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'MISCELLANEOUS. PERSIA 1882-1898: Maps, Government Papers etc.' [5r] (9/202)
The record is made up of 1 file (99 folios). It was created in 1889-1923. It was written in English and Dutch. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
Persia little of the frantic fanaticism and hostility
to foreigners that are rampant in China, and if the
system has been a conspicuous success in the
latter country, I cannot see why it should fail in
Persia.
Sir M. Durand says that the one obstacle is the
Sadr Azam, who now farms the Customs from the
Shah, and makes 40,000Z. a-year by sub-contracts.
But why not square the Sadr Azam by the same
methods that it is always possible to adopt with his
master? If under any new system it can be shown
to the Shah that he will make 10,000/. a-year
more than he did before, and to the Sadr Azam
that he will make 5,000/., they will both be ready
to put it into operation to-morrow. It would seem
to be a pity to shelve as impracticable the one real
chance of Persian reform simply because the
avarice of an individual Minister, and he a Persian,
stands in the way. Surely it should be within the
resources of diplomacy to conciliate or come to
terms with the Sadr Azam. Might it not in any
case be worth while to consult Sir M. Durand on
the matter ? I believe it to be the only method of
really benefiting Persian administration, and at the
same time of strengthening British influence and
popularity in the country.
8. We have tried the experiment of officering
the Persian army before now. It is not the
slightest good as long as the soldiers do not get
their pay. You want not merely British officers,
but a British War Minister at Tehran. It will be
time enough to think of it again, if ever we are
in occupation of any part of the country, not
before.
9. The post at Kesht does not appear any longer
to justify an expensive Consulate (750/.). I would
reduce it to a Vice-Consulate, and spend the money
better elsewhere.
10. Particularly would I like to see some interest
taken in Seistan. It is contiguous to Afghanistan.
It is certain that when Persia breaks up we cannot
allow it to be quietly absorbed by Russia. If it is
so absorbed, she will get to the Gulf. Seistan is a
British interest. That the bulk of it now belongs
to Persia is due to us. I think we might do
something to safeguard for Persia that which we
have secured for her, and which we cannot afford
to let pass into other hands. In proportion to the
interest we show in Seistan now will be our
opportunity of saving it in the future.
I may add that it would be a great pity if
About this item
- Content
This file is comprised of a range of material compiled by George Nathaniel Curzon, mainly concerning matters relating to Persia but also relating to other areas in south Asia. It includes the following:
- Three copies of an official memorandum by Curzon (writing as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs), entitled 'Memorandum on the Persian Situation', dated 17 April 1896 and concerning British policy in Persia, including the actions to be taken in the event of the death of the present Shah of Persia (ff 3-10)
- Curzon's copies of official correspondence forwarded to the Marquess of Salisbury (Prime Minister Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil) by Sir Philip Currie, British Ambassador in Constantinople, which includes enclosed letters from British representatives reporting on the condition of Nestorians living in Ottoman Turkey (ff 17-21)
- Three maps, two of which depict Chitral and the surrounding area, while the third shows the recently delimited boundary between Russian and Afghan territories (ff 26-28)
- A selection of newspaper cuttings containing articles relating to Persia, dating from 1889-1898 (ff 30-39)
- A copy of an edition of the Journal of the Society of Arts , dated 16 February 1894 (ff 48-73)
- A copy of the following booklet: Perzie. Overzicht van in de Nederlandsche taal uitegeven werken, gevolgd door een opgave van de voornaamste buitenlandsche schrijvers (an overview of works on Persia published in the Dutch language), by A Hotz, dated January 1897 (ff 74-99)
- A photograph of General Amenkoff (f 100)
The material in the file ranges in date from 1889 to 1923; however, most of the material dates from between 1891 and 1898.
- Extent and format
- 1 file (99 folios)
- Arrangement
The contents of the file are largely arranged according to type of material; within this system of arrangement items are arranged in approximate chronological order.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 101; these numbers are written in pencil and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio.
- Written in
- English and Dutch in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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'MISCELLANEOUS. PERSIA 1882-1898: Maps, Government Papers etc.' [5r] (9/202), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/68, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100069907410.0x00000a> [accessed 16 July 2026]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- Mss Eur F111/68
- Title
- 'MISCELLANEOUS. PERSIA 1882-1898: Maps, Government Papers etc.'
- Pages
- front, front-i, 3r:18v, 25r:25v, 29r:29v, 47r:47v, back-i, back
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence