IOR/R/15/1/36, ff 108v-110

Stannus encloses copies of correspondence between himself and Lieutenant-Colonel John Macdonald, Envoy to the Court of Persia concerning the hostile intentions of the Imam of Muscat [Sa‘īd bin Sultān Āl Sa‘īd] against Bushire. Stannus had also written to the Imam in person. This was at the behest of the Acting Governor of Bushire, who had wanted to send the letter by two merchants. Stannus had proposed conveying the merchants to Muscat on the cruiser Nautilus, but the Governor had preferred his own ship, on account of its superior accommodation

The letter is accompanied by the following enclosures:

• a marginal note refers to a letter from Stannus to Macdonald dated 31 May 1826 on page 173 of the volume [IOR/R/15/1/36, f 86];
• letter from Macdonald to Stannus, dated at Shiraz, 13 June 1826 informing him of the response of the Persian authorities to possible aggression on the part of the Imam of Muscat at Bushire and their desire that Stannus should try to promote an amicable settlement;
• letter from Stannus to the Imam of Muscat, dated 2 June 1826, advising him that he intended to remain neutral in the Imam's dispute over Bushire, but could not speak for the British Government in its undertakings to Persia, and urging reconciliation and peace.