconnoitring party
• The welfare of the captives held by Emperor Tewodros II, and plans made for their rescue during the expedition to Abyssinia
• Events in Afghanistan, with diaries of events from the Political Agent in Cabul [Kabul]
• Events in Central Asia, including Russian military movements there
• Arrangements for information gathering in Central Asia
• A brief summary of British policy in Central Asia since the beginning of the eighteenth century, with a focus on Russian territorial expansion and the potential threat of a Russian invasion of British India
• Events in Nipal [Nepal], including alleged financial mismanagement committed by the Treasurer of Nepal, the sale of British subjects, and the presence of a fugitive from British India
• Attempts to establish communication between the British Resident at Nipal and a group of Catholic missionaries in Thibet [Tibet]
• Reported disturbances and unrest in Bootan [Bhutan]
• Relations with Burmah [Burma/Myanmar], including diaries of the Political Agent in Mandalay, competition for diplomatic influence between British and French representatives, and the negotiation of a treaty between Britain and Burmah
• British interactions with the Ming-goon-dine Prince [Prince Myingundaing of Burma] following his rebellion against the King of Burmah, including measures taken for the welfare of his wife, and a proposal for his removal to Calcutta [Kolkata]
• A report on the boundary between the Kingdom of Siam [Thailand] and British Burmah
• Raiding by unidentified ‘hill tribes’ in northern Arracan [Arakan]
• The appointment of foreign consuls at Maulmain [Mawlamyine] and Calcutta
• Reports of hostilities between the rulers of Yarkund [Yarkant] and Khotan
• A proposal for and sanctioning of an expedition to western China, with the aim of re-establishing trade routes
• A Royal Navy expedition to punish alleged pirates in the Nicobar Islands
• Reports of potential sightings of Dr David Livingstone in central Africa.

The volume contains the following maps and plans:

• Ground Plan of British Residency Bushire (catalogued as IOR/P/437/72, f 425)
• Map showing the territory of the Chief of Jinjeera in the Tanna Collectorate (f 700).

Tabular Statements of matters of routine for each month are included at the end of each month’s Proceedings. These summarise documents that were not considered important enough by the Foreign Department to be sent to London.

Printed in Calcutta by J L Kingham, Foreign Department Press, 1867.