"تقارير إدارية ١٩٠٥-١٩١٠" [ظ‎‎٩‎٩] (٦١٦/٢٠٣)

'
g ADMINISTRATION REPORT OF THE PERSIAN GULF POLITICAL RESIDENCY
Belgian Customs Administration generally and our interests
accordingly.
Prom the first the attitude of the popular party was most hostile t
Monsieur Naus and his Belgian staff, and, as time ^ent on, the position of tl 0
latter became gradually more difficult and precnrious. For instance, whereas
local Directors had hitherto been allowed to employ Baghdadi, Clialdee and
Armenian clerks, who served them better than Persians, they were now ordered
to replace these, wherever possible, by Persians. Persians also began to be
employed even in the higher grades. These men, necessarily recruited from
the more or less educated section of the community upon which the preaching
of nationalist propaganda has had most effect, showed a disposition to work
against the European staff, and while, under the old regime, if they wanted a
reasonably peaceful time the Belgian Directors found it profitable to cultivate
either the Russians or ourselves, they now had rather to propitiate the parlia
mentary element and the Persian vernacular press, which otherwise lost no
opportunity of making things uncomfortable for them.
They also had to put up with much annoyance from the Local Majlis and
Anjumans, which, ignorant of their proper functions, hesitated not to interfere
in all branches of executive Government.
Another of their difficulties has lain in the fact that, owing to the great
financial straits to which the Central Government has found itself reduced
Customs Directors have, under the Constitution, continually been pressed to
send more copious remittances to the capital, and, in order to meet such
demands, have been obliged to have recourse to the strict application of many
items of the Heglement which had before been allowed to become a dead letter
or had been interpreted liberally on being proved unsuited to the difficult
harbour conditions of the Gulf Ports.
Thus it is that, though Belgian officials may have every personal wish to
be friendly and to maintain cordial relations with members of the Residency,
the conditions above explained have inevitably tended to upset the modus
vivendi, born of mutual cbncession, which had been gradually achieved in our
business relations, and to revive the friction which existed in the early days of
the Tariff of 1903. At present the British trader has not only had to contend
with every conceivable disability which the insecurity of the trade routes and
the uncontrolled license of the so-called road guards can provide, but is being
too frequently harassed at the ports by some oppressive decision or the revival
or ^strict interpretation of one of the many catchpenny clauses in which the
Eeglement abounds.
The smuggling industry both in regard to arms and luxuries has continued
to flourish, but there is some reason to think that the five Customs launches built
for the Administration by the Government of India, though not used nearly as
effectively as they might be, have done something towards reducing the
volume of contraband traffic. I base this observation on the fact that the
trade returns show a considerable increase in the quantity of tea legitimately
imported tea being one of the chief articles habituallv smuggled into the
country.
Commerce. The arms that are introduced through the small ports under Bushire are
at present all absorbed by the local Persian demand and do not find their way
to destinations inconvenient to us. On his way to Shiraz by the now deserted
Firozabad route the Resident learnt of several village depots in the hinterland
for the distribution of arms, and the advantages or disadvantages of the latest
patterns in vogue seemed to be almost the sole topic of interest among the
peasants met with.
insecurity of This subject is fully dealt with in the Shiraz report. The Firozahad road
between lca ^ 10ns a mentioned, which a few years ago was regularly used, especially by
Shiraz! 0 and camel caravans, as an alternative route between Bushire and Shiraz, especially
at imes when the Kotals onthe main route were in bad condition on account
o snow, or when fighting was going on among the headmen along the road,
has quite fallen out of use owing to the insecuritv and absence of Governmenfe
which has prevailed for the past three years.