The volume contains correspondence in the form of reports, telegrams and a number of translated letters of notable local Omani shaikhs. The correspondence is mainly concerned with the rising of the Imam of Oman, Salim bin Rashid al-Kharusi against the Sultan of Oman, Taimur bin Fayṣal bin Turki al-Bu Sa‘idi between November 1913 and December 1914.The volume contains news about the following:the Sultan’s efforts to raise money and enlist foreign aids to help him defend the region from the attack of the Imam’s forcescertain Omani shaikhs including Himyar bin Nasir al-Nabhani and ‘Isa bin Salih al-Harthi and Omani tribes including Bani Battash and the Hijriyyin who are part of the Imam’s forcesthe meetings held by the 'rebel' leaders at Nizwah, and the outcomes of those meetingsBritish officials’ concerns about the Sultan corresponding with any foreign government unrepresented at Muscat except through the British authoritythe British Government’s promise to bear the costs of expedition to re-establish the Sultan’s authority in Samailthe present situation in various regions including Barka, Nakhl, Muscat and Matrahthe fear of any attack on Muscat or Matrahthe number of troops on both sidesthe number of casualties on both sidesthe British keeping the garrisons in the area to protect Muscat and MatrahThe main correspondents in the volume are the Political Agent, Muscat, the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, Bushire, and the Foreign Secretary to the Government of India in the Foreign and Political Department.1 volume (237 folios)The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the front to the rear of the volume.Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 239; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 4-236; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
The file contains correspondence relating to the investigation and settlement of several debt recovery claims made against mainly Arab subjects of the Trucial Coast shaikhdoms, by merchants of Dubai and Sharjah who are British Indian subjects. The main correspondents are the Political Agent at Bahrain and the Residency Agent at Sharjah. The correspondence includes petitions and statements made by claimants, debtors and witnesses, as well as several letters from the Ruler of Dubai [Āl Maktūm, Shaikh Saʻīd bin Maktūm bin Hasher] and the Ruler of Sharjah [Al Qasimi, Shaikh Sultan II bin Saqr]. There are also several documents relating to debt settlements mediated either by the Residency Agent, a committee of local merchants or the Ruler.The majority of the correspondence is in both English and Arabic. The file contains one letter written in Persian. A few items of Indian merchant correspondence are signed in Gujarati as well as in English or Arabic, and in one instance in Sindhi. The earliest documents in the file are a debt bond made in 1911 and an Acknowledgement of Debt made in 1926.The following five debt cases are discussed extensively. The claims made by Khaja Habib bin Hasan Jasbani and Khojah Alli Hasan Joosbani (and other variations of their names) who are originally from Hyderabad, against: the estate of the former British Residency Agent at Sharjah, a Bahraini pearl merchant resident at Dubai, and two brothers of Shaikh Sultan bin Saqr the Ruler of Sharjah. The claim of Kishandas Nathanmal, originally from Tatta [Thatta] in Sindh Province, against a brother-in-law of Shaikh Said bin Maktum the Ruler of Dibai [Dubai]. The claim of the Dubai branch of the merchant firm Dharamdas Thawerdas against both the Ruler of Dubai and Shaikh Mohamad bin Ahmed Al Dalmook (spelt variously) as guarantors for the indebted estate of Dubai merchant Essa (also spelt Isa) bin Thani. The claims of several traders in Dubai and Sharjah against Dhamanmal Jagoomal (spelt variously) and the counter claims of the latter, including representations made on his behalf by his son Mohandas Dhamanmal Jagoomal of Bombay, about the looting of his father’s shop in Sharjah by local residents. The request of the Ruler of Dubai, for British assistance with his two debt recovery claims against the Dubai branch of the Mesopotamia Corporation Limited, and the Wali of Khasab in Oman, a subject of the Sultan of Muscat.The file also contains correspondence relating to complaints of ill-treatment made by a medical practitioner from Egypt who is resident at Dubai, and the counter-claims made against him by his in-laws in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. The file ends with the investigation and recovery of possessions stolen from a Bahraini subject by a traveller from Kuwait, who is also suspected of complicity in the smuggling of goods into Dubai on behalf of a Persian merchant from Bushire.1 file (340 folios)The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the front to the rear of the file.Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 342; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. Additional foliation sequences are present in parallel between ff 2-304, and ff 312-331; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.