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File 6/1912 Part 1 'Persia: Shiraz affairs; attack on Mr Smart; Swedish gendarmerie' [413r] (319/472)
The record is made up of 1 item (236 folios). It was created in Jan 1912-Jun 1912. It was written in English and French. 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.
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I
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Sir,
P. 232. (Immediate).
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.
, Whitehall,
London, S.W.,
, , 25th January 1912.
Vith reference to this Office letter of the 1st January last, I am
; ed to forward, for the information of the Secretary of State for Foreign
airs, copy of further telegrams (dated 11th and 23rd instant) regarding
the situation in Southern Persia.
Jt will be seen that the Government of India do not consider the necessity
01 relieving Shiraz to be so urgent as to justify the despatch of a large force
with a view to carrying out the policy of evacuation-which has been approved
b) J lis Majesty s Government with the same data before them.
It Will further be seen that the Government of India deprecate the policy
' , ’ lthc b' awa l which they advocated in certain contingencies in their telegram
^ ecem3er - On this head I am to refer to the views expressed in this
Ofhce letter of the 1st January.
. As rega f ds the alterna tive recommended by the Government of India, it
is or consideration whether a scheme of subsidies—which might possibly
ave been successful when Sir G, Barclay suggested it in 1909—is now
possible, when British troops have been defeated on the road and are
virtually prisoners in Shiraz, unless it is preceded by the exaction of
reparation so signal as to make clear to all concerned that it is something
more than the payment of blackmail. This seems to be also the view of the
Government of India, who further distinguish between reparation from the
Persian Government and reparation from the tribes, a distinction important,
not only because measures that will impress the one will not nececsarily
impress the other; but also because (as pointed out by Sir G. Barclay in his
telegram Xo. 5o, of the 19th instant) while the Persian Government are
generally responsible for the condition of affairs in Southern Persia, and
cannot be allowed to evade their responsibility, the particular responsibility
for the outrages culminating in the attack on Mr. Smart, rests with the tribes.
It seems to follow that the reparation to be exacted from the tribes—as a
condition precedent to subsidising them—must be the most signal. But it
seems doubtful whether the measure proposed by the Government of India
is adequate for this purpose, since it seems doubtful whether the deposition
of the Khan, whose headquarters are in the plains 28 miles from Bushire,
will have a chastening effect on the tribesmen in the hills.
There are four other considerations which the Government of India do
not mention :—
(1.) The danger of undertaking, or forcing the Persian Government to
undertake, retaliatory measures which will certainly irritate the
tribesmen, when a small force is locked up in the heart of their
territory ex hypolhesi beyond reach of relief.
(2.) The difficulty of carrying out such measures, or of holding the
chiefs, if subsidized, to their obligations without an adequate
backing of force. This backing is expressly excluded from' the
The Under Secretary of State,
Foreign Office.
S. 136.
About this item
- Content
Part 1 consists of correspondence relating to insecurity in southern Persia, particularly around Shiraz and along the Shiraz-Bushire roads. The papers tell of the British response to the situation, covering the following matters:
- the decision of whether to arm Shiraz or to evacuate the city;
- concern over Russia filling the gap left by the British were they to evacuate;
- the situation on the ground, conveyed in several reports;
- the proposal to occupy Bushire with a battalion and to subsidize local chiefs to maintain the roads;
- the Persian Government plan to employ Swedish officers to command and train a gendarmerie along some of the roads;
- British claims for reparation from the Persian Government following an attack on the Shiraz Consul, Mr Smart, and his escort;
- the question of providing winter quarters for Indian troops in Shiraz should they have remain there for the season.
The discussion over such matters is mostly between the Foreign Office, 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. , War Office, Government of India, and Minister at Tehran. Further correspondence, included as enclosures, is from Percy Zachariah Cox, Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. .
Included is memorandum on the situation in Southern Persia by J E F, Political Department, 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. , 16 February 1912.
- Extent and format
- 1 item (236 folios)
- Arrangement
The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front.
The subject 6 (Persia) consists of this one volume. The volume is divided into two parts.
- Written in
- English and French in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/10/197/1
- Title
- File 6/1912 Part 1 'Persia: Shiraz affairs; attack on Mr Smart; Swedish gendarmerie'
- Pages
- 254r:289v, 290v:305v, 306v:446v, 447v:489v
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence