Coll 28/67 ‘Persia. Annual Reports, 1932–’ [‎79r] (157/644)

57
(K) Legation Property.
370. A strip of land about 10 yards wide on the south side of the town
Legation was surrendered to the municipality during the summer for the purpose
of street widening. By the terms of the agreement the municipality rebuilt the
wall (in fact a larger and better wall) and relaid the pavement; they also paid
for the land at the nominal rate of 25 rials a zar ordinarily paid to expropriated
landowners. The sum thus realised was sufficient to cover the expense of
rebuilding the only one of the Legation houses affected by the change.
371. In the meantime the municipality had, through the Ministry for
Foreign Affairs, asked in a rather peremptory manner for the surrender of a
similar strip on the west side of the Legation, which was also needed for street
widening. The surrender of this strip would have involved the virtual rebuilding
of the gate-house and the oriental secretary’s and military attache’s houses, and
the municipality were told that the change could not possibly take place that
summer and that His Majesty’s Government would be asked whether it could
take place at all.
372. His Majesty’s Government decided that it would be undesirable to
refuse altogether, especially if the street widening were a genuine attempt at
improving the town; but that they had already surrendered enough land at a
courtesy price, and that this time they would require the full market price of the
land surrendered, about 110 rials a zar, as well as a sum large enough to cover
all the rebuilding which would be involved. In addition, the municipality would
have to rebuild the wall and relay the pavement. These terms had not been
communicated to the municipality before the end of the year.
373. The German and Belgian Legations had previously been asked to
surrender a strip about 7 yards wide on the front of their properties, both of
which are situated on the other side of the street from His Majesty’s Legation.
They replied that the surrender of a strip of any width would completely ruin
their properties, the houses being built right up to the street, but that they would
gladly move out altogether if the Persian Government would give them the money
with which to secure suitable quarters elsewhere. The municipality thereupon
abandoned the idea of widening that side of the street.
(L) Missionaries.
Church Missionary Society.
374. The number of boys enrolled in the middle school of the Stuart
Memorial College was 137 in 1933, as compared with 166 in 1931, but there was a
large increase in Persian boys as opposed to Armenians and others. The primary
classes, for which the Ministry of Education had given special permission in 1932,
had 82 boys, as compared with 92 in the former primary school. The school at
Kerman had 15 boys in place of 26 in the middle school, and 24 boys in the primary
classes in place of 115 in the former primary school. The girls’ school at
Isfahan became a Persian private school under a Persian subject, so that,
nominally, the girls’ school at Kerman is the only girls’ school remaining to the
society, although their money continues to support those at Yezd and Isfahan, and
the principal of the one at Shiraz receives a personal allowance from the society.
The numbers in the Kerman girls’ school fell from about 160 to about 40 after
the closing of the primary school.
375. In comparison with these figures, the pupils at all the American
missionary schools combined fell from 1,022 in 1931 to 813 in 1933, so that they
suffered less than the Church Missionary Society schools. The Soviet schools
suffered the most, the number of Persian pupils having fallen from 160 in the
middle schools in January 1932 to 36 in June 1933, quite apart from the loss of
358 Persian pupils from their primary schools. The Soviet primary schools have,
however, sufficient pupils of Soviet nationality to enable them to keep open. No
figures were available for the French missionary schools.
376. In December three Persian converts who had taken a prominent part
in a church service at Kerman were summoned by the police and made to undertake
not to preach against Islam. The police told them that preaching on behalf of