Coll 28/90 ‘Persia. Visit of the Persian Minister for Foreign Affairs to Afghanistan and India.’ [‎68r] (135/313)

of the Persians making difficulties over exequators and
this is recognised by the Kastern Department. Hie
trouble which arose over Captain Woods Ballard is a case
in point. And we were advised (c.f. papers on the
Persian Treaty file) that even if the Persians made
difficulty about one or more individuals they could not
maintain objections to a series of Officers on purely
personal grounds.
As regards Bushire, I agree entirely with the
noting. Hor do I think that any special difficulty will
be seen at home to a move if the Government of India are
satisfied as regards its financial aspect. But I venture
to suggest that in the event of a move we should either
(a) make it a condition that the Officer to take the place
of the Consul-General, Bushire, should be a political, or
(b) if it hay-been decided in principle not to send
politicals to South Barela, that the Resident should have
the right to communicate direct with the Consul, to call
for reports within certain defined limits, and to receive
automatic repetitions of his intelligence reports and
diaries.
making any concession there. In the first place I under-
stand, it is an Intelligence centre of great importance -
importance from the Indian standpoint. We are likely to
encounter much more considerable difficulties in main
taining our organisation if the post is handed over to the
levant A geographical area corresponding to the region around the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Service. Secondly, the events of the last two or
three years have emphasised the need for experienced and ^
tactful Political Department personnel at Meshed and
Seistan. It is unnecessary to labour this point. It will
be remembered that we have had three or four incidents in
which, while we were in the right, there was the making of
very serious trouble. With increasing Persian control in
£ast Persia this frontier seems to me likely to become of
much greater importance. It is obviously essential th