Coll 29/118(7) 'Disposal of unwanted consular property in Bushire' [‎42r] (83/234)

I
IIHBEXKB
jo. 3SI/17A9
iiritisn uiaba&sy
Tehran
23 rd ■ eb^ua
6 4-56
I have ^st seen telegrma No. i>73 of the 18th Khluuar
the united Kiogdoaf^igh Jouiaiit aioner in India about the Unbaabad ' "■
ivesidtnc^, JJifCfjuajrB a<>,o ee received the conditional agreeaient
of the government of India to the sale of,this property in a
let.tei iroai the Indian-Inbassy. I encloae a copy of that letter
and a copy of bur ieply.
ihe lact that the Uovernment ul inuia have agreeu to a vrice
in rupees Indian silver coin also widely used in the Persian Gulf. may prove extremely embarrasaiog, ana it is sottettiin*, of
B i^iracle that ioreign diplomatic missions have beau uenied the
right to sell exchange on the free market before the kersian
doverrunent are in a position to clinch a bai*ain in rials. If
the Ministry of Health can get the money from the dajlia before
the xree market facilities axe restored, everythin^ will be all
right, because the figure whxch ws asked them to pay - nls. 1,700*000
correspon.is to more than the sr 0 vernaient of 4 . n ui»'s figure -
^a. 1,70,000 - at the official rate of exchange. But if the free
marKet iacilitiee are restoreu beiore we get our price, 1 do not
for the life of me see how we are to go back to the ministry of
-.^Ith und tell them that we want to raise tne price by more than
so;. (
It will perhaps be as well to consider now what arguments
we might eventually use with the dovernaaent of inoia. They seem
to fall on the following heads s-
(1) It will be a breach of faith to ask for more, particularly
as the price of iiiala- 1j>700 # Q0Q was coumunroftea tc the
: inistry of Health in writing as early as May l^th, 1248.
The - ^dian ^abaasauor v»a, inforiaed one month errlier
verbally and in writing that thus price would be asked y
(2) At the date tnis price was asked it corresponued to
Walter s valuation - tia. 1,70,000 — at the rate of exchange
then obtaining.
(3) The Persian doV^rnraent wculi probably be unable to jay
a much increased price, in view of the difficulties which
they have enccutered in obtaining authority to pay the price
which wc have, in fact, asked. (N.B. Nearly 8 months elapsed
before the Budget ioumission approved the appropriation which
has still to be passed by the full Majlis)
(4) If the Persian dovernment were to refuse to pay a hx^er
price, it is virtually certain that no-one else would. The
reasons for which we regard, a commercial sale as out of the
question are given in our telegram No. 18 of the 16th o«pte»ber
to the United /ingdom High ^umissioner, New ^elhi, repeated
for information to Foreign Office.