'Persia. No 1 (1909). Correspondence respecting the affairs of Persia, December 1906 to November 1908' [‎64r] (111/236)

what Mr. Churchill saw at the Palace there is no doubt that both he and the Ministers
were badly scared, and Nasr-ul-Mulk’s own apprehensions may be gauged from his
requesting me to send Dr. Neligan with him as far as Pesht, nominally in medical
attendance, but really, as had been done when Dr. Scully accompanied the late
Atabeg to Kum in 1897, to protect him. This, I said, I was unable to do for the
moment, but I allowed the head gholam to spend the night at Nasr-ul-Mulk’s
house, and sent two gholams to accompany him to Enzeli, whither his Excellency
started at sunrise on Monday morning. A good many attempts were made by the
local Anjumans at Kazvin and Pesht to persuade Nasr-nl-Mulk to return to Tehran,
but he adhered to his determination to go to Europe, and was to leave Enzeli for Baku
and Petrovsk on the 24 th. M. Rabino had authorized one of the gholams to accompany
his Excellency as far as Baku. He reached Vienna on the 30th, and proposes to go
to England.
To return to events in Tehran, there is little doubt but that on Sunday night the
Shah had the game in his own hands. There were no Ministers; the Assembly,
cowed by the arrest of Ala-ed-Dowleh and Nasr-ul-Mulk, had dispersed ; the political
Committees—its only real support—had shown no s'gn of life, and the Shah’s forces
terrorized the town. His Majesty had but to occupy the Baharistan and mosque, and
seize a few of the popular leaders, and the coup d’Etat was complete. But either from
over-confidence, or more probably because his nerve failed—and no doubt the intervention
of His Majesty’s Legation on behalf of Nasr-ul-Mulk had had its effect—the Shah made
no move. Breathing space was thus given to the popular party, and when, to the
general surprise, the Assembly met as usual the following morning, the political
Committees had had time to regain their courage.
In the course of the day the Baharistan garden and the courts of the Sepahsalar
Mosque, which adjoins it, filled with people, the roofs of both buildings and other
coigns of vantage were slowly occupied by armed members of the Anjumans, and it was
stated that by the evening there were as many as 3,000 men with rifles ready to defend
the Medjliss.
I was twice approached during the day by the friends of the Assembly to ascertain
whether the Legation would not in some way or other give assistance fo the cause of
reform, but gave it clearly to be understood that I would do nothing of the kind, and
would do all in my power to prevent the Legation from being forced into taking any
part whatever in the struggle. My visitors both said that their party would not take
the offensive, but would defend itself, if attacked, to the last.
The night passed quietly, though, as during the past few nights, a few shots were
fired in and about Cannon Square. A small number of armed men remained on guard
over the Assembly, and Cossacks patrolled the streets.
On Tuesday morning, the 17th instant, a number of men brought in from the
Shah’s stud farm near Veramin were found to have occupied the west end of Cannon
Square. Tents were pitched for them, food and spirits were served out, and a party of
Cossacks with guns took up a position beside them.
Towards midday some of the roughs left, but in the evening their numbers again
increased, and more tents appeared. During the day they murdered two persons and
assaulted a few others. In the morning I was asked by some of the leading mollahs
and clergy to send a series of telegrams for them over the British wires, as the Shah
had closed the Persian offices. The telegrams were addressed to the Ulema of all the
greater towns of Persia, and of Kerbela and Nejef, describing the situation here.
I declined to do so, as did also Mr. Barker, Director of the Indo-European Telegraph
Department.
A letter from the Assembly was brought to the Legation and to the other foreign
missions recalling the efforts of the people to free themselves from the tyranny of
despotism, and calling us to witness to the righteousness of their cause, and asking for
sympathy in their struggle for freedom.
The Assembly sat all the morning debating as to the demands to be made to the
Shah, and in the afternoon a deputation was selected to wait on His Majesty and require
him to agree to the following :—
1. Exile of Saad-ed-Dowleh.
2. Amir Behadur Jang to be placed under the orders of the Ministry of War.
3. The Cossack Brigade also to be under that Department.
4. The Shah to take an oath before the Assembly to observe the Constitution.
5. Punishment of the men who had fired on the Assembly.
6. Formation of a national guard of 200 men for the protection of the Assembly.