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13
the provinces would be less willing to do so to an Ustandar than to Farman-
dars who would be too numerous, and each in command of too small an area,
to become overmighty subjects, save in the unlikely event of combination.
^ As long as the present Shah retains his vitality, it will probably be policy to
keep the migrant Ustandar from striking roots too deeply.
11. Nevertheless, the laws contain machinery which would enable an
Ustandar of determination and ability to become an overwhelming influence
in his division, particularly if this were for any reason to suit the central
authority—or to be beyond its power to prevent—, and he were surrounded
by colourless Farmandars. The consequences cannot be prophesied from the
law, and depend upon the unpredictable use that may from time to time be
made of the machine.
12. It is in this connexion that the class of person from whom the Ustan-
dars and Farmandars are recruited becomes significant. Normally (Articles
V, VI) they are to be regular government servants ; but provision is made
(Article VI, Note) for the appointment of others. This might mean that an
Ustan would be given as an appanage to a prince or a favourite, or equally
as a place of rustication for those same persons. Possibly some avenue of
promotion for Farmandars is needed. But mention of military governor
ships, which now form an important feature of tribal and frontier districts,
is altogether absent from the scheme, and no doubt one of the intentions
underlying this provision is to enable a military commander to be placed in
charge of an Ustan or Shahristan, should circumstances favour it, although
the expression of the text “ official servants of the State ”, while it normally
connotes civil servants, is susceptible of being stretched to include a military
officer.
13. The sixth Ustan of the first law T , Mekran, corresponds to an existing
area of military government, and differs from the other five in being smaller
in extent, and in apparently containing no Shahristans, but only Bakhshes,
according to the list alluded to in paragraph 5, though it is not clear from the
wording whether it is or is not intended to consist of a single Shahristan,
with headquarters at Zahedan, coterminous with the Ustan, and perhaps
uniting the Ustandar and Farmandar in one person. The Ustandar appoint
ed in the announcement already described in paragraph 3 was a military
officer. In any case, its special character has now in appearance been oblite-
rated in the Eighth Ustan of the amending law.
14. It will be seen that the whole scheme is bureaucratic, in sympathy
with the general official invasion of commerce, industry and most departments
of life. Representative government appears only in the lowest rungs of the
scale (Articles VIII, IX), and then without even the fashionable pretences
of election.
15. The official invasion is, indeed, carried one stage further, into agricul’
ture. Another law is in formation, closely dependent upon the present, con
cerning the improvement of agriculture, and I shall shortly have the honour
to address you on this subject. Meanwhile, the emphasis upon agriculture
in the present enactments is obvious.
16. The Note at the end of Article II of the amending law, concerning
Islands, repairs an omission of the original act. No doubt the primary in
tention is completeness, but it might be wmrth remarking that, though Bah
rain (which is not mentioned anywhere) could hardly be described as lying
in the vicinity of a mainland department, Tamb and Abu Musa have in the
past been claimed by the Iranian Government as forming part of the governor-
ate of Lingah.
17. Article III of the amending, and Articles XXIV and XXV of the
original law, provide for the adjustments of personnel and finance that will
be required to carry through the change. I fear it is too much to hope that
this will be done without a period of confusion.
18. To resume, the foregoing commentary upon the possible effects of
this outwardly far-reaching legislation must obviously be quite speculative.
Upon the spirit in which the administration is carried out, and above all on
the interplay of personal factors, will depend whether the changes w ill really
17(S) ead.