He appears to be an agent of the newly- appointed tax farmer (Ottoman Turkish, mültezim; Arabic, multazim) to whom the letter is addressed.
But if they are found outside the strait,
then he has no right to them; they belong to the former emīn’.
The people of the district and those with knowledge and information
all responded in this manner: that the aforementioned Ḥusām
Reʾīs never listened to or respected them at all but [acted] contrary to the law, saying ‘Why
should I take it?