ملف ٢٢٩٧/ ١٩١٩ "تقارير شهرية للمقيمية البريطانية في الخليج الفارسي. ١٩١٢-١٩٢٠." [و‎‎١‎٠‎٥] (١٠٤٤/٢١٤)

rsr .
.CONFIDENTIAL.
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/
Confide,Dial Summary of News of His Majesty’s Politicaljtesidency in the Persian
Gulf for the month of April 1918.
PEESIA. v :
Isfahan.
Elza Juzdani s men have again been active and robberies are frequent
especially at night. Prevalent distress has not been alleviated and at Qum the
daily death-rate mentioned last month is now said to be doubled.
? general relief news has reached the town of the dismissal of Prince
I tizad-us-SultaneH froni the post of Governor-General. His successor, who is
understood to be Sardar-i-Jang, has not yet arrived and until he does the Isfahanis
are obliged to endure the regime of the Deputy Governor, Muwaffaq-ud-Dcwleh,
who is as rapacious as the Prince and little if at all less ineffective.
Shiraz.
Crop prospects are excellent, but the immediate shortage of grain is serious.
In these spring months the caravans must find their grazing by the way, and so
move slowly and be more exposed to raids ; in spite of urgent need for grain it had
been a matter of no little difficulty to revive traffic between Shiraz and Bushire ;
and the first consignment of wheat from Lingah had so deteriorated through delay
by lack of transport that it was almost unfit for use. It was therefore unfortunate
that the first mules and camels to arrive from Kazerun under the arrangement
referred to in last month’s summary should have been seized by the South Persia
Rifles and despatched to meet their caravan from Bandar Abbas. The action
caused disturbance locally and muleteers refused to carry further than Dashtarjin
where another inconvenient dump has in consequence .been formed. Cholera
has reappeared in the town.
Three Parsis arrested by His Majesty’s Consul were proved to be correspond
ing with Wassmuss as well as heavily in debt to the Imperial Bank of Persia. After
undertaking payment of their debt and furnishing bonds for £1,500 to have no
further dealings with the enemy they were released. Some property of Angmann
and Petzoldt left in Roever’s house has been auctioned ; and papers found there
were sent to Bushire for examination.
To a telegram from the Governor-General at the end of March expostulating
on the Cabinet’s anti-British attitude, which was only likely to lead to stronger
action on our part, the Minister of the Interior (Mukhbir-es-Sultaneh) replied that
the Persian Government was prompted solely by desire to maintain its integrity
and strict neutrality.
On the 27th of April the Qawam was still at Dorab.
9
Bushire.
The Darya Begi returned from Dashtistan on the 12th of April having secured
Ts. 1,200 and a few promissory notes.
M. Loiko, acting Russian Consul-General since 1913, has left for Isfahan and
Russia, after handing over the archives to the French Vice-Consul, and charge of
the Consular agencies at Ahwaz and Bandar Abbas to the Russian Consul, Isfahan.
M. Dekerckheer, from Enzeli, has replaced M. Bourgeois as Provincial Director
of Customs.
The Deputy Political Resident and Commercial Adviser returned on the 24th
from a 12 days’ tour through the districts of Hayat Daud, Lirawi, Zaidun, and
Behbehan, accompanied by Nasrullah Khan of the Boir Ahmedi from Aru who
name to Bushire for medical treatment, having after some hesitation been persuad
ed to visit Behbehan and pay his revenue there to the Bakhtiari Governor.