'Précis of the Affairs of the Persian Coast and Islands, 1854-1905 By J A Saldanha, BA LL B' [‎81v] (162/212)

15°
which it was gathered that the Persian Government had sent instruction for the
punishment of the perpetrators of the outrage. In a further letter^ dated the 8th
October, Captain Disbrowe stated that notwithstanding the reluctance displayed
by the local authorities at Bushire to afford satisfaction, he had been at last en
abled through the support he received from Mr. Alison, to obtain the punishment
of one of the individuals concerned in the outrage on the English burial ground, and
that the punishment inflicted upon the party consisted in a fine of 33 Mahomed
Shah Krans—a sum equivalent to the repair of the burial ground after the occur
rence of the desecration. Captain Disbrowe further stated that although he had
pressed the local authorities for punishment beyond the infliction of a simple fine,
as the party alluded to had been an offender only in a minor degree, and as Mr.
Alison deemed the reparation afforded to be sufficient, he had desisted from press
ing the Bushire authorities further on the subject. Captain Disbrowe concluded
however by stating that a fresh outrage had been committed, and that he possess
ed no resource but to submit fresh complaints and fresh appeals.
553. On the 13th October, Captain Disbrowe in reply to the communication
from the Bombay Government alluded to in paragraph 551, and stated that a
watchman had been duly appointed to protect the burial ground, but that a fresh
outrage had been committed, that the presence of a watchman could scarcely
therefore be looked upon as a security against the repetition of insult, but that
he trusted the representations he had addressed to Her Majesty's Minister at
Tehran would eventually produce the desired effect and cause respect to be
shown to the graves of our officers and soldiers.
Captain Disbrowe concluded by stating that the entertainment of a
watchman over the graveyard involved for the present no extra charge to Her
Majesty's Government, as his monthly salary was defrayed from " Burial funds
held in deposits in the Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. Treasury ; that these funds were collected from
voluntary contributors immediately after the war ; and that the remaining ba
lance amounted to 1 ,451 Mohamed Shah Krans, or a sum bordering upon 100
Bombay rupees Indian silver coin also widely used in the Persian Gulf. .
The proceedings reported in these two letters (8th and 13th October) were
approved on the 2nd December 1862 and Lieutenant-Colonel Pelly, the Acting
Resident, informed that Government felt assured that Mr. Alison would employ
his best efforts to exact due reparation for the fresh outrage, and to secure the
cemetery from similar insult in future.
554. Lieutenant-Colonel Pelly then addressed two communications to Gov
ernment renewing the circumstances connected with the subject. The first
dated the 13th January covered copy of a letter addressed by Captain Disbrowe
in August 1862 to Mr. Alison at Tehran, reporting the fine inflicted on Aghayee,
the trespasser in the cemetery, as also transcript of the reply of Her Majesty's
Minister, intimating that under the circumstances stated by Captain Disbrowe
and the assurance he (Mr. Alison) had received from the Persian Foreign Office
there was no necessity for seeking further reparation.
The second letter then submitted was a review of the whole proceedings in
the case, and Lieutenant-Colonel Pelly thus stated the original causes of offence—
(1) That the grave had been desecrated by defilement.
(2) That the enclosure had been made use of for cultivation.
555- The Acting Resident (Colonel Pelly) stated that the Persian Agent for
Foreign Affairs pleaded to Captan Disbrowe that "the defilement was not
human " and this charge. Colonel Pelly observed, faded from the correspondence.
With regard to the cultivation, the Persian Agent pleaded that the cultivator,
Aghayee, was owner of a portion of the ground enclosed for the graveyard and
had to pay rent for it to the Persian Government, and that in consequence he
cultivated it. Under these circumstances the Acting President submitted that
the proper course to have been followed was—
(1) To obtain from the Persian Government sunnud for the occupation
of the ground.
(2) Compensation to the owner Aghayee.