"تقرير الإدارة عن المقيمية السياسية في الخليج الفارسي للأعوام ١٩١٥-١٩١٩" [ظ‎‎١‎٢‎٧] (٣٩٦/٢٦١)

20
ANNUAL EEPORT OF THE PERSIAN GULF POLITICAL EESIDENCT
in July, in spite of repeated hints from the Consulate, he consistently
avoided taking any action in the more impoitant cases and has only recently
begun to show sispis of reasonableness. Miiza Hahihullah Khan, who has been
connected with the Karguzari for many years and was Assistant Kar ^uzar
under Kamal-us-Sultan, officiated during the interval between his departure
and Mujallal-us-Sultaneh's arrival. The latter brought his son-in-law Mirza
Mehdi Khan a clever but inexperienced and not over-trustworthy youth of
about 20, as his Assistant and turned Mirza Habibullah Khan out; as this
would have meant a complete break in continuity and endless trouble, His
Majesty's Consul succeeded in obtainino: the reinstalment of the late Assistant
as { Commercial Muavin ", Mirza Mehdi Khan remaining on the " Political"
side.
Other Kerman Officials. —Mirza Habibullah Khan administered the
Financial Department throughout thp
Financial Departmen . yew. He is an independent and secre
tive person with no social tastes, but energetic and capable. His efforts at
collecting the arrears of revenue of the last two or three years were sufficiently
successful to secure for him an unpopularity which he seemed thoroughly to
enjoy. His policy throughout was to have as little as possible to do with
politics in general or Eis Majesty's Consulate in particular. In September,
following their usual plan of setting one official to spy upon another, tbe
Tehran Government appointed Rafi-ul-Wizara, Inspector of Opium Excise, to
act as Inspector of Finance, and probably owing to this Mirza Hahibullah
Khan applied for a transfer shortly afterwards. At the end of the year orders
were received for his replacement by Muhindis-ul-Mamalik, Shaikh-ul-Mulk
as usual officiating until the latter's arrival.
The Prince Governor's music-master, Mirza Mahmud Khan was "Com-
, mander-in-Chief of the Armies of Kerman
11 „ry epai mtn . and Baluchistan" until his master's
departure, when Sardar Nusrat at once began to agitate for his old post. The
influence of his enemies at Tehran, however, was too much for him in spite of
the support of His Majesty's Legation, and after the Department had been
administered by Iqbal-ul-Mulk for four months Prince Nasir-ud-Douleh,
nephew of Prince Farman Farma, came from Tehran in July to take it up.
The young Prince was reported to be merely a bird of passage and to have
ulterior designs on the Governor-Generalship : however this may be, he took
his duties seriously and continued drilling and organizing his men in earnest
until his recall in November. Thanks, however, to the temporary Democratic
eclipse at Tehran consequent on the final collapse of the Central Powers, the
Sardar at last obtained the appointment he desired, nor is he likely to lose it
again.
The Department of Ediwation and Religious Bequests was held by the
Democrat Agha Yahya throughout the year. That of Justice remained in the
hands of Jallal-ul-Mamalik until April when the Mustaufi -ul-Mamalik Cabinet
recalled him and appointed Yumn-us-Sultaneh, who arrived with the new
Governor-General in July. Rukn-ul-Adila came at the same time as Hais-i-
Beday.it (Court of First Instance). Yumn-us-Sultaneh, who is very proud
of his legal studies in Paris, came full of schemes for reform, none of which
matured. He was handicapped by the absence from tbe Provincial Budget
of any provision for the Department of Justice, even for the pay of the Head,
a iact which speaks for itself. He quarrelled with the Governor- General very
soon after his arrival and was never quite reconciled to him, with the result
that orders for his recall came at the end of the year. His successor is not yet
known.
The Opium Excise administration, which had previously been in th e
hands of the Financial Agent, was taken from him in March when Rafi-ul*
\ izara arrived as Inspector of Opium Excise. Later Asaf -ul -Mamalik, son-in-
law of Mukhtar-ul-Mulk and a noted Democrat politician, came from Tehran
to administer an ' Opium Department'. These appointments marked experi
mental attempts on the part of the Central Government to exercise direct
control of the provincial opium revenues. His Majesty's Consul has been
unable to obtain definite information on the subject, but it appears that