Coll 28/120 ‘Persia. Ahwaz – Consular diaries.’ [‎131r] (262/669)

forces has been an order from Tehran to reduce hi? three
companies at Behbahan to two companies. The gendarmerie in
Behbahan were already too weak to hold and maintain the
road-posts on the Agha Jari - Gach Raran road and the reduction
would seem to indicate a realisation that there is no hope of
security on the road until the major tribal problems have been
settled with or without military operations.
The appearance of sadeq Bushiri as a candidate for the
Majlis raised echoes of the Abrishomkar controversy, nadeq
Bushiri's programme is reported to include the return of the
externed merchants and "free trade" in Khuzistan. It may not
have been pure coincidence that the Governor-General has recently
set up a commission to enquire into profiteering by the T&baceo
Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. which is run by Behbahani and is said to have made
astronomical profits.
(10) Rayed Issa Kamaluddin has made over a pamphlet posted
in Ahwaz but purporting to emanate from a Kashanzadeh in Tehran
calling on all true Musulmans to have the bazar closed as a
protest against the offence caused by British attempts to arrest
Rayed Abul Qasera Kashani in Tehran. No further copies of the
pamphlet have been seen and no attempt has been made to close
the bazars.
IV. Bconomic .
(n) The supply of government bread in Ahwaz town remains
excellent. Rome complaints of short weight have been received
and Mr. Rolomon has come to the conclusion that the profit
allowed to the bakers is so small that without a degree of
supervision which he cannot maintain these malpraetises on the
part of the bakers are inevitable. Cheap government bread is
also being issued in the provincial towns of Dizful, °hushtar
and Ram Hormuz;the quantities issued are so small and the
/that protests so few;/it is impossible to escape the conclusion that
the majority oi townspeople must have considerable private
stocks of grain and believe that they will be able to renew
their stocks without much difficulty.
,! ( 12 ) The sugar barter scheme is gathering momentum and in
* the Ahwaz area, where ^ugar is now being given agaisnt deliveries
for which undertakings had been made, the grain is coming in
faster than at any time before; the airibars intended for
deliveries in the rural areas are reported to be working to the
limit of their capacity. Tribal raids in the Ram Hormuz area
have reduced the progress of the barter scheme there; this is
unfortunate as this area was let off very lightly in the assess
ment for undertakings and large quantities of grain will it is
hoped become available after the end of Ramadhan<> In the Kindijan
area, where the disruption of a black market led the land-owners
to deliver more grain than they were forced to do according to
. their undertakings, probably little surplus grain remains. In
Dizful the prospects are not good largely as the result of
existence of an enormous black market in the neighbouring town
of Andimeshk which can hardly be "sealed" without talcing on the
‘ immediately impossible task of feeding the town. Elsewhere the
prospects are good and Mr. Solomon has a reasonable chance of
securing the three thousand tons of grain required in addition tc
what has already been collected for feeding the towns of Khuzistan
until the next harvest.
(3.3) With reference to para 24 of the last Ahwaz diary, the
raids on the hoards in the Arab villages produced a stir. Colonel
Humayuni forwarded to the Governor-General a tendencioug and
Inaccurate report about one of the raids and offered the gratui
tous advice that such action would be bad for future grain collec
tion; whatever the legal status of the hoards, Colonel Humayuni'
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