'SUMMARY OF THE PRINCIPAL EVENTS AND MEASURES OF THE VICEROYALTY OF HIS EXCELLENCY LORD CURZON OF KEDLESTON, VICEROY AND GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF INDIA IN THE FOREIGN DEPARTMENT. I. JANUARY 1899-APRIL 1904. II. DECEMBER 1904-NOVEMBER 1905. VOLUME IV. PERSIA AND THE PERSIAN GULF.' [‎95r] (194/386)

as above shown by Messrs. Lynch and Co. and the Isfahan-Tehran road worked
by another British (Transport) Company. The entire route from the sea to the
Persian capital was in this manner brought directly or indirectly under British
control.
18. Messrs. Lynch & Co. were energetic in pushing this new trade route
to Tehran which is not only much shorter than the old Bushire-Shiraz
route but also much cheaper. Goods by the latter took a month to reach the
capital while 15 days was the maximum by the Ahwaz-Ispahan route.
19. But the efforts of the Russians to capture the trade of Central Persia were
not discouraged. In September 1901, Sir A. Hardinge reported, on the authority
of the Manager of the Russian Banque d’Escompte, that on completion of the
railway from Erivan to Julfa in June 1905, it was intended to establish a ser
vice of motor cars on the Julfa-Tabriz (Russian) road, to link up the capital of
Azerbaijan with the Russian railway system. This report received confirma
tion in J une 1905 when information reached India that the Russian Govern
ment had decided to inaugurate a service of motorcars for Russian goods on the
Resht-Tehran, Kazvin-Hamadan, and Julfa-Tabriz-Kazvin roads which were
worked by Russian companies. It was clear that if the scheme succeeded goods
brought up in this way to Tehran would be able to reach Ispahan, Sultanabad
{via Hamadan) and all the other neighbouring markets in Central Persia in
half the time and half as cheaply as they could do vid Ahwaz and Bushire
so that the blow dealt to British trade and shipping interests connected with
it in Persia w ould be serious.
Lord Curzon felt that it was imperative to make some counter-move.
Enquirv wans made from the minister whether it w r ould be possible to start
a British Motor Car service from Tehran to Shiraz and as to who held the
road concession from Ispahan to Shiraz. In Sir A. Hardinge’s opinion the
proposed service w r as possible, no one holding the concession for the Ispahan-
Shiraz road, and he recommended to the British Foreign Office that until the
Persian Government could pacify Luristan and thus enable the Persian Trans
port Company to realise its concession they should allow' it to work the
Ispahan-Shiraz road. The Government of India proposed, however, to recom
mend to His Majesty’s Government an immediate demand for the construction
of a road from Bunder Abbas to Bam with the right to make extensions to
Seistan and to use motor oars at discretion. This scheme seemed preferable to
the Tehran-Shiraz proposal as the road from the latter place to the sea coast
was most difficult owing to the mountainous nature of the country.
Assuming, however, the proposed road concession obtainable, there was
still a difficulty as to the use of motor cars on it. In 1904), the Sani-ed-
Dowleh, a Persian magnate, obtained from the Shall a monopoly for 20
years for running motor ears throughout Persia, but his right to exercise
any monopoly on the roads constructed and worked by Russian Companies
was contested by the Russian Einance Ministry, on the ground that his conces
sion could not cancel rights previously conceded to them. The Sani-ed-
Dowleh acquiesced in this view partially. It w’as possible therefore that he
might come to an arrangement with the Russians either to allow them to run
their cars on the southern road or run his cars on those roads in conjunction,
with them. Either would result in Russian goods being speedily placed in the
mai'kets of the south to the detriment of British trade. The views of Major
Sykes, for many years Consul at Kerman, w'ere strongly in favour of the road,
scheme as he considered that, from the geographical, political and commercial
aspect, the Bunder Abbas-Regan-Bam route was the best in Persia. Erorn
Regan he considered that there would be easy access to Seistan and Central
Persia* Mr. Newcomen, who had lately been over the ground, confirmed this,
opinion, and Lord Curzon thought that these proposals which had certain
political merits and which fitted in with the ideas of strategists should be pursued
with as much energy as possible. He telegraphed therefore to the Secretary of
State on the 19th August 1U)5 that the information in possession of the Gov
ernment of India pointed to the fact that the Persian Government had ac
quiesced in the claim of the Russians to share the Sani-ed-Dowleh’s motor
car monoply on roads for which they hold concessions. Applying this.