"تقارير إدارية ١٩٢٠-١٩٢٤" [ظ‎‎٧‎٣] (٤١٢/١٥١)

40
ADMINISTRATION REPORT OF THE
tribe is now recognised as entirely subject to the control of the representatives
of the Persian Government in Arahistan and the Sheikh of Mohammerah has
made himself responsible for its affairs.
The Drisat sub-section of the Chanana Section of the Eeni Lam is in
a different category. Although of Beni Lam origin it has been domiciled in
Persian territory for many years. It has now been definitely decided that
this sub-section shall owe no allegiance to the Iraq Government. The Sheikh
of Mohammerah pays the ruling chiefs a subsidy of tomans 200 per mensem and
hopes in time to bring the tribe within his own jurisdiction. At present the
tribe is nominally under the control of the Persian Deputy Governor at
Dizful.
D izful and S hushtae.
These places form the subject of a separate annual report by His Britannic
Majesty's Vice Consul at Dizful and reference will only be made here to points
of general interest.
In the last administration report reference was made to the financial crisis
due to {a) the withholding of the greater part of the Customs allotment which
had hitherto provided funds for the expenses of the Governor-General at
Shushtar and {h) the refusal of the Sheikh of Mohammerah to pay the revenue
due from him to the Persian Government until his claim for re-imbursement
of sums spent on behalf" of the Persian Government during the war had been
met. The financial crisis became still more acute in April when all special
political credits from the Mesopotamian Administration ceased. His Britannic
Majesty's Consul left for Tehran in June with the object of obtaining the sanc
tion of the Persian Government to the budgets which had been prepared, in
consultation with the local head of the revenue department for the Persian
Administration at Dizful and Shushtar, and the ratification of the arrangement
made by Vossughed Dauleh whereby the arrears of revenue unpaid by the
Sheikh of Mohammerah during the war wei?e to be set against his claim, and half
revenue only demanded from him for a period of 6 years subsequent to Nau
Euz 1920.
After much discussion and with the active assistance of His Excellency
Zahir-ul-Mulk, Governor-General designate of Arabistan, the Dizful and
Shushtar budgets were eventually accepted in full by the Persian Government.
Efforts to regularise the portion regarding the Sheikh's revenue were not so
successful. In view of the approaching session of the Majliss the Cabinet
were unable to agree to the proposal that half revenue should be paid for 6
years but agreed to the waiving of all arrears of revenue unpaid during the war
and communicated this decision officially to the Sheikh of Mohammerah. The
latter who had hitherto refused to pay even half revenue on the ground that he
had not been officially informed of the original arrangement now somewhat
paradoxically insisted that the arrangement made by Vossuq-ed-Dauleh should
hold good and refused to accept the decision of the Qawam's Cabinet. At the
urgent request of His Majesty's Consul, Ahwaz, the Sheikh paid some 22,500
tomans of revenue during 1921, but refuses to pay more until the Persian
Government agree to a complete revision of his budget. According to the
budget now proposed the Persian Government would make themselves respon
sible for much of the expenditure on law and order services hitherto borne by
the Sheikh and the latter's net annual revenue would be permanently reduced
to half the figure at which it stood before the war.
In these circumstances, and in view of the refusal of the Bakhtiari Khans
to pay revenue on their Arabistan estates, the financial position in Northern
Arabistan affords considerable ground for anxiety more especially as the main
tenance of law and order in this region is now entirely dependent on the punc
tual monthly payment of subsidies to local chiefs.
Thanks to the presence of a reliable Governor-General at Shushtar in the
person of His Excellency Zahir-ul-Mulk and of a particularly capable and
scrupulous Deputy Governor at Dizful, Mirza Abdullah Khan, it has been
found possible to relinquish altogether without loss of efficiency the direct
control exercised by His Majesty's Vice Consul, Dizful, during the past few years
over the Persian Administrative departments at Dizful and Shushtar.