AN MUTPOST OF EMPIRE

Hokitika Guardian, 30 August 1930, Page 6

AN MUTPOST OF EMPIRE

!■': C ■ ; f ’.t \ t t } . 1 Jf /iv: question was raised; in the •Hbiiise/'pf Commons as to why Great Britaiif"holds the ferrite ;tp‘; iheclSultan of Oman as a j British it could be answered ¥illly ''inp'iC'.'single sentence : “Musckt o ‘is' : to the-.Pbrsian Gulf as Aden is. tb“’the Tied. Sea.” ■

, A. ceitain aroma of remance-hangs roiincrddae naine, of the Persrhp''6nlf, lir'i 'those who. know the region 'best are probably least disposed ttV regard ■jt'in’a romantic light. It is an,area of bl6ak coasts, torrid winds an.d.pifilfes.s sunshine. The amenities Or life are few and- far „ between. To ufil visitor" it might seem ‘a niere ./backwater to which civilisation Jjms j' scarcely /penetrated., '."."/ /' ! . /I But appearances are provdr'.biai.ly deceptive. For. centuries..' past Thn rbbackwater has played' its.,part jn> • the world’s history. Lying " as'" it does, cm the high, and now, the air road to India, it has acquired/in I,British eyes ah ever-increasing/ "im- ' poftanee during the last 'hundred | years. It is " duo entirely "to’ British I effort and .British enterprise ythat r this maritime' highway, .has been ‘ kept ! open for tlie commerce of the world! |..Xt,. m .. i J3ri,tauw,..u'.lio.. s hn.s i waters, 'built lighthouses, laid down | buoys and cables, suppressed piracy. [ put -gh end to . the slave trade and I!controlled/ the traffic" ..in .n-rmsii.hsiv ;«*.

| Between Aden and' • the'‘-"-Persian* rduTf, Muscat is the only Harbour where ships of any size can find anchrorage. Muscat is built onfjgr?t| vqh? I canic which produce flie'smn'l’- ■ est anipunt; of verdure greatest ; amount of help whttfer' Ts;' - therefore, a vital question.. It us a I fantastic, and quaint '“spot,', 'beautiful ! to look' at, but detes + ii l .ble'"to. in, ‘ and a more cosmopdl itaii plhcd' cou Id I hai’dly be found elsewhere. The har- | hour and approaches '.'form - .'an' extraordinarily attractive picture', f ahd a I charm entirely of their p\y‘rt. j'l’he I first "indication a traveller gbth 'of 'the plac^ t as'the. ship steams up;‘-tire' boast, from 'tlie southward 'is 'a - of | the old Portuguese fort oh’-'tire' 1 Boutin 1 ! east corner of the Ini i'tiou r : '-ncAt- ItntW-n 1 ,|Uis Fort. Julali. Then, naming on fr *- j \yards fjie-eastern arm and . the 'promontory, yoip | rocks bearing the VlitW^^;^;, j cord of ships whicli : - f .ftwdlj ~of phi and pointed • their'ViMtes-lliig 1 ' | up amid the rugged cri o's../ appearance is exceedingly 1 striving; ! j with the reddish volcanic promontor-i I ieg and the deep blue sea. studded ! with tiny craft; canoes green and white, steered by «ws<Me?p| ! switrin around the ‘'hip: fishermen., ’ paddling themselves, about: j or tw.o .. tied jhavfk* their I wares from boat to boat. Behind | the town the land stretches away no | into a chain of mqun^is«j*. 3^h.i, <; k ! form, the .backbone of the Om^ 3 Pen-: I insn'ln, and culminate in the peak of I (febeL Acluler (9000 qg -the slopes of B which grow. = diinuigetable vines. Tlio Sultan’h palace is the finest of the native ' h'dlding,s > ;;b l ).t V l '- | measurahlv inferior . to.: th,e | enco of the British political agent, ! which stands at the south end of the town, just where it can get ad the, j breeze that is going, through a gain in .'ffiib* rocks opening-.. to; Even then in this favourable position the summer heat is nigh unbearable, making Muscat one of ed posts pt the disposal . Government. .AviTTB.X' »i I --COMMANDER SAMPSON j