'Quarantine control in the Persian Gulf' [‎8r] (3/6)

Officer should be placed, for quarantine matters only, in a position of direct
subordination to the Sanitary Council at Teheran, not to the Persian
Director of Southern Health at Shiraz, an arrangement which would' he
result m preserving real executive authority in quarantine for’the
Chief Quarantine Medical Officer. Sir R. Clive, who agreed that this latter
object would probably be attained if subordination to the Central Health
authorities at Teheran (not necessarily to the Sanitary Council) could be
secured, proposed (P. 5030) to discuss the question informally when oppor
tunity offered with the head of the Department of Public Health, and in the
light of such discussion to consider further the course to be followed.
7. It was decided at the beginning of 1928 that further consideration of
the quarantine question should be left over until the treaty negotiations then
being undertaken with Persia had further advanced. On 18th January, the Tn. De.p.nsi,
Minister repoited, however,- that the Budget Commission had recommended 1927 ’
that provision for the payment of British quarantine medical officers in the . is
Gul should be struck out of this year’s budget. The Head of the National F aS/as 1
Health Department had himself raised the question with the Oriental
Secretary, assuring him that this was entirely contrary to his wishes and
that he proposed to fight it, and had enquired on what lines His Majesty’s
Government were ready to regularise the position of the Indian quarantine
officers, and how long they expected the Persian Government to retain their
services, as by law the Majlis would have to pass their contracts The
Oriental beeretary replied on the general lines set out in para, li above and
that a request should, be made for seven-year contracts
( h ^y ever >t the Budget Commission informed the Director- + Teh. tei. 52 , Feb
Geneial ot Health that immediate steps must be taken to replace the British 2[y p - “ss/as.
medical officers by the end of the present financial year, while the Persian
Cabinet, were also reported to be opposed to their continued employment.
Ihe Director-General professed to hope to satisfy the Commission by
retaining only one or two British doctors. He stated that he was convinced
that some concession must be made, and added that he had sufficient
competent 1 ersians to take over all the posts concerned. The Foreign Office
took the line, with which the 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. agreed, that if the Persian Govern
ment and the lersian Parliament were unwilling any longer to sanction the
employment of all the British doctors at present employed in the Gulf
ports, it would be difficult for His Majesty’s Government to insist on their
doing so particularly 111 those posts in which the salaries of the officers had
hitherto bee,, paid by Persia J In the light of the views of the Government j F . 0 . ,e tter t „ m
of India and the lolitical Resident, the Secretary of State for India ao-reed Mar. 21928 , p. 1032 •
moreover, that the ideal was that the present system should be retained both ™
at Mohammerah and at Bushire, Lingah and Bandar Abbas being given up ' ’ '
when necessary, but that, “ from every point of view,” the maintenance of a
British doctor at Mohammerah was more essential than even at Bushire
although at the latter place, as our headquarters in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. it was
more important from the point of view of prestige.
U. Matters reached a new stage with the conclusion of the first stao-e of
the geneial negotiations with Persia in April. It will be remembered that it
was then decided that an immediate decision should be taken on tariff
autonomy, the capitulations and certain subsidiary questions, but that the
Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. and matters affecting it should be left over for further
discussion in the autumn, the Minister of Court promising that in the
meantime “ no action would be taken to alter the existing state of thina S .”
On the question of quarantine being raised with him in this connection
leymourtache said, however, that in this matter the Budget Commission of
Majlis had cut out the proposed grant for the payment of English doctors
and he was powerless. On Sir R. Clive urging that the matter was of great
mteiest to the Anglo-Persian Oil Company, the Minister of Court replied
that the I ersian quarantine officer at Mohammerah would be instructed to
°u,;° pe O e Wlt 1 th , e , GO 1 offi ® ers of t!le Anglo-Persian Oil Company, and
thU nothing would be done m such matters against the interests of the
Company.§ 8 Teh. te ,.
10. But on the 10th May Sir Robert Clive informed the Foreign Office that ^ “ “ l *
a telegram had been received from Colonel Haworth to the effect That a Persian