Coll 29/78 'Zabul: creation of vice consulate; allowances attached to post of Indian Medical Service Officers in East Persia' [‎9r] (20/172)

< 3 )
6
The
RuBsiaja
invent ion .
In 1906 Seistan was swept by a severe epidemic
of plague in combating which the British Consulate
took a leading part* Amongst other normal anti -pi ague
measures a plague hospital was built near the consulate
hospital for the isolation and proper treatment of cases*
These measures however did not commend themselves to
the mull as who incited the Zabul mob to rgJt. During
this r^t the plague hospital was burnt and the consulate
hospital damaged* There were grounds for believing that
the Russians were not entirely innocent of complicity
in this affair as some of the ringleaders were Russian
adherents* The neglect of the Persians to punish the
ringleaders and their inability to protect the consulate
(aggravated by the desertion of many troops during the
epidemic) led the government of India to send arras into
Persia for the protection of their consulates* This had
to be done without the sanction of the Persian Government
(which would have taken months to procure) and the blow
to their amour propre finally extinguished any desire
they may have had to bring the rgiSters to justice* The
immunity of the ringleaders was locally attributed to
Russian protection and construed as a sign of the ascen
dency of Russia over England at Tehran* On the other hand
the efficacy of the inoculation at the British hospital
was in marked contrast to the a. inefficiency of the
Russian arrangements and was much appreciated by the
Seistanis who freely availed themselves of it* Finally
even the ringleaders of the xsik riot came to be inoculated
and peace was restored.
The effect of the Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907
was to ease the strained relations between the represen
tatives of the two countries in Seistan; though it became
imMszmxxm
apparent/ *.