Coll 28/39(2) ‘Persia. Printed Correspondence, 1937–’ [‎106r] (211/320)

5
were stationed, paying nothing or only a small proportion of the price due.
Of late, however, they appear to have gone further and have indulged in
brigandage as outrageous as any practised by the tribes in the past.
6 . A particularly bad case was recently discovered by the Fars provi-
vincial veterinary surgeon, an Austrian resident here. The story may there
fore be relied upon.
A band of about fifty of the Amnieh deserted their posts each of which
contains two or three men under an N. C. O. and, unknown to their offi
cers, descended on a nearby village. They then proceeded to pillage the
unarmed inhabitants who could of course offer no resistance and to clear
the village of every carpet and valuable which they could discover.
7. The case was taken up by the military, and a detachment sent out to
investigate. The force does not, however, seem to have performed its
duties with any great thoroughness since they reported that nothing of the
stolen goods could be found. The Amnieh who by then had returned to
their posts denied all knowledge of the affair and none of them seems to have
been punished.
8 . Such a state of affairs explains much of the unrest reported so
frequently from outlying districts and suggests that the banditry may
well be only justified reprisals for injuries such as the above. So absolute
however is the power of the military in the provinces that no improvement
•can be expected until the situation grows serious enough to have repercus
sions in Tehran. Until then the senior officers will continue to line their
pockets, while villagers and conscripts suffer.
( 5 )
\Received on 5th February 1939, with Political Secretary's letter No. 3,
dated 19th January 1939.]
[Enclosure in weekly letter No. 3, dated 19th January 1939, from Secretary,
Political and Secret Department, 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. .]
Enclosure in Foreign Office covering letter, dated 18th January 1939.
Despatch from FL M.’s Minister, Tehran, to the Foreign Office,
London, No. 396, dated the 16th December 1938.
In paragraph 13 of my despatch No. 296 of the 30th August [Enclo.
to S. No. ( 1 ) in F. 143-N./38], regarding the opening of the Trans-Iranian
Railway, I had the honour to report that engineers were engaged on a
survey of the Tehran-Tabriz section of the proposed east-west line.
2. Early in November it was announced in the press that the experts
attached to the Ministry of Roads and Communications were preparing
plans for this east-west line, that it would run from Semnan to Meshed and
from Tehran to Tabriz, and that work on certain sections of the line would
be put in hand in the near future. About the same time the commercial
secretary to His Majesty’s Legation was informed that the Consortium
Kampsax hoped shortly to sign a contract for a network of railways which
would include lines from Tehran to Tabriz, Tehran to Yezd and Kerman,
and possibly Tehran to Meshed.
3. Negotiations continued during the month of November, but it recently
became apparent that they had broken down. M. Saxild had intended to
return to Denmark for a few weeks, but has now decided to remain in Tehran
until a new Minister of Roads and Communications is appointed to succeed
M. Majid Ahy, whose dismissal was reported in my despatch No. 390 of the
13th December, and who is now definitely understood to be in prison. That
M. Saxild is not unduly optimistic can be judged by the fact that he recently
told Mr. Bland (a special representative of Messrs. Lindsay, Parkinson and
Company) that he would be well advised to return to London, as it was
unlikely that any decision would be reached for at least six months.
8 71 ead