Coll 28/117 ‘Persia. Kerman, Yezd – (Bandar Abbas): Intelligence Summaries.’ [‎201r] (404/517)

and around Yezd# The Officer Conmandinig Genflyjpjrie ^ho is
frequently on tour * in pursuit* of alle^^ffd^WDdf s TS report-
*ed to be hand in glove m th amed raiding gangs in the neigh-
-houphood. Reports of burglaries, accompanied by murders in
some oases, hare also been received from various parts of the
districts*
£83* On the night of the 5th a gang of 3 reported to be
armed with government B rno rifles, and believed to be none
other than members of the gendarmerie themselves, held up four
cars near ®aft *15 miles west of *ezd) and relieved the pass-
-engers of about Romans 10,000/- in cash and valuables#
%Q°L9fflliLa
284# The food position in Yezd is reported to be satis-
- factory An East India Company trading post. * ®he prices of tl^e undermentioned articles in the
open market J are as follows*-
Wheat R is. 30/- per 6 kilos
Wheat bread*• 28/— ••••do****
Barley 16/- •••*do**«*
Bug ar•••••••* 350/—••••dOf*••
Tea*.... 160/-..per » kilo
285# 90 tons of wheat and 490 of barley are stocked in
the local government ’ambars 1 at the time of writing. A s it
is no longer considered necessary to control and distribute
grain under government auspices the Kharbar propose to sell
present stocks to the public as soon as possible#
286# As the result of the removal of government control
of cotton the price of cotton yarn rose from Rls.450/- to
Rls#700/-per bundle of 10 lbs but is now fluctuating between
the original price and Rls*520/-.
287# The value of landed property has decreased consider-
-ably as compared with 12 months ago#
288# Public attention is focussed mainly on Russia and
it is feared that she will not fulfil her pledge to evacuate
the country. A s the result of organised communist propaganda
over a long period at least 70$ of the population who represent
the working classes have been affected# *he remainder who are
millowners, wealthy landlords and merchants, show signs of
marked nervousness and some of these - particularly the Zoras-
-trians - have frequently asked if it would be possible for
them to adept British nationality* i hey are even thinking of
disposing of their landed property and converting their wealth
into foreign currency - especially rupees Indian silver coin also widely used in the Persian Gulf. - as India’s prox-
-imity and improving industrial and commercial development
promise increased experts from that country, greater opportun-
-ities of trade and a decreasing dependence on Europe for many
consumer goods. It is popularly believed also that as the
United Kingdom is shouldering a heavy national debt, rupees Indian silver coin also widely used in the Persian Gulf.
are comparatively more stable than pounds sterling* The great
-est demand, however, is for American dollars, which, when
obtainable, are eagerly bought up at between rials 45/- to 54/-
as against the official rate of hi a i s 32*5 and the demand is
increasing owing, it is stated, to the Persian Government’s
refusal to dispose of their dollar credits* bounds sterling
are obtainable but not in great demand. It is stated that
American toilet requisites and iron pipes can now be imported
without restriction but the abnormally high transport and in-
-surance rates on goods from America added to the high cost of
the dollar are discouraging imports from America#
El ec tions#
The three deputies for Yezd -Saiyid Zia ud Din,
4#/-
289