"دليل الخليج. مجلد I. القسم التاريخي. الجزء II. ج. ج. لوريمر. ١٩١٥" [‎٢‎٤‎٦‎٠] (١٢٦٢/٩٧٧)

2460
suggested
postal con
vention
between
IndiU and
Persia. 1904.
Articles pro
hibited
Persia.
m
hand the demand was in accordance with a clause of the Reglement
Douanier of 1904); on the other, as the letter mail was not subject to
inspection by the Customs^ compliance would have involved the^ elimi
nation of sample packets from the letter mail, a procedure which could
not be demanded in accordance with Union rules. M. Naus Minister
of Customs and Posts^, represented that there was considerable danger of
the sample post ^ being- abused for purposes of trade, and he pressed hard
for a revised classification of mails in this respect; but in face of the
British opposition he was unable to carry his point.
The failure of the Persian Ministry of Customs and posts to get the
better of the Indian Post Office in the three disputes with which we
have dealt seems to have convinced them of the necessity for a new and
more conciliatory policy. In May 1905, M. Naus expressed a strong
desire to conclude with the Grovernment of India a postal convention which
should settle all doubtful points and remove every cause of friction ; he
suggested that an officer of the Indian Post Office should be deputed to
Tehran for the purpose. The idea was favourably received by Sir
A. Hardinge, British Minister at Tehran, and in June 1905 he was
authorised by His Majesty^s Government to make, in consultation with
the Government of India, a postal arrangement with Persia which
should follow the lines of procedure observed by the British post office at
Constantinople. The Government of India, on being consulted, declared
their reluctance to engage in any negotiations which might result in the
abrogation or curtailment of the privileges enjoyed by the Indian Post
Office in Persia; they suggested the postponement of the discussion; and
they urged that its scope should be confined to the question of the parcel
post. The matter is still pending.
Newspapers forbidden by the Persian Government have been liable,
since 1899, to be intercepted by the Indian post offices and sent to the
Dead Letter Office; but at the present moment there is no prohibited
journal.
Political and quasi-political questions connected with the Indian
Post Office in Turkish Iraq, 1868-1907.
Having completed the history of the Indian Post Office in Persia, we
return to the period during which its arrangements took shape in Turkish
^Iraq. In 1867, at the time of Mr. Vears's tour, a rudimentary mail
service of a very unsatisfactory character already existed, under the manage
ment of the British political officials, at Basrah and at Baghdad. A mail
bag containing letters for Basrah and Baghdad was made up at Bombay
and closed for Basrah ; and this, along with letters placed in the ship^s
letter-box at intermediate ports in the Gulf, was simply handed over to
the Vice-Consul at Basrah for disposal. The arrangements in the reverse
direction were of a similarly haphazard character, and nearly all the
letters carried were unstamped, with the exception of those posted
India itself. 1
in