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‘Seistan Persia & Seistan’ [166r] (340/617)
The record is made up of 2 volumes (301 folios). It was created in 22 Jun 1896-3 Mar 1900. It was written in English. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
ISTo. 5 .—The Treasury,
The duties of the Treasury corrmrise:—
r -u - —-c, x^vcuuc hulcu in uie memorandums issued
of the Governors eXChan§e glVes recei Pts which serve as vouchers in the final accounts
2. Receiving the fixed revenues derived from Customs and Mint, sale of Governorships,
Concessions, and other miscellaneous items. F
> 3. Disbursing moneys according to the special instructions of the Daftr—instructions
which generally take the form of Barats. S
** LCIJVC tuc lUIIil ui -Dcixats.
4. Making payments agreeably to the Memorandum prepared by the Daftr for the use
of the Treasury. ' 1 1 ' y " iUI use
The Treasury Memorandum differs but little from that prepared for the provinces. It
•nT u i i 6 recei P fc s> whether from revenue. Customs, or Mint, for which the Treasury
W1 r^i res P 0ns ^^ e 5 specifies as disbursements all the usual fixed expenditure.
I he Barat system {vide Part I, Paper No. 2) is much employed in the Treasury, for no
extraordinary disbursements can be made except on the Barats vouched for by the Minister
of the Daftr and the Sadr Azm.
, The business of the Treasury is conducted very irregularly, and its funds are utilized Conduct of business.
by the Minister and others concerned much in the same way as are those of the Military
Accounts Branch by the Naib-es-Sultaneh, Minister of War. In many respects the
Tleasury is treated as a private banking concern, relations being entered into with private
bankers ( a sarafs and moneys loaned out at high rates of interest.
To carry out this programme the Treasury seldom is able to disburse moneys on due
date, and a very large number of Barats are kept out for eight or nine months even without
receiving attention.
The actual disbursing business is managed through these “ sarafs,” on whom the Minister
issues cheques or pays orders in replacement of the original Government Barats. Great
delays ensue, and the holders of the cheques, rather than run the risk of indefinite delay,
often prefer to compound with the “ sarafs,” receiving from 1 to 3 krans in the
toman
10,000 Persian dinars, or a gold coin of that value.
(10 krans). Large profits thus accrue to the great advantage of the Minister and the
bankers.
At the end of the year the Treasury submits its accounts to the Daftr, where they Audit of accounts of
are written up by the Mustaufifis set aside for the purpose. After verification they Treasury,
receive the signature of the Minister of the Daftr and the Sadr Azm.
A cursory glance at the foregoing will show that this branch of the public finances is General remarks on
managed on the lines of a private monopoly. The fact that the Minister is own brother to the administration,
the Sadr Azm gives him enormous power, and nullifies the audit which is supposed to be
exercised by the Daftr. It also nullifies the value of the audit by the Minister of the Daftr
and the Sadr Azm.
The Treasury, as regards management, is the counterpart of the Military Accounts
Branch. The one is conducted in the interest of the Prime Minister, the other in that of
the Naib-es-Sultaneh, Minister of War, neither being under the effective control of the
Daftr owing to the high positions occupied by the respective patrons of the subordinate
Departments.
I make special mention of this contrast, because I think it accounts in great part for
the want of influence of the Sadr Azm in all matters affecting the army administration, the
Minister of War always being able to reply to any criticism on the part of the Prime
Minister by pointing his finger at the Treasury.
I ought not to forget to. mention that the Amin-ul-Mulk finances all the private
business of the Customs for his brother, the Sadr Azm.
No. 6 .—Ministry of Pensions and Charitable Bequests.
This so-called Ministry is presided over by a Minister known as the “Vazir-i- Organization and
Vazaief,” through whose
agency
An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent.
an annual expenditure of 500,000
tomans
10,000 Persian dinars, or a gold coin of that value.
is said to be scope,
effected.
On the pensioned lists are found students of religious law, members of the priesthood,
“Syeds,” and various Government servants.
