File 1329/1910 'Persia: Imperial Bank (Seistan Branch)' [‎21r] (45/343)

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Cs.
bility for this rests with me or Mr. McMurray, I refrain from saying more on
this the Branoh Mana ge r is now prepared to do, as shown by the
correspondence, is— . - , » • t
Sftf.SStttfSii - ”‘* u « t'””'
purchase and 25 per cent, of the estimated cost of carriage.
(2) To pass on orders from Indian and English buyers of local (Pcrsi )
products.^ ^ regponsibiUty is declined as regards the execution of the
° rde it is of course something that the Bank will undertake the work at all,
hut since the chief difficulty of Persian traders in dealing with foreign
countries is in obtaining reliable Agents, it would have been very much more
Satisfactory if the Branch Manager had seen his way to accepting indents and
hfmself wranring to get them executed instead of merely passing them on.
Tim nb fct ions' ur-ed by Mr. McMurray to this course appear chiefly to turn
on its^otheln < ’ U “ banking ” and the fact that he lacks the expert knowledge
?hat would be necessary to select goods. The former does no seem to me to
•l slinnld rarrv in Seistan, while the lattei difficulty
couhl'easily be removed by the Manager employing people who possessed the
requiredjualon ^ o1 ,j ection9) it will he seen from Mr. McMurray’s final
letter of the 27th July 1908, that he disagrees with me as to the importance
nf the Aaency question and indeed holds that no assistance or organisation of
kind suggested is advisable, apparently thinking that Persian buyers and
English manufacturers should correspond with one another direct, or that
Pers an traders shonld send their Agents to India The impossibility of
business being carried on by means of correspondence between firms n (say)
Biriaud and Manchester is obvious, if for no other reasons than the time
letters take in the post and the fact that Birjand traders who generally have
bu small businesses 1 , require consignments of mixed goods The expense o
sending special agents to India puts this plan out of the power of most
Biriand Traders. The very fact of one trader having recourse to such a
means itself indicates the need for an Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. , for it is superfluous to point
out the waste of labour and money that would be involved in eaca trader
sending an Agent to India. The suggestion becomes still more absurd if
applied to traders wishing to import goods from England, ihe policy of
laisser faire, which Mr. McMurray advocates in this matter would in short
lead to the complete ascendency of Russian trade in these parts.
Mr. McMurray himself till recently held a different opinion about the
Talue of Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. to wbat he does now. In a letter to me dated 3id May 1907,
he wrote :— . , ,
“ Russian trade on the other hand is pushed m a most energetic and
methodical manner, on the slow but sure, small protit and quick return
nrinciple. They have Agents in almost every village who are supplied with
goods P from the Husseinabad Emporium ($.<?., the Russian Bank) to the value of
Tomans 10,000 Persian dinars, or a gold coin of that value. 1,000 or 5,000 according to the size and importance of the village,
all that is asked of them being a deposit of 20 per cent, or failing that two
guarantors known to the Russian Bank. It stands to reason therefore that
with these Agents scattered all over the Province and such facilities granted
them Russian trade must be vastly superior to British Indian so long as tho
latter continues to be in the hands of the people I have mentioned.
Mv opinion is that if our trade in these Provinces is to be pushed, the best
I means'of doing so is by the establishment of an importing and exporting
A^enov, i.e., cue that will undertake to buy from samples. The Imperial
Bank having offices here and in England, is of all means ready to hand, m
the best position to transact such a business; and in view of the special
circumstances of the Branch in Seistan, I think it not unreasonable to expect
them to do so.