تقارير إدارية من الخليج العربي ١٨٨٣/١٨٨٤ – ١٩٠٤/١٩٠٥ [و‎‎١‎٩‎٥] (٦٠٢/٣٩٤)

EESIDENCY AND MASKAT POLITICAL AGENCY FOR THE YEAE 1897-98. H
who has been the Baluchi Governor of the District, and is obliged to pay a
fixed revenue to the Persian Government. We are interested in the fate of
Makran inasmuch as some 258 miles of the land portion of the Indo-Euro
pean Telegraph pass through it, and there are two important Telegraph stations
at Jask and Charbar, which are worked by Englishmen, who have, in many
instances, their wives and families with them. Eor the protection of these
s stations, and of the line, subsidies have
# Geh 3,000 for many years been paid to the local
Dushtiyari .... 1,000 Baluch Chiefs,* who have in return, until
recently, protected our people and the line
in such a manner that danger was never anticipated. Besides the members of
the Telegraph Department at Jask and Oharbar, there are some British Indian
traders carrying on trade at the various small ports, who are entitled to our
protection, and these men, along with the employes of the Telegraph Depart
ment, have suffered during the recent troubles. I have already given the causes
for discontent against the Persian rule, to which must be added the prevalent
idea that, on the death of His late Majesty the Shah, in 1896, the Persian
Government had come to an end, and that the time had come for every one
to take what he could lay his hands on. These causes led to the rising against
the Persian rule, in which Husain Khan, already referred to, was the leader.
This ambitious man undoubtedly wished to establish an independent Baluch
Chiefship, like Kalat and would have been glad to have obtained British
protection. He has on several occasions made overtures with this object, but
was invariably informed that he was the subject of the Shah, and no commu
nications could be held with him while he was in a state of revolt against the
authority of his lawful ruler. There does not appear originally to have been
any hostile feeling against the English, and I am of opinion that no permanent
dislike to us exists among the Baluchis. Last year, however, was one of much
excitement in the Muhammadan world, and the Baluchis, who are Sunnis, and
profess to regard the Sultan of Turkey as their head, undoubtedly felt the
effects of the wave of fanaticism, which passed over the tribes on the North-
West Erontiers of British India. The hatred of the Persians and contempt for
their authority, followed by exaggerated ideas of the recrudescence of Muham
madan power, gave the opportunity for attacks on Europeans and their property,
which culminated in the murder, on the 2nd December, of Mr. Graves, the
Inspector of the land line in Persian Baluchistan. Anticipations of plunder
no doubt were at the bottom of each particular crime, but the perpetrators
would never have attempted to commit them if the condition of affairs had been
normal, and if the prestige of Europeans had not fallen to some extent. It is
only necessary for me to refer briefly to the steps which were taken to avenge
the murder of Mr. Graves, and to restore order.
It was decided from the first that the necessary measures must be taken
by the Persians, and that we should only interfere to the extent of establishing
the facts of Mr. Graves' murder by a suitable enquiry held on the spot. This
was done by me in December 1897, and the enquiry I then made indicated
that the murder had been committed by a gang of Kirwanis, a tribe who live
near the Rapch river, on the banks of which Mr. Graves was encamped at the
time of his death. The evidence I then obtained implicated fivef important
11. Maiik-hind bin shahbeg, Kirwanis as having been leaders of the
I:Shahi Gnlbeg, S 1 " 1 ?' alld this 1138 sinCe Confirmed
4. Sabair bin Suguraiiab, and by the statements of two of them, who
5. Sbahgui bm Yar Muhammad. were ca ptured in April. Of the five men
whose names are given in the margin, one, Malik-hind, was killed on the 5th
April in an encounter with a party sent to arrest him. Shahi Muhammad was
publicly executed at Jask, and Sabair is now in chains at Bushire. The two
other leaders are still at large, but the son of Lulla has been captured, and is
being kept by the Persians as a hostage for his father, who will, I hope, be
secured during the coming winter. Though the capture and death of some of
the murderers took place after the end of the official year, it is necessary to
refer to it in this report, to explain what has been done. The Persian Govern
ment sent the gunboat Persepolis soon after the news of Mr. Graves* death
was received, with a small force to the mouth of the Rapch, and the Persian
Admiral, the Darya Begi (Lord of the Sea), remained near the scene of the
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