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'Despatch from Sir M. Durand respecting appointment of Additional Consular Officers in Persia' [‎101v] (6/18)

The record is made up of 1 file (9 folios). It was created in Apr 1899. It was written in English. The original is part of the British Library: 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. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .

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16 per cent, in nine years. This is not, I think, a discouraging state of things,
especially when it is considered that the last seven years have been for Persia a very
unlucky period in various ways. Year after vear great tracts of territory in southern
Persia have been devastated by locusts. Then we have had troubles consequent on
the Tobacco Pegie, and a severe epidemic of cholera and disorder following on the
death of the Shah, and a succession of bad crops, causing a great rise in the prices of
food. In Shiraz there Las been such scarcity that three years ago the Persian
Government contemplated importing wheat from India. Export of wheat has been
forbidden for some time, and naturally the purchasing power of the population has
been comparatively low, which has told on imports. And I imagine the plague in
India has had a depressing effect on the Bombay and Karachi trade. Altogether,
though we have suffered and must suffer from Russian competition in the north, our
trade has on the whole increased, and with better seasons it gives fair promise of
prosperity. It should be noted that the shrinking of the Khorassan trade is partly
due to the fact that our goods now reach Central Asia by Batoum and Baku, and
the Trans-Caspian Railway. The “ Kovoya Yremja ” writes very mournfully about
this.
Such are the principal changes which have taken place in Persia of late years ;
but before summing them up, with a view of examining the present state of affairs
and submitting proposals for improving our position, I think it may be desirable to
state briefly what, are our present establishments in the country, and what amount of
money we spend on them. I append a sketch map which will give some idea of the
political geography.
The Diplomatic and Consular staff is as follows :—
At Tehran, the capital, we have a Minister with three Diplomatic Secretaries,
two Oriental Secretaries,.a surgeon, and a Vice-Consul. The total cost of the Legation
is estimated at 16,640/.a-year, of which.India pays 7,000/.
At Meshed, to the east, we have two officers of the Indian Political Service The branch of the British Government of India with responsibility for managing political relations between British-ruled India and its surrounding states, and by extension the Gulf, during the period 1937-47. ,
who are also Consul-General and Vice-Consul, and a surgeon. The total cost of the
Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. is estimated at 8,600/. a-year.
This is paid by India.
At Asterabad, to the north-east, we have a native Agent Non-British agents affiliated with the British Government. , who costs 48/. a-year.
This is paid by Her Majesty’s Government.
At Resht we have a Consulate, which costs 750/. a year. This is paid by Her
Majesty’s Government.
At Tabreez, to the north-west, we have a Consulate-General, the cost of which is
estimated at 920/. a-year. This is paid by Her Majesty’s Government.
To the west of Tehran, at Kermanshah, on the Bagdad road, we have a native
Agent, who costs 24/. a-year. This is paid by India.
Midway between the Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , at Ispahan, we have a
Consulate, costing 750/. a-year. This is paid by Her Majesty’s Government. There
is also a native Agent Non-British agents affiliated with the British Government. , who costs 28/.
Further south again, at Shiraz, we have a native Agent Non-British agents affiliated with the British Government. , costing 160/. a-year. This
is paid by India.
To the east of Shiraz, half-way to the frontier of India, we have a Consul at
Kerman, who costs 500/. a-year. This appointment is provisional. Half the cost is
paid by India and half by Her Majesty’s Government.
The Consul at Kerman is now in Seistan, where it is now proposed to keep a
Consul in future.
Finally, along the coast of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. we have:—
At Mohammerah a Vice-Consulate, which costs 490/. a-year. This is paid by
Her Majesty’s Government.
At Bushire a Resident, who is also Consul-General for Pars, with three Assistants,
one of whom is Vice-Consul, and a surgeon. The cost of the Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. is estimated
at 7,700/. This is paid by India.
The political work on the coast between Bushire and the Kelat frontier is in the
hands of the Director of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. Telegraphs, who gets an allowance of 120/.
a-year. This is paid by India.
The Resident at Bushire has also under his orders native Agents Non-British agents affiliated with the British Government. at Bahrein,
Shargah, and Lingah, and they cost about 240/. a-year.
This completes the statement of our Diplomatic, Political, and Consular estab
lishments in Persia. It will be seen that we employ twenty-one British officers, and
that the total cost is about 36.970/. Of this total, as far as I can make out, Her
Majesty’s Government pay 12,876/., and the Government of* India, 24,094/.

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Content

The file consists of a despatch concerning the appointment of additional consular officers in Persia, from Henry Mortimer Durand, the British Minister at Tehran, to Robert Arthur Cecil, the Marquess of Salisbury.

Durand reiterates suggestions previously given in 1895 regarding the state of affairs in Persia, and proposals for improving the strength of the British position. He also submits further suggestions which form part of a general scheme of policy, based upon examination of the current state of affairs in Persia in 1899. The principal changes which have taken place since 1895 are outlined regarding: succession, government, finance, Russian trade and political influence, and British trade.

Diplomatic, Political and Consular staff in Persia are listed with costings, and suggestions are provided for places where the appointment of consular officers would be desirable, including the limits of their districts and an estimate of expenditure which the appointments would entail. He also proposes to: improve roads and possibly prospect for a railway, utilise the Telegraph Department and organise it for political purposes, grant a loan to Persia to foster goodwill, and check Russian encroachments.

The file notes the enclosure of a sketch map; however this is not present and has not been bound into the file.

Extent and format
1 file (9 folios)
Arrangement

The file consists of a single despatch.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at f 99, and terminates at f 107, as it is part of a larger physical volume; these numbers are written in pencil, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio.

Pagination: the file also contains an original printed pagination sequence.

Written in
English in Latin script
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'Despatch from Sir M. Durand respecting appointment of Additional Consular Officers in Persia' [‎101v] (6/18), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/18/C97, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100037114410.0x000007> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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