"إرسالية من السير م. دوراند بخصوص تعيين مسؤولين قنصليين إضافيين في بلاد فارس" [ظ‎‎١‎٠‎١] (١٨/٦)

16 per cent, in nine years. This is not, I think, a discouraging state of things,
especially when it is considered that the last seven years have been for Persia a very
unlucky period in various ways. Year after vear great tracts of territory in southern
Persia have been devastated by locusts. Then we have had troubles consequent on
the Tobacco Pegie, and a severe epidemic of cholera and disorder following on the
death of the Shah, and a succession of bad crops, causing a great rise in the prices of
food. In Shiraz there Las been such scarcity that three years ago the Persian
Government contemplated importing wheat from India. Export of wheat has been
forbidden for some time, and naturally the purchasing power of the population has
been comparatively low, which has told on imports. And I imagine the plague in
India has had a depressing effect on the Bombay and Karachi trade. Altogether,
though we have suffered and must suffer from Russian competition in the north, our
trade has on the whole increased, and with better seasons it gives fair promise of
prosperity. It should be noted that the shrinking of the Khorassan trade is partly
due to the fact that our goods now reach Central Asia by Batoum and Baku, and
the Trans-Caspian Railway. The “ Kovoya Yremja ” writes very mournfully about
this.
Such are the principal changes which have taken place in Persia of late years ;
but before summing them up, with a view of examining the present state of affairs
and submitting proposals for improving our position, I think it may be desirable to
state briefly what, are our present establishments in the country, and what amount of
money we spend on them. I append a sketch map which will give some idea of the
political geography.
The Diplomatic and Consular staff is as follows :—
At Tehran, the capital, we have a Minister with three Diplomatic Secretaries,
two Oriental Secretaries,.a surgeon, and a Vice-Consul. The total cost of the Legation
is estimated at 16,640/.a-year, of which.India pays 7,000/.
At Meshed, to the east, we have two officers of the Indian Political Service,
who are also Consul-General and Vice-Consul, and a surgeon. The total cost of the
Agency is estimated at 8,600/. a-year.
This is paid by India.
At Asterabad, to the north-east, we have a native Agent, who costs 48/. a-year.
This is paid by Her Majesty’s Government.
At Resht we have a Consulate, which costs 750/. a year. This is paid by Her
Majesty’s Government.
At Tabreez, to the north-west, we have a Consulate-General, the cost of which is
estimated at 920/. a-year. This is paid by Her Majesty’s Government.
To the west of Tehran, at Kermanshah, on the Bagdad road, we have a native
Agent, who costs 24/. a-year. This is paid by India.
Midway between the Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf, at Ispahan, we have a
Consulate, costing 750/. a-year. This is paid by Her Majesty’s Government. There
is also a native Agent, who costs 28/.
Further south again, at Shiraz, we have a native Agent, costing 160/. a-year. This
is paid by India.
To the east of Shiraz, half-way to the frontier of India, we have a Consul at
Kerman, who costs 500/. a-year. This appointment is provisional. Half the cost is
paid by India and half by Her Majesty’s Government.
The Consul at Kerman is now in Seistan, where it is now proposed to keep a
Consul in future.
Finally, along the coast of the Persian Gulf we have:—
At Mohammerah a Vice-Consulate, which costs 490/. a-year. This is paid by
Her Majesty’s Government.
At Bushire a Resident, who is also Consul-General for Pars, with three Assistants,
one of whom is Vice-Consul, and a surgeon. The cost of the Residency is estimated
at 7,700/. This is paid by India.
The political work on the coast between Bushire and the Kelat frontier is in the
hands of the Director of the Persian Gulf Telegraphs, who gets an allowance of 120/.
a-year. This is paid by India.
The Resident at Bushire has also under his orders native Agents at Bahrein,
Shargah, and Lingah, and they cost about 240/. a-year.
This completes the statement of our Diplomatic, Political, and Consular estab
lishments in Persia. It will be seen that we employ twenty-one British officers, and
that the total cost is about 36.970/. Of this total, as far as I can make out, Her
Majesty’s Government pay 12,876/., and the Government of* India, 24,094/.