"تقارير إدارية ١٩٠٥-١٩١٠" [و‎‎٦‎٥] (٦١٦/١٣٤)

POLITICAL RESIDENCY FOR 1906-1907.
19
The two following points in connection with non-British trade deserve note.
In the end of March 1906 Herr Heinrich Burger travelling for the 4 ' 'Badischer
Anilin und Soda Fabrik " visited Shiraz, where he remained more than a month.
He secured an order for 20 cases of synthetic indigo and gave practical illustrations
to Shiraz dyers in the use of this article. It may be reasonably conjectured that
the import into Fars of Indian indigo is destined to suffer from and eventually to be
lolled by the introduction of German synthetic indigo. About December 1906 the
Singer Sewing Machine Company opened a branch in Shiraz. The representative
French subject M. Ignace Muller (formerly a teacher in the schools of the 44 Alliance
de la langue Franyaise '' at Tehran) assisted by his wife, a native of Tiflis, appears
to have had some success in pushing the sale of sewing machines in Shiraz and
proposes to send out native agents to Jahrum, Fasa, Lar, etc.
AGRICULTURE.
In the districts of Fars north of Shiraz, as also in the immediate environs of the
town, the grain crops of 1906 would appear to have been better than for several
years past.
This improvement was less noticeable in the districts south of Shiraz in some of
which there had been a lack of rain.
The poppy crops varied considerably according to the locality, but would
appear to have been better than those of 1905.
There was an unusually plentiful yield of grapes of all kinds.
PUBLIC SECURITY.
The condition of the Shiraz-Bushire road throughout the year was aepioraDle.
Robberies, the majority apparently by tribesman, were frequent. Two brigands,
Mullah Mansour and Malek Manaf, infested the district between Kazeroon and
Daliki. British films suffered extensively. The Persian post was not spared. In
November 1906 the Residency messenger bearing despatches from His Majesty's
Legation for the Grovernment of India was held up, apparently by Kashgais. and
robbed of the official despatch-bag with all its contents, of personal effects, monty,
badge, etc. None of the stolen despatches, effects, etc., have been recovered; no
redress given. Like several other outrages which occurred on the Bushire road at or
about the same time, the robbery of the Residency messenger was alleged by the
Fars authorities to have been the work of Kashgais acting under instigation of
Prince Shuaa'-ul-Sultaneh with a view to discrediting Ala-ul-Dowleh.
The misconduct,of the road-guards, more particularly on the portion of the
road between Kazeroon and Borasjoon, who continue to levy dues from the mule
teers under the name of " tufankji-giri (guard-dues), to blackmail and in some
cases assault travellers and to molest the Residency messengers, formed the subject
of repeated representations from His Majesty's Consul to the Fars authorities, who
however persistently ignored these. No case is known to the British Consulate
of a road-guard having been punished for misconduct.
The condition of the Shiraz-Ispahan road, though considerably better than that
of the southern road, left much to be desired. A British missionary and his wife
were the sufferers in an extensive robbery committed in June near Yezdi-kasht.
No compensation or redress has been obtained from the Fars authorities who allege
the robbers to have been Bakhtiari tribesmen.
BRITISH CLAIMS.
Owing in part to the friendly attitude which Ala-ul-Dowleh was induced to
assume, in part to the presence in Shiraz for several months of the summer of a
special official despatched from Tehran by the Persian Government at Mr. Grant
Duff's request to settle outstanding British claims in southern Persia a large
number of such claims were satisfactorily disposed of in the course of the summer.
A sum of over Krans 65,000 (approximately £1,300) was received from or
through the Fars authorities. Of this sum about Krans 43,900 (say £870) was for
road robberies, Krans 2,400 (about £48) for burglaries in Shiraz, the remainder for
loans, business-debts, petty thefts, etc.
3147 F. D