'The Middle Eastern question or some political problems of Indian defence' [‎67v] (139/616)

gg THE IMPOVERISHMENT OF PERSIA
embargo on the exportation of grain from their own
district, in order to buy it up at reduced prices for their
own account with a view to future speculation. The
burden of all these sins of omission and commission
falls heavily upon the common people, for whom the
cost of living, at Teheran at any rate, is stated to have
doubled during the last twenty years. During the
same period the balance of trade has increased steadily
against Persia, and, according to the returns shown by
the new Belgian Administration of Customs for 1901-2,
the imports amounted to just about ^5,000,000, while
the exports fell short of ^3,000,000. These figures may
not be altogether trustworthy, and in some respects they
are even obviously misleading, as they take no account
of the irregular trade along the land frontiers and in
the Gulf which escapes the Customs, or of the constant
and mysterious flow of Persian silver across the north
eastern frontiers into Central Asia and Afghanistan.
But they also do not take into account the importation
of silver bullion for the mint. As a mere approximate
estimate these figures probably suffice to show roughly
how far the value of Persian exports falls short of that
of Persian imports. Yet Persia has to meet the
deficiency somehow, and in her case, at any rate, there
can be no question of invisible exports" in the shape
of foreign investments, profit on freights, etc., to re
dress the balance. On the contrary, she has become
during the last few years a debtor state with relatively
very heavy liabilities. T here is, therefore, only too
much reason to believe that she has met increasing
deficits, at first by the simple process of drawing upon
the savings accumulated during the earlier part of the
last reign, which was a period of peace and relative
prosperity, and of late by the still more simple process