'Persia and the Persian Question by the Hon. George Nathaniel Curzon, M.P.' [‎578] (669/748)

578
PERSIA
2,475,OOOZ., giving a customs revenue of 115 5 OOOL Subsequently,
however, I was fortunate in procuring from two independent
sources the figures of the Persian Custom-house at Kermanshah
for the year 1889, which ought to be practically identical with the
above, all traffic between Persia and Baghdad passing through that
town, which is the first important place on the Persian side of the
frontier. These figures were in substantial accordance with the
Baghdad estimate as regards imports into Persia, the value of
which they fixed, giving the details in each case, at 232,530L But
the value of exports from Persia was reduced by them from the
hypothetical 270,000Z. to the more modest total of 95,266/., the entire
volume of the transit trade via Baghdad being accordingly 327,796L l
Upon the Baghdad-Teheran line English trade is largely in the
ascendant. The same reasons which keep Eussia from the Gulf
keep her from Baghdad; and in so far as she supplies Hamadan and
Kermanshah, it will be via Tabriz from the north. Baghdad, in
fine, falls under the category of the Gulf ports, and must be in
cluded in the zone of indisputable British supremacy.
A certain export and import trade also exists between Baghdad
and Persian Kurdistan, particularly with Sinna, the capital of the
17 Bagh- latter district; although, as it does not always cross a
dad-Per- customs cordon, statistics of its volume are not easy to
sian Kur- 5 , J
distan line procure. There appeared, however, in the c Journal de
la Chambre de Commerce de Constantinople' of May 17, 1890, a
copy of a report to the Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs, in
which the trade figures of Persian Kurdistan for 1889 were given
as follows—Exports : carpets 4,000 Turkish liras, animals (princi
pally sheep) 10,000, wool 2,000, dressed skins 2,000, butter 10,000,
cereals, raisins, gall nuts, gum tragacanth, almonds, mastic, and
tobacco 77,000; total 105,000 Turkish liras, or 94,500L, of which
39,000 Turkish liras, or 35,100/., were said to be exports passing
into Turkey, and appertain, I conclude, to the route of which I am
speaking. The imports from Turkey into Persian Kurdistan were
given in the same report as: gall nuts 10,000 Turkish liras, un
dressed hides 5,000, stuffs 2,000; total, 17,000 Turkish Urns, ov
15,300/. The entire volume of Turco-Kurdish trade in this quarter
1 The credibility of these figures is incidentally but strongly confirmed by
those quoted by Mr. Herbert (F. O. Reports, Annual Series, No. 113) for the year
1885. The imports into Kermanshah from Baghdad were there valued at £218,700,
the exports at ^89,780.