File 3516/1914 Pt 1 'German War: Persian attitude towards Turkey' [‎20r] (48/340)

CONFIDENTIAL
■f ^
PERSIA
Sir W. Townley to Sir Edward Grey.—(Received December 1G, 10‘55 p.m.)
Tehran, December 16, 1914.
375.) (December 16, T55 p.m.)
I MUST protest emphatically against false interpretation of my words and
actions contained in summary of Russian aide-memoire telegraphed by Sir Gr. Buchanan
in his Excellency’s telegram No. 797 of 14th December.
My Russian colleague suffers from a very short memory or from inability to repeat
correctly what has been said to him.
The facts are as follows :—
As soon as it was decided that Medjliss should meet at an early date, the members
of the Moderate party, which forms the majority of the chamber as at present
constituted, made up their differences with the Democrats and sent an emissary to me
to say that they wished to leave the Cabinet a free hand as long as the wmr lasted, but
that in order to do so they must have a Cabinet in which they had confidence and to
ask my advice. Ain-ed-Dowdeh was the statesman, my informant told me, whom they
would prefer to form new Cabinet or to assume prominent position in Mustaufi-ub
Mamalek’s Cabinet.
I replied that I wms sure that my Government would appreciate the desire of the
Medjiiss to do nothing to render present difficult situation more difficult, and I
exhorted my visitor to impress on his friends the necessity of conciliating Russia,
whose great stake in Persia made it right that her interests should receive special
consideration. I urged that Vossuk-ed-Dowleh or Saad-ed-Dowleh should be included
in the Cabinet, and pointed out that Ain-ed-Dowleh’s presence might be misinterpreted,
suggesting that his place might be taken by Farman Farma.
I did not speak to my Russian colleague because I felt sure that he would
misunderstand my motives or misrepresent my action, and I decided to go away for a
few 7 days during Moharrem in order that any Cabinet change that was to take place
might be made in my absence. This I did, taking an English telegraph clerk with me
that 1 might be in constant touch with the legation.
On my return I found nothing had been done, and when I saw my colleague I
told him what had passed and the reason wdiy I had left Tehran, which, I said, was in
order that he should not be able to say, as he had done most unjustly in the case of
the present Cabinet, that I had formed a new one. I said that for this reason I did
not propose to take any part in further negotiations. Russian Minister replied that it
v r as all the same to him w r ho formed the Cabinet, that after eleven months’ experience
of Persia he had come to the conclusion that whoever w r as Minister for Foreign Affairs
or Prime Minister it made no difference, and he always had to deal with the detestable
Muin-eTVezareh. He positively refused to give me any lead as to whom he u ? ould
like to see form the new 7 Cabinet or enter the present one.
There is no Cabinet crisis, as will be evident from the above, and I cannot be
accused of refusing to act wdth a colleague who appears to be unable to discuss the
situation intelligently and refuses to make any suggestion beyond Saad and Vossuk-ed-
Dowleh, taking special pains to make it clear that Petrograd, not he, is supporting
them. As 1 told my colleague at our last interview, 1 have no objection to Vossuk-ed-
Dowleh, but I am impotent to [group omitted : ? persuade] Medjliss to legalise him or
Saad. The young Shah appears to take no interest in publh
(Repeated to Petrograd.)
[ 1172 — 706 J
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DEC 1914 , ’