About this item
- Content
The volumes contain papers relating to Persia [Iran], including Seistan, and the tract of land south of the Baluch-Afghan boundary between Nushki and Persia, which had become British territory following the demarcation of the Afghan-Baluch border.
The papers largely consist of printed copies of correspondence between the Governor General of India in Council (Government of India Foreign Department) and the Secretary of State for India (Lord George Francis Hamilton), and enclosed correspondence and papers.
Letters from the Governor General of India in Council to the Secretary of State for India include:
- Number 170, 16 September 1896, relating to the opening up of a trade route between Nushki and the Persian frontier, crossing the tract of British territory south of the Baluch-Afghan boundary, and the protection of the newly-demarcated frontier, with enclosed memorandum by Captain Arthur Henry McMahon, British Commissioner, Baluch-Afghan Boundary Commission, containing his proposals for the management and administration of the tract and for the protection of the trade route
- Number 58, 31 March 1898, concerning the trade route between Baluchistan and Persia, including the suggestion that Consular Agents should be appointed at central points along it between Seistan and Meshed, with enclosures including a report by Lieutenant Frank Webb-Ware, Political Assistant at Chagai, on his visit to Seistan at the beginning of 1896, and the measures introduced for the development of trade between Baluchistan and Persia (which includes a blueprint map, Mss Eur F111/350, f 33)
- Number 163, 15 September 1898, forwarding copies of papers regarding the situation in Makran and Panjgur, following recent ‘disturbances’ in Makran.
The file also includes:
- Copies of Government of India Foreign Department papers numbered 40-58 relating to the Kerman Consulate and British interests in Southern Persia, including correspondence between the Government of India Foreign Department and the Secretary of State for India
- A letter from the Secretary of State for India to the Governor General of India in Council, with enclosed despatch from Sir (Henry) Mortimer Durand, HM Minister at Tehran, to the Foreign Office, dated 12 February 1899, in which he gives his opinion on suggestions for the appointment of additional consular officers in Persia (this includes a map titled ‘Skeleton Map of Telegraph Lines in Persia.’ Mss Eur F111/350, f 187)
- A letter from Durand to the Secretary to the Foreign Department of the Government of India, 24 February 1899, enclosing a copy of his memorandum (with appendices) drawn up in 1895 on the situation in Persia, and the steps he proposed should be taken to improve the British position there
- Copies of a draft despatch from the Governor General of India in Council, 2 September 1899, regarding relations between Great Britain and Persia, including improving the British Political and Consular service in Persia, and the extent of the share of responsibility for Persia that should be devolved upon the Government of India, followed by printed comments upon the draft
- Copies of a minute by George Nathaniel Curzon, Viceroy of India, on Seistan, dated 4 September 1899, including the question of a railway connection between India and Seistan
- Handwritten pencil notes by Curzon relating to Persia and the ‘Seistan Question’.
In addition to the two maps noted above, the file also includes the following maps: map of the area south of the border between Afghanistan and Baluchistan (Mss Eur F111/350, f 300); map of the area west of the border between Persia and Afghanistan (Mss Eur F111/350, f 301); and ‘Route Plan of Robat Nala’ (Mss Eur F111/350, f 302).
- Extent and format
- 2 volumes (301 folios)
- Arrangement
Most of volume A is arranged in reverse chronological order from the front to the rear of the volume (from folios 6 to 76); volume B is arranged is rough chronological order from the front to the rear of the volume.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: this file consists of two physical volumes. The foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover of volume one (ff 1-150) and terminates at the inside back cover of volume two (ff 151-304); these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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‘Seistan Persia & Seistan’ [166r] (340/617), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/350, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100072740554.0x00008d> [accessed 8 June 2024]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- Mss Eur F111/350
- Title
- ‘Seistan Persia & Seistan’
- Pages
- front , back , spine, edge , head , tail, front-i, 2r:32v, 34r:62v, 64r:84r, 86r, 89r:93v, 96r:96v, 99v:100v, 101v:128v, 129v:149v, back-i, front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, 152r:186v, 188r:189r, 190r:299v, 303r:304v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence