'Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf. Vol I. Historical. Part II. J G Lorimer. 1915' [‎2549] (1066/1262)

by another Persian doctor, known as the Sadr-ul-Atibba. The latter
continued to acconnpany the British Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. Surgeon on board ships,
etc., until May 1901, when he was withdrawn.
In 1908, however, difficulties arose, apparently in consequence of the Attempt to
Russian Minister at Tehran having advised the Persian Government to transfer the
transfer the control of sanitary operations on the southern coast from the C0nt I J 0 l
British political officials to those of the Imperial Persian Customs—a authorities
department which had hitherto had no connection with sanitary matters^ to the
except that they had been made responsible for the collection of all Imperial
sanitary fees and that they disbursed the money spent on sanitation by Persian
the Persian Government. The Russians had from the beginning shown ^^ oms '
or pretended much concern at the prospect of plague being introduced
into Persia, and the appointment of British employes to the charge of
the principal ports had excited their political apprehensions. Several
Russian doctors had visited the Gulf, including Dr. Marc of the
Russian Legation at Tehran and Dr. Ost in 1897, Drs. Rodzewite:
and Kornajewski in 1898, and Dr. Paschkowski, who remained, chiefly
at Bushehr, from 1898 to 1899. In July 1903 the Customs officials at
Jashk and Muhammareh attempted to interfere in sanitary matters
and even ordered the Assistant Surgeon at the former place to enforce
detention on arrivals from Bahrain after those islands had been officially
declared free of plague on the 15th of July ; and in August it became
known that M. Naus, the Belgian Minister of Customs, had^ been
directed, in connection with the prevalence of plague at Bahrain, to
institute an inquiry into the working of the sanitary arrangements in the
Gulf. No action appears to have been taken by M. Naus under this order.
The British Minister at Tehran was immediately instructed by His Unsuccessful
Majesty's Government to protest in strong terms against any alteration British pro-
of the system introduced at the request of the Persian Government in 1897, es *
and to inform the Persian Government that the Customs officials appealed
to be unfitted by want of experience for the supervision of sanitary work,
and that a change prejudicially affecting British trade and shipping in the
Gulf, where they held a preponderating position, would be regarded by
His Majesty's Government as uncalled-for and even unfriendly* To this
protest the Persian Minister for Foreign Affairs replied that there was no
intention of ousting the British medical officers from the positions which
they held, but that they had resorted to an objectionable form of differ
ential treatment at Bushehr and had shown laxity m their precautions
against the importation of plague from Bahrain.
A French doctor, M. Bussiere, had meanwhile been attached to the Proceeding^
staff of the French Vice-Consulate at Bushehr and was understood to be of ^Bussie-
in receipt of an allowance from the Customs Department; m February
1904 he set out on an official tour in the Persian gunboat Persepohs officialS) i904,
and visited Muhammareh, Lingeh, bandar Abbas and
the same time the Director of Customs at Bandar Abbas took it upon
Himself to issue peremptory executive orders to the A f ls t a ^-Suigeon in
charge of the port; and in May 1904 the Sadr-ahAtibba, who after
three years'quiescence now suddenly reappeared began to intrude into
the solitary arrangements at Mnhammareh. Under instructions from