"بلاد فارس والشأن الفارسي بقلم جورج ناثانييل كرزون، عضو البرلمان." [‎٥‎٧‎٦] (٧٤٨/٦٦٧)

576 PERSIA
Two business houses—Messrs. Darby, Anclrewes, and Co., of Baghdad,
and a native merchant of Busrah named Asfar, who charters vessels
16. Bagh- on a large scale—also run steamers direct from London
nmnshah to ^usrah. There the goods are transhipped into the capa-
Hne c cious river boats of the Euphrates and Tigris Steam Navi
gation Company (Messrs. Lynch Brothers) or into those of a Turkish
Company, running on the Tigris between Busrah and Baghdad.
There are at present two English and four Turkish boats engaged
in this service. On these boats the goods are conveyed to Baghdad,
where, after passing through the Custom-house, merchandise in
transit for Persia proceeds by the caravan route which crosses the
Turco-Persian frontier at Khanikin, and continues by way of Ker-
manshah and Hamadan to Teheran, a distance of 500 miles, and
a caravan journey of twenty-eight days. Kermanshah and Hama
dan are both the capitals of populous districts and the distributing
centres of a wide area. For articles from Europe of uncommon bulk
■or value, such as carriages, pianos, and the like, whose destination is
Teheran, this is the favourite road entry into Persia, owing to its
shorter duration and to its immunity from " the perilous of the
Bushire-Shiraz line. Merchandise travelling by this route has to
pass two Custom-houses, Turkish and Persian, though the former
is more to be feared for the artificial delays which it delights to
enforce, than for the severity of its tariffs, 7 per cent, of the 8 per
cent, ad valorem import duty exacted at Baghdad being returned
when the frontier is crossed at Khanikin. The break of bulk at
Busrah is one shortcoming from which this route suffers. But the
Turkish quarantine regulations, which are skilfully devised so as
to irritate and offend, are a worse. One day's quarantine is regu
larly imposed upon all vessels coming from Bombay, even when
cholera is rampant in Turkey and extinct in India, the only motive
that anyone has been able to suggest being the vulgar cupidity
that is gratified by the extortion of quarantine fees. As I was
•descending the river from Baghdad an even more unwarrantable act
of malice was perpetrated by the Turkish officials at Busrah. Five
days' quarantine was imposed upon all vessels hailing from Persia,
or that had touched at a Persian port, not because any epidemic
could be alleged to prevail in Persia, but owing, it was said, to the
British India boat by which I had come up from Bushire having
stopped to put me down at Mohammerah—which it was entirely
withip. its right of doing, the Turks having no control either over