IOR/F/4/1539/61165

The item consists of copies and extracts of correspondence, minutes and resolutions cited in, or enclosed with, letters from the governments of Bombay [Mumbai], Fort St George [Madras, i.e. Chennai], and the East India Company Court of Directors.

The item relates to proposals by the Court of Directors to change the position of ‘Resident at Bushire’ ([Būshehr], also called the Resident in the Persian Gulf) to ‘Assistant to the Envoy at Tehran’. The Government of Bombay and the Resident, David Anderson Blane, provide their detailed opinions on this proposal and the Court of Directors respond. The main points of discussion are: the experience and diplomatic skills required by the Resident to effectively manage relations with nearby rulers and suppress acts of ‘piracy’; potential reductions in the Residency’s expenses; and an earlier plan to move the Residency from Bushire to the nearby island of Kharrack [Jazīreh-ye Khārk]. Copies of earlier (1828) minutes by the Governor of Bombay regarding the purpose of the Resident at Bushire and the Residency's expenses are included.

The item also refers to proposals by the Government of India to separate the governments of Bengal ([Calcutta], also called Fort William) and Agrah [Agra] and to transfer political authority from the subordinate governments of Bombay and Fort St George to the Government of India. A lengthy minute (ff 120-135) by the Governor of Bombay detailing his opposition to the latter proposal is included, along with multiple tables (ff 140-174) setting out the different relationships that the Government of Bombay holds with ‘local chieftains’ in the areas surrounding Bombay, notably Guzerat [Gujarat] and Kattywar [Kathiawar]. Some of these tables date back to 1820. The direct reporting of the Political Agent in Turkish Arabia and the Resident in the Persian Gulf to the Government of India, as opposed to the Government of Bombay, is also discussed.

To a lesser extent, the item also relates to the appointment of Major James Morison to the position of Resident in the Persian Gulf, an event complicated by the disclosure that Morison has been granted permission to return to Europe due to poor health.

Multiple spellings of numerous place names are present in the item. The majority of the item’s contents date from 1834-35.

Principal correspondents include: the governments of India, Fort St George, and Bombay; the Court of Directors; and Blane.

The title page of the item contains the following references: 'Coll[ection] No. 15’, ‘P.C. [Previous Communication] 1721, Draft 266, 1836’, ‘Collection N. 1 [crossed out] of N. 33’, ‘Bombay Political Department’.