File 1749/1921 ‘Persian Gulf:- Residency news summaries 1921-25’ [‎114r] (242/494)

Saltaneh, has reverted to his original position of Chef de Cabinet to the
Governor- Ge n er al.
Mufakhkhan Saltaneh has arrived from Tehran and assumed charge
the Department of Indirect Taxes from Colonel Eramurz Khan who returns
to Tehran.
Orders have again been received from Tehran recalling Eahimi, the Head
of the W akf and Education Department. He has been a close friend of the
Democrats and had assisted in dispossessing the pro-British priest Haji Mirza
Ali Muhammed of some of the Wakf properties taken from his charge.
A compromise has been arrived at between Haji Mirza Ali Muhammed on
the one side and the Mujtahids Thiqat-ul-Islam and Saiyid Ali on the other; it
has been agreed th at the former should not be disturbed in the possession of
the Wakf properties remaining with him and that he should not protest against
the latter in regard to the W'akf properties made over to them by the°Civil
Courts,
The local Democrats, assisted by the Russians, are working very ener>i-
tically to get democratic members returned at the next election. *
Under orders from the Minister for War, 200 troops have been despatched
to Bandar Abbas and the garrison there has been placed under the command
of the Officer Commanding, Kerman.
The Einance Agent has received instructions from the Ministry of Finance
to make no payments to the local Army establishment without the previous
sanction of the Ministry and this order is causing the Officer Commanding
some concern.
The Russian Vice-Consul Mirza Ibrahim Khan and the Persian Mirza of
the Consulate, Hasan Khan, have returned from Bafsinjan where they visited
many people and tried their best to spread Bolshevik propaganda.
The Russian Consul is reported to have distributed Tomans 10,000 Persian dinars, or a gold coin of that value. 20 and an
aba each to those who assisted at the ceremony of the hoisting of the Soviet
flag in November.
His Britannic Majesty’s Consul has received a return call from M. Evetsky,
the Soviet Consul.
Bandar Abbas .— (1st—22nd January.)
Minab .—The Governor of the Gulf Ports has appointed Agha Itimad
Nizam, son of Agha Shuja Nizam, to be Deputy Governor of Minab.
A detachment of Persian Infantry 130 strong marched in from Kerman
on the 23rd January. They were received by the Deputy Governor and the
leading officials and merchants and have been quartered in a house outside the
town about 300 yards from the Consulate. Their equipment and drill appear
to be borrowed partly from the Swedish Gendarmerie and partly from the
South Persia Rifles.
Twenty-seven donkeys are reported to have been robbed near Kamanjir by
followers of Juma Beg and the Deputy Governor has imprisoned some of
Juma Beg’s men as a security against the recovery of the stolen property.
With the consent of the Deputy Governor, the Consulate Mirza has
obtained possession of a Mark III Lee-Enfield Government rifle which has
been deposited in the Consulate with the Deputy Governor’s knowledge and
approval ; it was apparently brought in for sale from Ear.
Heavy rain—the first this winter— fell on the 17th January ; there is still
a chance for the crops if there is another good fall.
Mekran .—Mir Barkat arrived in Jask on the 11th January, called on the
Assistant Superintendent of Telegraphs, and was accorded a suitable reception.
Colonel Smith, Commanding Troops in the Gulf Ports, who happened to be in
Jask on tour, returned the visit in company with the Assistant Superintendent
Jask, and received a cordial reception from Mir Barkat.
One Morad is reported to have set out with five slaves in a dhow A term adopted by British officials to refer to local sailing vessels in the western Indian Ocean. en route
for the Batna Coast.