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'Persia. No 1 (1909). Correspondence respecting the affairs of Persia, December 1906 to November 1908' [‎65r] (113/236)

The record is made up of 1 item (127 folios). It was created in 1909. It was written in English and French. 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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03
root, appeared to be greatly excited. Telegrams promising armed support against tbe
Shah had been received from Shiraz, Ispahan, Resht, Kazvin, Kerman, and Meshed,
and signs of sympathy had come in from other quarters. In Tehran itself, despite
unmistakable signs that the Shah must yield, as he did late in the afternoon, the
excitement against His Majesty was, if anything, more marked. There was general
discontent at the composition of the new Cabinet, which included two or three
members of dubious loyalty to the Constitution, and the clamour for the execution of
the leaders of the roughs was increasing. The crowds at the Baharistan and mosque
were, if anything, larger, although the Cannon Square was now clear. There was less
firing that evening than in any night since the 14th.
On Tuesday morning the town wore its usual peaceful appearance, except that the
Assembly building and mosque were still crowded and the bazaars closed, and the
Assembly did its best to persuade the Enjumens to disperse. By midday, however, it
became clear that the popular party, feeling that they had the upper hand, desired to
push their advantage home. Threats of vengeance on their wives and families, if they
remained faithful, were freely used towards the men of the Shah’s Tabreez body
guard ; the loyalty of the Cossack Brigade was undermined, and the deposition and
assassination of the Shah were openly advocated. At the Palace there was the
utmost depression ; the Shah himself was in terror of his life, and his adherents^ and
servants were deserting him. On every hand one heard it said that His Majesty
would not survive for a week.
In the afternoon I called on the Russian Minister, and we discussed the situation
at great length. We felt that for the moment the important point was to keep the
Shah on the throne, as the only chance of preventing Persia from falling still deeper
into the slough of anarchy appeared to be in maintaining him. Should he be removed,
there would be the prospect of a long Regency, and all disinterested Persians are
agreed in looking on a Council of Regency as being as unworkable as^ would be a
Republic. Owing to personal jealousies and interested^motives, an experiment of the
kind would result in hopeless and helpless confusion, with a Central Oovernment e\en
feebler than at present. If, then, constitutional government is to have a fair trial, the
best chance of success would be under a Shah who has already had his lesson severely
taught to him. .
The essential thing, therefore, for the moment was the preservation of the Shah.
But we could do nothing here. To attempt to protect the Palace with the handful of
men attached to the two Legations would have been worse than folly. Moreover, so
long as there were no Ministers, and so long as the Assembly and the Administration,
such as it was, were completely dominated by the then frankly revolutionary Com
mittees, there was no point at which to exercise influence.
The same evening Saad-ed-Dowleh left the Palace where he had been for the past
three or four days, and took “ bast” at the Dutch Legation.
On Christmas and the two following days there was a progressive detente, although
the crowds about the Assembly House and mosque did not diminish. I he Shah has
taken no steps to fulfil his promise that the men who fired on the Baharistan on the
16th, and committed excesses in the town, should be punished, nor has he attended the
Assembly to take his solemn oath on the Koran.
On Friday, the 27th, a party of mollahs, headed by Sheikh Fazlullah, who has since
been excommunicated by the Great Mujteheds at Kerbela, and Seyecl Ah Yezdi, who
have been the most prominent propagandists of tbe Shah s cause, took refuge in the
Masjid Marvi on the east of the Palace, and with them were some of the roughs whose
punishment was one of the conditions of the pact made with the Shah.
A few of the mollahs tried to take “ bast” in the Russian Legation on Saturday
night, but were turned away, and on Sunday a similar attempt was made at the
Turkish Embassy, and a considerable number of them kept hanging about there till
the 31st. t , ,
The Shah has remained in the seclusion of the Anderoon smee Christmas day, and
has pleaded indisposition as an excuse for twice declining to receive the Dutch Minister,
who asked an audience of His Majesty in connection with Saad-ed- Dow A term adopted by British officials to refer to local sailing vessels in the western Indian Ocean. leh s piesence at
the Netherland Legation. , n n ^
It has been difficult to find a method of conveying the k_hahs guarantee m a
manner agreeable to the susceptibilities of the Assembly. However, on Inday Mushir-
ed-Dowleh furnished M. de Hartwig with a rough draft of a declaration which we
midit each communicate to the President of the Assembly, and taking this as the
basis we prepared a letter in French, which we submitted to his Excellency on Sunday.
He suggested a couple of minor modifications, to which we agreed, and the two letters

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Content

A publication comprising copies of correspondence, principally between HM Minister at Tehran, the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, HM Ambassador to Russia, and various representatives of the Persian Government. The item also contains extracts from the Monthly Summaries of Events, submitted by HM Minister at Tehran.

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1 item (127 folios)
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A table of contents can be found at folios 9-18.

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English and French in Latin script
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'Persia. No 1 (1909). Correspondence respecting the affairs of Persia, December 1906 to November 1908' [‎65r] (113/236), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/20/260/2, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100041687519.0x000087> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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