"F 80 ملف 82/34 I امتياز أ.ب.و.ك" [ظ‎‎٢‎٣‎٢] (٤٣٦/٤٠٩)

had access to a great number of documents which could only be found either in
the archives of the Persian Government or with the Anglo-Persian Oil Company,
The negotiations of Mr. Armitage-Smith are alluded to in detail, and the course
of the conversations with the Anglo-Persian Oil Company during the last six
years were evidently well known to the author; and it seems very probable, if not
certain, that they were from the pen of Teymourtache himself. A summary of
the articles is as follows :—
First article. —-The Persian Government are entitled in law and in
equity to cancel the D'Arcy Concession and the 1920 agreement, to proceed
against the Anglo-Persian Oil Company for damages, and to refuse to grant
a new concession to the Anglo-Persian Oil Company. Let us begin with
the 1920 agreement. Mr. Armitage-Smith was an official of the British
Treasury; hence, whatever he did, was subject to undue influence from the
British side. The Persian Government never recognised the agreement and
did not ratify it. Why did Armitage-Smith agree to deduct 6 shillings for
every ton of oil refined outside Persia ? Certain fixed deductions were made
in calculating the royalties payable by the distributing companies. The
deduction of 6 shillings per ton meant a loss to the Government of £7,200,000.
Second article. —The National Oil Refineries (Limited), which owns the
Llandarcy refinery, is a source of great income to the British Government.
But the royalties payable by this and other refining companies are subject
• to much greater deductions than in the case of the Abadan refinery. The
rates of deduction allowed in calculating the sums payable by distributing
companies are quoted in detail, and stress is laid on the fact that the rates
of deduction are fixed amounts per gallon; hence, in times of low prices, the
real burden of the deduction and the disadvantage to the Persian Government
are greater than they ought equitably to be.
Third article. —The Anglo-Persian Oil Company is a centre for intrigues
against the Persian Government. It has indulged in bribery, and has
fostered the secret spread of British imperialism. It concluded various
agreements with local chiefs instead of with the Central Government.
Mr. Churchill's book. The World Crisis, is adduced as evidence in support
of the statement that the British Government effected a saving of £7,500,000.
through cheaper oil during the war. On the other hand, the manager of the
Anglo-Persian Oil Company at one time wrote a letter using threats against
the officer commanding the Southern Persian army, stating that if he did not
select the Governor of Abadan, in accordance with the desires of the company,
the manager would insist on cash payment for oil supplied.
Fourth article. —Mr. Armitage-Smith exceeded and transgressed the
authority he possessed from the Persian Government. He professed to find
that no fixed price per ton of oil was possible; why, therefore, did he, without
authority, agree to deductions, fixed in money, from the selling price of oil
products in calculating the royalty ? Hence, to sum up, the 1920 agreement
is invalid for the following reasons : {a) It has never been ratified by the
Majlis; {h) it was based on fraud, ignorance, and the exercise of undue
influence; (c) it was based on threats; (d) it involved deceit; {e) Mr. Armitage-
Smith exceeded his authority.
Fifth article. —We now turn to the original concession of 1901. It is a
general principle that force cannot create a right. A change of regime
cancels all such agreements. Rousseau is quoted as an authority. The
fact that the Persian Government did not proceed to cancel the concession
at once makes no difference. Silence for a time may be due to ignorance or
other causes not the fault of the Government. If the Anglo-Persian Oil
Company Concession is held to be valid, it would be possible to argue that
the Anglo-Persian Agreement of 1919, the South Persian Rifles, and the
capitulatory regime have not been legally abolished or ended. The reasons
for the Persian Government's silence hitherto have been : {a) Fear of
pressure which would have been brought by His Majesty's Government;
and (&) the Persian Government did not hitherto possess sufficient power to
defend its rights; but now that every male Persian of 21 years of age joins
the colours, things are different. If a Persian subject possessed a concession
in England, would the Persian Government lose their heads and appeal to
the League without referring to competent quarters in England? But the
Anglo-Persian Oil Company have not had recourse to Persian law.