"مجلد I مذكرات بخصوص بلاد فارس والمنطقة الحدودية الشمالية الغربية. ١٩٠٥." [و‎‎٨‎١] (٣١٠/١٦٦)

[ 7 j
On the 13th March, Captain Macpherson
received an official letter from Mons. Molitor,
stating, with reference to the Consular postal
arrangements (see Journal for November), that
in future he (Captain Macpherson) should
arrange that every bag despatched to and from
Quetta should be accompanied by a certificate
to the effect that it contained nothing but
official correspondence, on which condition
alone would such bags be allowed to pass
free. Captain Macpherson referred the
matter by telegram to Sir A. Ilardinge, who
replied to the effect that the Director of
Customs was to be informed that his demand
was unsupported by the Reglement Legal, and
that he, the British Consul, had been instruct
ed not to comply with any new formalities
until such had formed the subject of agree
ment between His Britannic Majesty’s Lega
tion and the Ministry of Customs. Captain
Macpherson was instructed to add that any
interference with the Consular bags would be
resisted by force, and to suggest that, before
allowing the matter to assume an acute form,
Mons. Molitor should explain to the Customs
authorities in Tehran that the Consul was
acting under instructions, and should request
further orders on the subject. The Consul com
municated these instructions officially to Mons.
Molitor, who wrote back, protesting energetic
ally against the threat to use force to prevent
interference with the Consular post bags. The
Consul thereupon informed him that his pro
test would be communicated to His Britannic
Majesty’s Minister at Tehran.
Prom the 26th to the 29th March, the
Seistan Mission experienced a blizzard of
extreme violence. Three readings of the
anemometer showed velocities of 103, 120,
and 120 , or a mean of 114)J miles an hour.
The cold was very intense, the thermometer
at night dropping to 8 ° Fahr. The Camel Corps
withthe Mission lost over 50 camels, and 150
of the hired camels also died. During the
blizzard the camp of the 58th Camel Corps
was visited by three mad wolves which savaged
the camels as they lay in their lines. Seventy-
eight camels were badly bitten, and several
have had to be destroyed.
Colonel McMahon reports that a kafila
of supplies, which he recently sent to Robat
for the return journey of the Mission, has been
subjected to some trouble by the Customs post
at Koh-i-Malik Siah, and that 11 Seistanis
employed by our camelmen were not allowed
to proceed. He also states that reports have
reached him that men proclaiming themselves
Customs employes have been preventing
villagers from selling provisions to the xMission
camelmen, who are spread out in different camel
camps; and that some 20 maunds of flour pur
chased by one of the Mission camel Jemadars