ملف ١٩٢٨/٢٠٠ الجزء ٥ "بلاد فارس: العلاقات الأنجلو-فارسية، مفاوضات بشأن المعاهدة" [و‎‎٢‎٧‎٤] (١١٣٢/٥٥٢)

INDIA DIREST
^,3 nOCOWENT IS THE PROPERTY OF HIS BRITANNIC MAJESTY’S GOVERNMENT.
PERSIA.
CONFIDENTIAL
No. 1
E 1253/143/34]
Sir R. Clive to
(No. 80. Confidential.)
Mr. A. Bender son.—{Received March 10.)
Tehran, February 22, 1930
Sir,
WITH reference to my telegrams Nos. 30, 31 and 32 of the 22nd February
I have the honour to transmit herewith copy of the letter which 1 yesterday addressed
to the Minister of Court on the subject of the general treaty and the necessity to
resume negotiations at once if there was to be any chance of concluding this and
the commercial treaty before next summer.
2. The whole question now depends on the importance which the Shah attaches
to coming to a settlement with His Majesty 's Government. I shall have a clearer
impression on that point after I have had a talk with the Minister of Court. In
order to set forth the position as concisely as possible, I thought it well in my letter
to enumerate the benefits which would accrue to Persia under the treaty within the
limits of my present instructions. There are a few points on which I have still to
receive the views of His Majesty’s Government, such as the future position of the
Indo-European Telegraph Department, the question of lighting and buoying on the
Persian shores of the Gulf and the arbitration clause in the treaty; but, as I said
to Ms Highness, there is now sufficient material on which to build up the greater
part of the treaty if the Persian Government genuinely desire to come to an
agreement. You will observe that T do not mention the removal of the Residency
atBushire. About that I propose to say nothing, and certainly not in writing, until
I see a fair prospect of a settlement within the next few months.
3. The Tariff Autonomy Treaty of 1928 was concluded within a time limit,
and but for that time limit of the 10th May the negotiations might well have dragged
on for many months. I need only point to the delay in the ratification of this
treaty. I trust, therefore, that you will not misunderstand my introducing into my
letter to the Minister of Court a reference to the question of my going on leave
this year. I did this with one purpose only, namely, in order to give him a time
limit and to remind him that our present negotiations could not go on indefinitely.
They must either be concluded or broken off and restarted if necessary at a later date.
T It is true that his Highness has been much occupied during the past two
weeks with financial questions connected with the fall in the price of silver and the
introduction of a gold standard. This forms the subject of a separate despatch,
lor the moment these questions and that of the future of the railway preoccupy the
bhah and his Ministers to the exclusion of all else, but that is really no excuse for
leymourtache neglecting to acknowledge my letter of the 24th January,
consequently drafted my letter to him of yesterday in a form in which it could
eventually be published in case it should ever become necessary to make it clear that
Me responsibility for a breakdown in the present negotiations did not attach to
His Majesty’s Government.
0 - Apart from the obvious advantage of settling at once by treaty all
outstanding questions, it may be asked whether His Majesty’s Government and the
overnment of India would be seriously inconvenienced by a failure to conclude this
} e ?>r the two treaties now under negotiation.
•J 3, ^0 that I would reply that the Persian being as he is—suspicious of the
H 1 , en "word, always endeavouring to avoid finality, hating to go to extremes—there
• , ess cpnger with Persia than with many other nations in leaving things
Jh 0 < T mina lp. There could be no better instance of this than the question of the
Pj a bags via Russia which come addressed to this Legation. The Persian Govern-
objected to this nearly six years ago. His Majesty’s Government
uricf 6 h f re( Hp r ? c &l agreement. The Persian Government had no interest in this
l t Todined it. They have, however, never replied in writing to the
cont' ^Moad they continue at intervals to protest; His Majesty’s Legation
mnp tn f or a wr jtten answer. Meanwhile the bags are delivered at the