Coll 28/67 ‘Persia. Annual Reports, 1932–’ [‎204v] (408/644)

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66. Meanwhile, the Government of India proceeded with the establishment
of a new observatory at Bandar Abbas. The Iranian Government were informed
of their intention and raised no objection. At the same time, the Government of
India informed His Majesty’s Legation that it was proposed to send an inspector
to visit the observatories at Jask, Charbar and Bushire. 1 he Ministry for
Foreign Affairs were informed and raised no obstacle. They asked for full
information about the inspector’s tour in case the Ministry of Posts and tele
graphs wished to get in touch with him. The Government of India replied that
they did not think the officer whom they had intended to send sufficiently qualified
to discuss matters with the Iranian Government, but that, if the Iranian Govern
ment really wished to consult an expert, one could be sent in addition to the
inspector. On the 12th August the Iranian Government replied to this that they
did not wish at present to consult an expert on general meteorological questions.
They wished, however, to engage a meteorological expert to instruct the officers
of the Iranian navy in (a) meteorology, and (b) marine survey work.
67. This was an entirely new proposal. It was amplified in a letter from
the Under-Secretary at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of the 2nd September,
in which it was explained that the Iranian Government wished to engage an
expert qualified (a) to prepare a scheme for the establishment of meteorological
services for the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. and the Gulf of Oman, and the inauguration of the
necessary observatories; (b) to give lectures to naval officers on meteorological
services and hydrography; (c) to give practical instruction in marine survey
work and to prepare any charts of Iranian ports, &c., which might be necessary.
It seemed most important to seize this unexpected opportunity of co-operation
with the Iranian navy. The Government of India were unable to provide an
officer with the desired qualifications, but on the 15th November His Majesty’s
Legation were authorised to inform the Iranian Government that His Majesty’s
Government in the United Kingdom hoped to be able to recommend a suitable
candidate qualified to fulfil the combined functions indicated by the Ministry
for Foreign Affairs as soon as definite information about the conditions of service
was available and provided these were satisfactory. The Ministry for Foreign
Affairs were informed accordingly. On the 25th December they replied asking
what salary and conditions of service the expert would expect. Thus by the end
of the year no progress had been made with the arrangements for the appointment.
Meanwhile, the Government of India’s inspector was touring the observatories
in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. region.
Bushire Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. .
68. In December the Iranian consul-general at Delhi, in a note to the
Government of India, called attention to the publication in the press of an
announcement that Sir Trenchard Fowle had resumed his duties as Political
Resident in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. . M. Nourzad asked that, if this announcement
was due to an error in the Gazette of India, the error might be corrected, since
a repetition of it might cause the Iranian Government to protest, seeing they
did not recognise Sir T. Fowle’s designation as Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. in the Persian
Gulf. No other allusion to the Political Resident’s position at Bushire was
made during the year by the Iranian Government or Iranian representatives, nor
did the Iranian Government refer to the proposal to move the Political Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India.
to Bahrein, of which they had heard in 1936 (see paragraph 39 of the 1936
report). But a number of incidents which had to be referred to the Ministry
for Foreign Affairs served as reminders of the vulnerability of the Residency’s
position. The only case in which the action of the Iranian authorities was aimed
directly at the Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. was that of the complaint about the launch crews’
uniforms described in paragraphs 42- 44 above. But much inconvenience was caused
by visa restrictions affecting members of the Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. staff, and by the refusal
of permission to visit ships at the Bushire anchorage, on which the Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India.
staff largely rely for their supplies. The Ministry for Foreign Affairs proved
helpful in the latter case, and the prohibition was removed. In common with
all consular officers resident in Iran, the Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. staff continued to suffer much
inconvenience from the innumerable import restrictions. This inconvenience
could, unfortunately, only be partially mitigated by the efforts of His Majesty’s
Legation.