'Administration Report of the Persian Gulf for the Year 1938' [‎11r] (21/60)

9
Rials 48i per Kharwar of 655 lbs.
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drop mails but were unable to take any up. During these weeks Air Mail
letters for Europe were sent to Basrah by mail steamers where an arrange
ment was supposed to be made for their re-posting by Imperial Airways.
Road. —The Bushire-Shiraz road was passable for lorries and other motor
vehicles during the greater part of the year. It was washed out for some days
by heavy rain during December. The projected road Shiraz-Firuzabad-
Bushire is said to be progressing. Average transport rates during the year
have been as follows :—
Lorry to Shiraz .
Lorry to Isfahan
Lorry to Tehran
Owners of lorries have not done too well during the year since the amount
of goods for transport has decreased while the expenses for maintenance and
payment of instalments, etc., remain the same. Usually the only freight
they could obtain consisted of monopoly goods and Anglo-Iranian Oil
Company's products.
6. Social. —Living conditions in Bushire have in no way improved during
the year under review. The local taxes are very heavy. Numbers of shops
in the bazaar have been closed owing to the great difficulty of obtaining goods
for sale. The few shops still open sell mostly a very inferior class of goods,
bought and brought from Tehran.
The cost of living varied considerably during the year as will be seen by
a reference to the following table :—
Commodities.
Cost in February 1938
Flour
Tea .
Meat
Ghee
Tomatoes .
Potatoes . *
Shiraz rice
Bread (local)
Bread loaf
Water
Rials. 4-00
„ 20-00
„ 8-00
„ 38-00
„ 4-10
„ 4-00
„ 8-25
„ 4-50
„ 2-50
„ 1-25
Cost in June 1938
Rials 3-50 per man of 7-75 lbs
„ 22-00 per 500 grammes.
,, 9-60 per man of 7-75 lbs.
„ 34-50
„ 4-50
„ 4-00
„ 10-00
„ 3-50
„ 3-00
,, 1-50 per skin load.
It is moreover to be noted that the flour and bread mentioned are of the
most inferior quality.
All the municipal taxes mentioned last year are still levied and a further
tax of 3 per cent, ad-valorem on goods imported into the town was imposed.
The system in vogue is that the goods arriving are valued at a Police post
about 8 miles above Bushire. One or two packages from the consignment
are then taken by the Finance Department agent and held up at the post
until the merchant concerned pays the tax levied and sends a lorry again
to bring the remaining goods into town.
The wages paid to local labourers have improved somewhat since there
has been a fairly steady demand both at the Etimadieh Mill and for construc
tion work at the Military barracks. The rates paid are as follows :—
Customs coolie A term used to describe labourers from a number of Asian countries, now considered derogatory. .
Labourer .
Cotton operator
Skilled builder .
Semi-skilled builder
Carpenter
Builders' Foreman
Rials 3-00
4-50
2-50 to 6-00
12-00 to 15-00
7 00
„ 12-00 to 15-00
„ 30-00
The population seems about the same as last year.
Smuggling or piecegoods and sugar has greatly decreased since these
goods are now being sold at reasonable prices by the Government Monopoly
departments. But the smuggling of almost everything else, artificial silks,
foot-ware, perfumery, etc., still continues.
R. S. T. JOHN,
His Majesty's Vice-Consul.
23(S; EAD