'Persia. No 1 (1909). Correspondence respecting the affairs of Persia, December 1906 to November 1908' [‎77r] (137/236)

NMananm
117
Bunder Abbas.
The caravan routes were again disturbed during the latter half of February, and
the loads of two donkeys belonging to the relieved Consular escort from Kerman were
robbed near Baghu. His Majesty’s Consul was taking steps to recover the stolen
^ ^ (Signed) C. B. STOKES, Major,
Military Attache.
No. 112.
Mr. Marling to Sir Edward Grey.—(Received May 11.)
gj r Tehran, April 24, 1908.
WHILE, as will be seen from the monthly summary, the general condition of
Persia has been more tranquil, at the capital all the indications show but too clearly
that the struggle between the Shah and the Enjumens has lost none of its
bitterness. I say advisedly the Enjumens, for in the last trial of strength, in
which the Shah was again worsted, the Assembly played a very small part indeed,
and the Ministers, except by tendering and withdrawing their resignations within
forty-eight hours, none at all. The point at issue was simply whether the Governor
of Tehran and Chief of Police, by causing the arrest of the alleged authors of the
attempt on the Shah’s life without warrant from the Minister of Justice, had acted
constitutionally or not. On the whole, the question may be answered in the negative,
but, considering how nearly the matter concerned the Shah, the Enjumens might
well have condoned the irregularity. They are, however, so nervously anxious to
prevent the smallest infringement by the Shah of the people’s new-won liberties that
they insisted on pushing the matter to an issue. _
The outlook is far from hopeful. The Enjumens, conscious of their strength,
presume to interfere in every branch of the Administration, and, with the narrow oi
ignorant and suspicious views of the majority of their leaders, their interference makes
the task of government well nigh impossible.
t tl£LV6 &C
(Signed) ’ CHARLES M. MARLING. * *
No. 113.
Mr. Marling to Sir Edward Grey .—(Received May 25.)
Tehran, April 30, 1908.
n ’ ON Saturday last, the 25th, the Minister of Finance, who, so far as I can learn,
had made no previous public announcement of his intention to do so, presented his
Budo'et to the Assembly, and in the speech with which he introduced it stated, as
regards his proposals for raising the import duties on tea and sugar, that he had
consulted the Representatives of the two interested Powers, Great Britain and Russia,
and had every reason to hope that the proposed modification of the lanfl would
encounter no opposition Irom them. i x a • j i i i jr
Like every one else, M. Bizot was of course aware that Sam-ed-Dowleh had tor
Ions been lucubrating some kind of financial scheme based on the elevation of the duties
on these articles, but until 3 o’clock on Saturday afternoon, when the Minister of
Finance informed him that he was on the way to the House to lay the Budget before
it and o-ave him a short sketch of it, I think M. Bizot was as little prepared as I was to
hear that a definite scheme had been elaborated. He has at all events never been
consulted in any sort of way as to the scheme as a whole, and has not even now been
* ‘ t of ifc
^ The French Minister thereupon invited the Russian Minister and myself to hear fioin
M. Bizot the impression he had formed of the situation after a month's work m
Persia. , met at the French Legation on the 28th, and from M. Bizot’s
conversation I gathered his general appreciation of the position to be somewhat as
follows :— ’ t q
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