"دليل الخليج. مجلد I. القسم التاريخي. الأجزاء Iأ و Iب. ج.ج. لوريمر ١٩١٥" [‎١‎٤‎١‎٣] (١٧٨٢/١٥٦٨)

1413
ir - hr^,' 1852.
these orders was expressed by Lord Palmerston, as Secretary of State for
foreign Affairs; and the system so instituted remained in force until
In that year the question was re-opened by Colonel Rawlinson, on his
return fiom leave. He pointed out that the circuitous method of
payment at Bombay had, in fact, a clandestine and mysterious appearance,
and was more likely to cause trouble with the Turkish authorities than
direct and open payment through Baghdad. He also thought that there
was a real danger of the money being misapplied by the Mujtahids for
want of proper control and remarked :
I may further mention that the evils which I have depicted as attendant on the
present system of payment are not altogether hypothetical. I have reason to believe
that there has been already an irregular, if not a treasonable, application of the funds;
that considerable funds in fact have been diverted from charitable purposes to objects
ot personal ambition ; and I have also learnt that the attention of the present Governor
o the Pashahc has been drawn to the sudden influx of wealth into Kerbela and Nejjef,
and that he has expressed uneasiness at what he calls "the secret subsidising of'
the holy shrines by the British Indian authorities."
Ihe lemedy, in Colonel Rawlinson's opinion, was—
to place the disbursement unreservedly in the hands of the Political Agent accredited
to the Court of Baghdad, who is at the same time Consul-General on the part of
Her Britannic Majesty ; to authorise him to see, according to the principle observed
at Lucknow m all cases of guaranteed pensions, that the money in question is expended
agieeabl} to the intention of the Royal donor, that is in eleemosynary grants and
ie igious attendance, and not in political excitement or military corruption ; and to
gue the Political Agent a discretionary power in emergent cases to suspend pavment
altogether,
These suggestions were not at all in accordance with the views of
Loid Dalhousie, the Governor-General of India ; and under his orders
Colonel Rawlinson was instructed ^that neither the Government of India
noi the Political Agent have any right to exercise any control over the
stipends which have been left by will to the priests A despatch was.
however, addressed to the Court of Directors of the East India Company
suggesting that the opinion of the British Ambassador at the Porte should
oe taken; and the result was that Colonel Rose (afterwards Lord
Strathnairn), then British Charge d^Affaires at Constantinople, supported
the proposals of Colonel Rawlinson, remarking that it was necessary to the
maintenance of good relations with the Turkish Government that the
means of revolt and intrigue should be taken out of the hands of its
sectarian opponents, the Shi'ah fanatics.