'Précis of the Affairs of the Persian Coast and Islands, 1854-1905 By J A Saldanha, BA LL B' [‎92r] (183/212)

643. On the following day copies of the
orders in question were sent to Colonel
To Colonel Ross, dated a8th June 1884, No. 23.
Ross as given below in translation :•
" With reference to the Bushire j
From Foreign MioUl.r ( t o Princo Govornof f mv^lf ! S ' J 0nC S rn,ng ^ hich the Shah and
Fars), dated 23rd June 1884. 0 , ^ acting under His Majesty's orders, have
I have to state that a further communication hTs been Setfror^he^BHtkh 6 ?
to the effect that, m view of the teleP-raohs to Ym.r R ovo I hu c B I ntlsh Legation
Prime Minister it is a matf^r P - u t T RoyaI Hl ghness from the Shah and the
and prohibiting!. P y Uovernor of «•= Provmce) dealing with all the question at issue
" ,J ^~The levy of duties in excess of the legal 5 per cent.
" W.—The levy of gate and landing dues and of the tax upon the muleteers.
Gov^S th^feSn Foreign oXTentt ttVort 'shT^ ^ PreSent n0
with Her Britannic Majesty's Resident in respect to^h" ord'erfre^edt'm'
T t f S 1 h ( ah " ow instructs me to convey to Your Royal Highness His Maiestv's orders
that w.thout further delay, you should telegraph to the Sahib-i^iwan toc^rv oui nreciseTv
LdV^tv/T u ? !" qn o edIetterfrom the Br!tish Minister. His Majesty
p j-^ yo u should at once send to Bushire the person you intend to appoint as Governor
la ,S n0 1 t a place 1 Ie J ft t0 a De P ut y Governor, and at present ?he affairs of that
send ^Go^rnt^there? UC ^ 30 0fliCial 0f ^ ^ YoU will certain'ly afonM
c "When this affair is settled, the British Legation is satisfied there will be ample time
^H (K« T l! 0 k S l?. d ' s P ute between the Amin-es-Sultan (Farmer General of the Customs)
othert mf of'account" " G «"nmentclaims on the gate-money, landing dues and
♦n fi." R h ^ S u a T h Say ^ that itIs , m0st im P ro P er that . after he has given a precise promise
0 the British Legation, you should fail to carry out what he has promised. His orders are
explicit, they must immediately be obeyed, and the Foreign Office Agent or the Sahib
Uewan must be instructed to communicate this telegram to the British Resident. The
oanib s determination is that whatever the Government officials have taken from British
merchant 5 in Bushire, Dillom and Rig (in excess of the legal 5 percent.) shall be returned
wjthout further discussion and immediately, and that henceforward not one farthing shall be
so taken from them. &
"The Sahib Diwan's disputes with the Amin-es-Sultan are matters concernino- the
mternal administration, and shall be duly looked upon." b
644* In his letter No. 81, dated 8th August 1884, Colonel Ross reported
the refund by the Persian authorities of the
excess duties levied.
External A., September 1884, Nos. 154-62.
645. Notwithstanding the above-mentioned orders from Tehran, we find
Eztern »i A., April 1887, Nos. 41-43. excess duties levied on exports from Ban-
dar Mashur,
Sultan, who had obtained control of the customs in
of these duties as legal on the following grounds
Rig and Dilam.
Persia, contended
Amin-es-
favour
m
fs/.—That the British merchants should restrict themselves to using the
ports of Bandar Abbas and Bushire.
2nd.—That according to treaty goods moved by merchants from one place
to another in Persia were liable to certain taxes in addition to the
5 per cent. tax.
jrd.—That the officials at Mohammerah, Bandar Rig and Dilam were un
provided with proper printed forms of Tawazes with the Lion and
the Sun and that their manuscript passes could not be accepted at
other custom-houses.