'Collection of journals and reports received from Captain the Hon G C Napier, Bengal Staff Corps, on special duty in Persia, 1874' [‎7] (20/396)

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No. 10, dated Meshed, 18th August 1874.
From Captain the Hon. Gr. 0. Napier , on special duty in Persia,
to His Excellency W. T. Thomson , Her Majesty's Minister,
Teheran.
I have the honor to report that I arrived at Meshed on the
10th instant, and took up my quarters in a house which I had
engaged through the British Agent in the vicinity of the Arg, the
residence of the Governor-General of Khorassan.
I found on arrival rooms carpeted and furnished, and some of
the Governor-General's servants in attendance; shortly after, the
customary trays were brought with a civil message. In fact a
cordial reception was intended.
The next day I sent the British Agent, Abbas Khan, to present
the letter I had brought from the Minister for Foreign Affairs at
Teheran (enclosures 1 and 3 of your letter dated Gulaheq, 30th
June 1874), and to ask for an interview. ^ . .
The following day, the 12th, was fixed. Abbas Ivhan bringing
back a verbal message to the effect that the Minister for Foreign
Affairs at Teheran did not wish that 1 should continue my journey
to Khaff. i £ i i
On the 12th instant, I rode to the Arg at the time fixed and
was received by the Governor-General in a garden adjoining his
residence. His Excellency's manner was not uncordial, but he
was surrounded by Mirzas, officers and servants.
After some conversation on indifferent matters. His Excellency,
with the evident intention of entering on my business, asked me
where I wished to go after leaving Meshed. I replied that I had
not yet thought of my departure and would explain my business
to him if he would accord me an opportunity of doing so in private.
The afternoon of the 14th was named. , TT . ^ „
On the 14th on arrival at the Arg, I found His Excellency m
the same garden and similarly surrounded.
On my arrival the servants were sent away, but several officers
and Mirzas remained, and before I was fairly seated, the Ameer of
Ghayn entered the garden and was summoned by His Excellency
and seated beside him, _ .1^x1,1
His Excellency then, after mentioning the letters that i nacl
brought, commenced on the subject of his grievances, giving me
a lona; list of complaints against the Afghans of the Herat border
and the Sirdar Leader of a tribe or a polity; also refers to a military rank or title given to a commander of an army or division. Yakoob Khan, and defending his own conduct
towards them and calling on his officers to witness that he had
borne patiently many insults that he could have punished, and
had always forbidden and discouraged retaliations.
Seeing that no good could result from continuing a discussion
commenced in such a tone and before an audience now increased
to ten or twelve, I replied that my business had no direct connexion
with Afghanistan, and, abstaining from any further recurrence to
that subject, took leave as soon as I could do so. His Excellency s
manner, though excited, was never throughout anything but polite,
and he rose to receive me and shook hands at parting with better
grace than I had anticipated.
Illif