File 3852/1912 Pt 2 'Persia. Conditions in South Persia. German Documents' [‎291r] (213/280)

I
553 , datdfc
is Reside® i;
of Britibi
iveralmak®
, K.C.S.I.,
jlf,
■d Grey,
cretary (
.ondon.
149
With reference to my despatsch No. 4 —Commercial of
February 12 th last, reporting an agreement come to among
merchants at Bushire by which they were enabled to control
and reduce to a normal level rates of transport hire on goods
forwarded to Shiraz, and the formation of a forwarding depart
ment under the control of the Local Government advised by
Majesty’s Vice-Consul, I now have the honour to enclose
a Memorandum by Mr. Chick on the subject of the insufficiency
of transport animals on the road between Bushire and Ispahan.
His Majesty’s Minister at Tehran recently expressed the
opinion that Russia’s pretensions to a larger share of the neutral
zone will become the greater according as Russian influence is
given time to extend southwards.
The suggestion advanced in the present Memorandum is,
put shortly, that the state of the caravan route between Bushire
and Ispahan has been much improved, during the Summer
of 1913, and rates of hire have been reduced to more reasonable
figures by concerted action; the disastrous diminution of trans
port animals resulting from the years of disorder is now the
real factor which militates against goods from the Gulf reaching
Ispahan in the quantities prevailing previous to 1908, and
facilitates Russian commercial encroachment and develop
ment from the north....
The question of the provision of more reliable statistics
of the traffic over all Southern roads seems also very impor
tant for Government, and merits the small outlay suggested
in Mr. Chick’s Memorandum which I trust His Majesty’s Govern
ment will see fit to sanction.
Since this Memorandum was written I have learnt of the
proposal of M. Molitor, The Persian Director-General of Posts,
to establish a motor service between Tehran and Shiraz. This
project lends point to the remarks made by Mr. Chick anent
the desire of Persian circles here to obtain motor traction
between here and Daliki, 3 stages distant on the Shiraz road;
for it is obvious that facilities for motor transport from Tehran
to Shiraz, without corresponding improvements between Bushire
and Shiraz would but accentuate the disadvantages in transport
matters of our trade vis a vis Russian trade from the north.
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