"مجلد I مذكرات بخصوص بلاد فارس والمنطقة الحدودية الشمالية الغربية. ١٩٠٥." [ظ‎‎٨] (٣١٠/٢١)

2
Arthur, which, he believes, will hasten the
ending of the war, and permit of his visiting
China by the Siberian railway at the conclu
sion of his intended European tour, a project
he has harboured for some years.
5. The proposed increase of all customs
duties by 15 % (referred to in paragraph 3 of
the January Journal), on account of the conti
nued depreciation in the silver value of the
Kran, has been deferred for the present by the
Grand Vizier, and M. Isaus has promised
that due notice will he given before it
actually comes into force.
6. The Persian Ministry of customs
and Posts has issued an official notification of
the establishment of a parcels post service
between Europe and Persia via Russia.
7. The Persian Ministry of customs
have recently had to deal with the case of a
muleteer who, after passing a frontier customs
post, disappeared on his way to the bureau,
thus evading payment of duty on the goods
with the transport of which he w r as charged.
Mons. Lavers informed the British and
Russian Charges d’Affaires that in future the
forwarding agent and, failing him, the con
signee, will he held responsible, and charged
duty for every missing package at the rate of
10 tomans per batman in addition to a fine
of thrice the amount thus levied. Replies have
been made by the British and Russian repre
sentatives to the effect that, even admitting
the right of the Persian Government to inflict
fines on foreign subjects, who might be quite
innocent of any intent to defraud the customs,
the penalties were out of all proportion to the
offence.
8. The employment by non- Mussulmans
of female labourers in the silk industry has
been prohibited. The British Consul at Resht
has been instructed to watch the matter and
report any cases in which the enforcement
of the order gives rise to remonstrances by
Russian or other foreign subjects, whose
interests are more involved than those of
British employers.
9. It was only after considerable
delay, and apparently consequent on President
Roosevelt’s threat of a naval demonstration
in the Gulf, that the Persian Government
acceded to the terms of the indemnity
payable to the United States Government
on account of the murder of Mr. Laboree at
Urmia {vide paragraph £ of the Journal for
December 1904). The amount has been reduced
from 50,000 to 37,000 tomans. This reduction
is conditional on the perpetual imprisonment of
the chief criminal, Saiyid Ghaffur, who has since
been brought to Tehran in chains, and the
infliction of adequate penalties on his accom
plices as soon as arrested. In the event of