ملف ٢٢٩٧/ ١٩١٩ "تقارير شهرية للمقيمية البريطانية في الخليج الفارسي. ١٩١٢-١٩٢٠." [و‎‎٤‎٠‎٦] (١٠٤٤/٨١٦)

7
(g) The Khan of Borasjun has in fact succeeded in preventing any more of
his men from taking service with the Gendarmerie, but those who had previously
made their contracts for enlistment, have been obliged to remain.
47. Abdur Rasul, the lateKalantar of Bushire (vide paragraph 1276 of 1912) Miscellaneous,
A who was said to have been deported by His Excellency the Governor of Bushire,
was brought back to Bushire during the latter part of the month, and imprisoned
in the present Kalantar’s house. The Govenor was believed to be intending to
release him after fining him heavily.
(Note.— The Kalantar has since been released.)
48. Mirza Husain Khan, the father of the Ghazanfar-es-Sultaneh, Khan of
Borasjun, died at the close of the month.
Shiraz.
■ - ■ ■ ,r .
15th December to 4th January 1913.
[Kindly furnished by Major W. F. T. O’ Connor, C.I.E.]. -
49. (a) During the course of the second week of December, His Majesty’s state of Province.
Consul had several conversations with the Governor-General on the subject of
the reorganisation of the administration of Ears, and regarding the manner in
which the £15,000 lent by His Majesty’s Government to the Persian Govern
ment might best be utilized for this object. The Governor-General, during the
course of these conversations, spoke freely to His Majesty’s Consul of the
various difficulties by which he was hampered. Pie pointed out that the Ears
Treasury was completely empty, and that without some material force to back
him, he was unable to insist upon the payment of any revenue for the current
year. Many of the more law-abiding and loyal landowners,' he said, had been so
pillaged by Arabs and other trib smen, that they were not in a position to pay
anything, whilst the less well-disposed, and more distant proprietors, were ready
with similar excuses, and could not be coerced without considerable difficulty.
The tribesmen, of course, he said, were completely out of hand ; they plundered
freely wherever they chose, and nothing but force of arms would now ■ induce
them to pay a farthing towards the revenue of the Province. In place of a revenue
amounting to some 700,000 or 800,000 Tomans, Ears had yielded to Govern
ment during the present financial year only some 25,000 Tomans.
But to remedy this deplorable state of affairs the Governor-General had prac
tically no force upon which he could rely. The remains of the three regiments of
“ regular ” soldiers at Shiraz were in a wretched state. Their numbers had
dwindled to less than half their proper strength, and large sums of money, being
arrears of their pay, were due to them ; and in every other respect th£y were hope
lessly inefficient. The Governor-General, therefore, proposed, whilst retaining a
portion of the best of the old sarbazes, to organise a new regiment of about 1,000
men who would be recruited from the various districts of Ears, and be properly
drilled, equipped and paid. With this object in view, he summoned a meeting of
the principal landowners of Ears, informed them of his scheme and requested
them to furnish him amongst them with the number of men he required.
The idea was received with satisfaction by the majority of the landowners,
who are persons of substance, many of them being owners of large properties and
who have almost, without exception, suffered very heavy losses from the anarchy
which has prevailed in Ears during the last few years. There are few of them who
have not had their properties pillaged by the tribesmen, who in many cases have
actually taken possession of the land ; and many formerly wealthy men have
been brought to the brink of ruin, and have received no revenue at all from their
estates for several years.
Thus, although, as is only natural, there were a few malcontents, and a good
deal of criticism of the scheme, the general feeling, as far as Major O’Connor could
ascertain, was one of satisfaction, and the proprietors were prepared to assist the
Governor-General to the best of their ability. They had formed a committee
amongst themselves and had too been busy during the second week of December
in apportioning the number of men which they intended providing from each
district. It is hoped that in about a month’s time the material for the new force
will be present at Shiraz for the training to begin.