Letters and Papers Concerning the Trans-Persian Railway and Other Railways in Persia [‎210v] (420/442)

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Persia.
Persia.
688
[LORDS]
our sending a somewhat larger Consular
guard to Shiraz than we have been in the
habit of sending there created the wildest
suspicions of our intentions in the minds of
some of the inhabitants. Therefore I
would do practically anything to avoid
anything that could be described as a mili
tary occupation, not merely on account of
Persia, although I think it would be a
distinct wrong to her ; but it is also on
account of the interests of India and of the
interests of this country and of the Empire
at large that it would be, in my opinion, an
act of supreme folly to enlarge our respon
sibilities in that direction. Therefore inter
ference of that kind is interference which I
venture to think ought only to be taken in
the very last resort, and in order to avoid
something which is obviously and definitely
worse.
As I said, I cannot pretend to regard the
future very hopefully. I do not think it is
necessary to adopt the depressed and
gloomy tone used by the noble Lord in
regard to the aims and intentions of Russia.
I cannot think that he is fair to the Russian
Government. The vicious circle of which I
spoke in relation to the supply of money
and the restoration of order sets before us
a problem which must be regarded as one of
supreme difficulty, and until that is removed
and until also, I am bound to add, the
Central Government at Teheran is able to
take a distinct and definite part in govern
ing the whole country, or at any rate doing
what it can to administer the whole
country—until an advance is made in those
directions I agree it is not possible to
speak with very much confidence of the
immediate future. There are some signs,
however, of an improving state of things.
I think the noble Lord mentioned the
Lynch road as the last which had been kept
open but was now closed. What happened
was that the Bakhtiari Khans, who look
after the protection of that road, had not
been able for various reasons to afford the
engineer who looks after the road and his
staff proper protection. Our Minister at
Teheran went on at every opportunity
pointing out the necessity of resuming this
protection; and our last news in the early
part of this month is that one of the
principal and most energetic of the Khans,
furnished, I am glad to say, with sufficient
funds for the purpose—because that is an
item which always in such cases ought to be
mentioned—was to start, and as far as I
know has started, for the highlands there
The Marquess of Crewe.
for the purpose of restoring order and
guaranteeing the security of the road.
That, of course, is done through the
Central Government at Teheran, and there
is every reason to hope that the results will
be successful and that that particular trade
route will shortly be open and secure once
more. I think I have covered the various
points raised by the noble Lord, but if there
is any other question with which I have not
dealt I have no doubt he will remind me,
and I shall be happy to answer if I can.
*Earl CURZON of KEDLESTON : My
Lords, the noble Lord who sits behind me,
Lord Lamington, has, not for the first dime
this afternoon, rendered a substantial service
to Persia and to British interests by
bringing the unfortunate condition of that
country before your Lordships’ House.
To-day he has spoken with the added
authority of a recent visit to the country,
which has enabled him to see things with
his own eyes and accordingly to speak to
your Lordships as an eye-witness of recent
events. The noble Lord drew for the
information of your Lordships a picture of
the present condition of affairs in Persia
which I can only describe as profoundly
disquieting and even pathetic. The noble
Marquess who has just sat down seemed to
dispute the general accuracy of that picture,
and more than once described it as over-
coloured and overstated, but I do not think
there was anything in his speech that led us
to doubt the substantial accuracy of what
the noble Lord said on every point. Indeed,
from such information as I possess I should
be inclined in some respects to speak in even
more gloomy terms about the present
condition of Persia and about its future
prospects than the noble Lord did himself.
The noble Lord alluded to the last
occasion—it was in December of last
year—when the subject of Persia came
before your Lordships’ House, and I
remember very well that at that time, a
time of great crisis in Persian affairs when
the Persian Government was reeling under
the blows of two successive Ultimatums
from Russia, the noble Viscount, Lord
Morley, reassured us by reading out to the
House what he described as an important
assurance from the Russian Government.
It was to this effect—
“ The Russian Government assures us that it
has no aims that would violate the independence and
integrity of Persia. It assures us categorically,
and desires us to place on record that such