Coll 28/120 ‘Persia. Ahwaz – Consular diaries.’ [‎65r] (130/669)

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of the province is estimated at , 00 # tons and its requirements
at about 2C,0«« tons. ^he price of dates has already increased
Tiy and will n# d^ulit d«uhle or treble itself as seon as
expert is started »n a considerable scale.
(25) On the occurrence «f a very sharp rise in commodity prices
(e.g. tea frem Rials 57 to Rials per 1*. and sugar from
1/^ls 45 to Rials 7$ per kilt) His i-iajesty's Consul-General called
©n the Governor-General, the Director of Finance and the President
• f the High Court to press for effective aotion under the Ar.ti-
Hoardir.g i^aws and for the punishment of offenders. Hach authority
in turn demonstrated «iuite plausibly that one or both of the
others was to Islame. >j.n allusion to the implications of the
agreement between the United States, His Majesty’s Government and
tho Iranian government regarding imports of grain appeared tc
have some effect and the Governor-General called a meeting o:' the
pood Supplies Commdission on the next working day and after a ..
sessicn cf six hours various courses of action were decided u^on*
the effecacy of which remains to lie seen. An immediate effect
of th^ meeting alone was that the price of sugar fe&l from Rials
7d to Rials 50. The President of the High Court explained the
necessity for more judges regarding which a separate telegraphic
reference has l»een made.
V. Dotal Politics .
(2S) With reference to para 27 of the last Ahwaz diary, some
processions took place in defiance of the dan on Rauzeh. v /:.en
the police attempted to disperse the crowds a disturbance tr^t
plac* in the course pf which the police opened fire. A member
of the trowd died as the result of wcunds received. A not very
determined effort was made by the crowd before dispersal to enter
His Majesty’s Consulate-General; the intention of the mob,
according to a reliable sour”V5 who was outside the building, was
to request the British authorities tc have the ban on Rauzer.
/a rescinded or in the alternative to remove/government which le^l
so fa? short of the British ideal of religious freedom.
(27) Vith reference to para 7 of the last Ahwaz diary, Ghahr.e.ieh
. Mo’ez: is reported tc have effected a reconciliation between the
Govenor-General and the Commissioner ©f Police. Sarhang ^Ibcrz
reports that he has received an apelagy from the Gavernor-
Generil; certain ®f the Commissioner’s influential friends ir.
Tehrai. have, however, recently lost their places and he may
have lelt discretion to be the better part ©f val#ur«
VI. Tyieal
(28) With reference to para 28 of the last Ahwaz diary the
Brigadier commanding Iranian troops reported *n 23rd January that
the wusts at Khairabad and Shams-i-Arab had been re®ccupiei at
tneir original strength. The m»st recent information, however,
suggests that this report is not true and that the two p^sis have
in any case been occupied by personnel of the Rehbehan garrison
and not by the kezapur rvtgiment as was apparently the original
plan. The same officer reports in the meantime that an additional
regiment, the equipment for which is already in Ahwaz, is to be
brought from Xhorramabad ©n Shahbakhti’s order to ferm a
brigade at Behbehan.