Coll 28/121 ‘Persia. Bandar Abbas Consulate Diaries.’ [‎182r] (364/439)

Events of* worEiimportance in the last six montns have made
little difference to the general life of Bandar Abbas* All clashes
seemed genuinely pleased at what was considered a British victory
over Germany and the sudaen end of the war with Japan appeared as
very mucn of a second best to the victory celebrated such a short
time before it* ’
• ; # Relations with officials have been extremely cordial, and it
na* c remained very much oi c ice ture oi the post, that all manner of
/a matter questions which are purely/lor the Persian Government are reierred
to the Consul for his opinion. I have endeavoured not to encourage
this attitude^among Persian officials too much, and to point out
tnat, although this Consulate is only too pleased to listen to local
news and views, the ultimate organisation of government must remain
a matter for Persians themselves. Trie stock of the government and
government officials especially is extremely low v.ith tne mercantile
cles es and these in particular tend to regard the Consulate as the
ultimate seat of direction for local affairs. For this reason it is
extremely necessary* for .the Consul to De on his guard against becom
ing involved in all sorts oi local squabbles.
3. A Governor, Sepehrnia, was at last appointed and arrived in
September. He speaks good English and has had much to do with the
British and is an Anglopnile. His main ambitions at present are to
visit England and to escape from the back water of Bandar Abbas. The
comparatively honest and energetic Garrison Commander, Ghaffari is
also still here, and tnc new Rais-i~Genaarmerle, Salehshur, is
popular and well spoken of, succeeding as he does a stream of arrant
rogues, who never stayed for more then six weeks. Tne Customs
administration is also reasonably 7 * popular. The Finance and Justice
Departments, however, continue to wallow in tneir nabitual mire of
corruption, while the Posts enu Telegraphs Department has become
increasingly inefficient. In October this Consulate discovered that
telegrams sent to Jask over a period of two montns previously had
not yet been received, telegrams from Tehran were received after ix
twentyfive days and the average time for telegrams to Kerman was two
to tnret days, while a Consulate clerk who managed to penetrate the
inner recesses of the Post Office discovered parcels for this
Consulate dating from 1041.
4 . The administration of outlying areas sucn as Jask ana Minab
lias sunk to unbelievable deptns of inefficiency ana .corruption, and
the British Liaison Officer in tne iormer place reports that of the
14-15 officials who iniest tnat umortunate village, only/ tne
Garrison Commander can be said to fulfil his functions at all. Newly
posted officers arrive and maite a show of energy and honesty, but
give up tne unequal struggle after a couple of montns and settle
down to e career of extreme extortion. The cause of this state of x
alfairsiis two fold. Firstly, places like Jask, Minab and to a
lesser extent Qishm are extremely inaccessible ana nence there is no
supervision over the officials posted to tnese places. Hence no
credit is gained for good work done, ana no punishment is given for
corruption. Secondly, Heads of Depertments in Kerman have come to
regard this area as a field for personal exploitation, and nothing
else. Sartip Sha'ari, the former O.C. troops Kerman paid flying
visits to Bandar Abbas "on inspection”. Officers vno o, their own
exactions had accumulated enough to buy tne general off were f&vour«i|
ably reported on, while those who had endeavoured to live on their 9 !
pay were threatened with imprisonment. The present O.C. Gendarmerie,
Kerman, on nis recent visit, by his rapacity astonished even local
subordinates, accustomed as tney are to tne exactions 01 their
superiors.
b. P brighter side of the picture, however, can be set.n in v hat
a o •ears to be an increased interest in tne district on the part ol
thf Governor in Kermtn. His visit to Bsnuar Abbas vvss
reportea to oe tne first occasion on wnicnsnoideroi tne^post
1 or mer * 1 Governor ate S'Tne^uif ££ X wL beiinitely the first
till* /
if