'Seistan arbitration case' [‎94v] (4/12)

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1863.
Lord Russell to Minister at Teheran,
5th November 1863.
Mr. Alison
20th August
Memorandum.
to Lord Russell, dated
1865, enclosing Shah’s
1862. No further question as to Seistan arose until 1862, when Lord Russell informed
the Persian Charge d’Affaires that,
“ As Her Majesty’s Government did not recognize the sovereignty of Persia
“ over Seistan, they cannot admit that the
Lord Russell to Mr. Alison, 30th Octo- < t (j ernan( j gaid have been made by Dost
ber 1862. « Mahomed for the submission of Seistan con-^
tt gtituted a case in which, under the seventh Article of the Treaty, they can be
“ called upon to acquiesce in any military operations against Affghanistan.”
A rp, Our Minister at Teheran was however
Mr. Easfrwick to Minister at leheran, j 4 . i j 4 -Ur» 4 -
18* December 1862. shortly afterwards told that,—
“ There was reason to regret, with reference to the asserted claims of Persia to
“ sovereignty over Seistan, that so much had already been advanced in opposition
« to those claims, and Lord Stanley was of opinion therefore that if the discus-
“ Sion of the subiect should be forced upon the mission pending further instruc-
tions from England, it would be equally just and politic to adopt a less decided
“ tone than that used by Mr. Murray in his recent controversy with the Persian
“ Government.”
Then followed a Despatch from Lord Russell
which ran thus,—
I have the honour to inform your Excellency that Her Majesty’s Government
“ being informed that the title to the sovereignty of Seistan is disputed between
“ Persia and Affghanistan, must decline to interfere in the matter, and must leave
“ it to both parties to make good their possession by force of arms.”
1865. The Persian Government were not long in taking advantage of the permission
apparently implied in this Despatch. The
Shah not only renewed his claims to Seistan
under his own seal but took the opportunity
of occupying the province with Persian troops
during the most distracted period of anarchy in Affghanistan, when the Ruler of
that country was utterly powerless to resist encroachment.
1868-69. One of the first acts of the present Ameer of Affghanistan after the reconstruc
tion of his kingdom in 1868-69 was to protest against the Persian occupation of
Seistan. Although after his visit to Umballa he brought Affghan Turkistan,
Candahar, and Herat under a consolidated rule, he refrained from moving on
Seistan partly in the hope that the British Government would arbitrate in the
matter, and partly on account of the advice he received from the Viceroy of
India not to enter into any warlike operations. The views of the Ameer Shere
Ali, then unreservedly expressed at the Umballa meeting in 1869, are fully quoted
in an admirable abstract on the case by Mr. H. Le Poer Wynne, of the Foreign
Department Calcutta, dated 29th June 1870.
The Persian Government becoming alarmed at the turn matters were taking
began loudly to re-assert their counter claims to Seistan. They now argued on
entirely new grounds that—
“After Lord Russell’s Despatch of 1863, Persia had retaken possession of
“ Seistan, that she had not ceased from that
Mohsin Khan to Lord Clarendon, momen t to consider it as forming part of the
19th March 18 / 0 . ec interior ofKhorassan, and that the Shah was
“ determined to oppose Affghan attempts on that province by force of arms.”
And again, “Les armes ont decide en notre faveur, et depuis cinq ans le
“ Seistan a fait partie de Notre Province de
Mohsin Khan to Lord Clarendon, <{ Khorassan • par consequent il ne saurait
5th April 1870 . re i ever de 1’article six de notre Trait6
“ de Paris.”
1870-71. Such being the position of affairs in 1870-71, Persia and Affghanistan, after it
must be said some delay and prevarication on the part of the former State, con
sented to British arbitration, the course of which is described in another section.
The above designedly brief resume of historical events may give some faint
general idea of the political history of Seistan in sufficient detail for the considera
tion of the present question.
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