'Adminisistration [Administration] Reports 1931-1935' [‎63r] (125/416)

The Chief Mullah of the town, Haji Mirza Mohamad Reza, ‘ Ayatullah \
incurred the Governor-General’s displeasure because he failed to fulfil the pro
mise extracted from him to make a public speech concerning this affair in one
of the chief mosques.
The trade operations of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company in Kerman have,
however, not been interfered with in any way.
The local papers have been publishing articles with regard to the Anglo-
Persian Oil Company affair on the same lines as printed by Tehran papers.
6. Carpet Trade, and Spinning Mill Project .—The exports of Kerman carpets
and tribal rugs expressed in thousands of Rials during 1932 and the three pre
ceding years were as follows :—
1929.
1930.
1931.
1932.
Kerman carpets and rugs
7,746
13,140
12,079
8,593
Tribal rugs
• „
1,295
913
888
1,200
The decrease in the export of Kerman carpets and rugs is noticeable, and
as this industry is the chief source of income in this Province, the slackness in *
carpet trade affects all classes of the inhabitants. Till this industry revives no
general improvement can be expected in trade.
In the month of May one of the chief export weavers in Kerman imported a
wool carding machine from Germany. This machine is somewhat smaller than
that owned by the Oriental Carpet Manufacturers, Limited, a British Carpet
Firm, but is said to be of a more up to date type.
Spinning Mill Project .—As the cotton yarn used in the weaving of carpets
in Persia has to be imported either from India or Japan, in the year 1931 a scheme
v r as set on foot by the local authorities to follow up Colonel Noel’s
proposal to form a Company with the idea of importing a Spinning Mill plant
and erecting it at Rafsinjan, the chief cotton producing centre in the province.
A Company was formed with a promised capital of Tumans 500,000 one-third
of which was to be subscribed by the National Bank of Persia. During the year,
the latter, bov/cver, backed out because they w r ere not successful in inducing the
share-holders to import the machinery from Germany. The share-holders paid
up the first instalment of 80,000 tumans which amount is still lying with the
National Bank of Persia. At one time it wms thought that the Yezd merchants
v r ould participate in this scheme but later they decided to import a separate plant
for their mvn town. The Kerman share-holders were thus unable to raise the
full amount required, and at the time of writing the matter was at g stand
still.
In May news reached Kerman of the formation of a Syndicate in Tehran
and the share-holders of the Kerman Spinning Mill Project are of opinion that
the Syndicate should take over this concern also, or that the Yezd and Kerman
provinces should join together as no machinery has yet been imported for the
former place either. Failing these two alternatives they would prefer to receive
back their paid-up shares as the money is lying idle with the National Bank of
Persia and the Kerman province is in great need of cash owing to damages
caused to the water channels (qanats) by floods during the year under review ;
the majority of the share-holders are land-lords.
7. Communications and Security. — (a) Communications .—Prince A’izaz-us-
Sultaneh, Kamerani, held the charge of the Road Administration in South-East
Persia, vfith headquarters at Kerman, throughout the year at the end of which,
however, he was transferred to Mazenderan. Kamerani took great interest in
his v T ork and even spent money on the improvement of roads without waiting for
sanction from his Ministry. At the time of his departure a sum of Tumans 20,000
was outstanding on this account and till the Ministry sanction this expenditure,
no disbursement could be made to the parties to whom the money is due.
The -work on the Kerman-Khabis motor alignment which was taken in hand
in 1931 is still in progress. At the close of 1932 about one-half of the Sirch pass
had been made practicable for touring cars.
No new roads were started in the Province during the year under review.
The condition of the motor road from Bandar Abbas, via Sirjan, the
principal trade route to Kerman,_ was improved during the year. In rainy
weather, however, this road occasionally remains blocked for short periods until
the damages caused could be repaired. The heavy floods in July caused a good
deal of damage to this road.
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