"دليل الخليج. مجلد I. القسم التاريخي. الجزء II. ج. ج. لوريمر. ١٩١٥" [‎١‎٩‎٧‎٣] (١٢٦٢/٤٩٠)

1973
3i r J McNeill then returned to Persia, and the British Legation was
established at Tehran, on the 11th October 1841 ; it had a flattering
and even cordial reception. A few days later the desired commercial
treaty was concluded and signed, and orders were despatched by the
British Minister to the Persian Gulf for the evacuation of Kharag, which
took place at the beginning of 1842. It is probably fortunate that every
thing had been arranged in Persia before the occurrence of the great dis
aster at Kabul which will render the months of November and December
1841, for ever memorable in the military annals of British India.
It has been shown that Fat-VAli Shah resolutely declined, to the day
of bis death, to enter into any commercial treaty that recognised the right
of the British Government to appoint Consuls in Persia, alleging as his
reason that to do so would be to provoke the anger of .Russia, though
the right was one which had already been conceded to Hussia herself
in the Treaty of Turkmanchai. On the same subject Muhammad Shah
was at first equally obdurate, and, up to the time of the Persian expedition
against Herat, the utmost that could be obtained from him was a Farman,
issued in 1836, which guaranteed protection and good treatment to British
merchants in Persia and declared the duties payable by them to be the
same as those to which Russian merchants were liable.
It was only as a consequence of the general settlement that followed
the Anglo-Persian crisis of 1838-41, that Britain found herself once more,
after the lapse of 27 years, in possession of a commercial treaty with
Persia of indisputable validity ; this new treaty was concluded by Sir J.
McNeill on the 28th October 1841, soon after his return to Tehran,
and it was expressly described as an adjunct to the Anglo-Persian Political
Treaty of 1814. It provided that the merchants of Britain and Persia
should be free to trade in the dominions of Persia and Britain, respectively,
subject to payment of customs duty at the rates applied in either
country to the trade of the most-favoured European nation; and that the
merchants or persons connected with or dependent upon the high contract
ing parties should receive the same aid, support and respect as the subjects
of the most-favoured nations. Further, the appointment by Britain of a
Consul at Tehran and a Consul-General at Tabriz was authorised, Persian
recognition being at the same time extended to the existing British Kesi-
dency at Bushehr; and Persia received in return the right to locate
consular officers in London and Bombay,
A Farman, known as that relating to Bankruptcies, was obtained from
^ Shah in 1844, for the better protection of British merchants in
Return of
the British
representa
tive to
Tehran
and evacua
tion of
Kharag,
1841•42.
Anglo-
Persian
Treaty of
Commerce,
'28th October
1841.
Farman
relating to
Bankruptcies,
1844.