'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.' [‎147v] (299/386)

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logical a? well as the historical successor of Sir John Malcolm, who came here
more than once just a hundred years ago; and ho is the latest link in an un
broken sequence of Political officers who have been deputed from India to
represent British and Indian political interes‘s, and to protect their correspond
ing commercial interests in this neighbourhood since the appointment of the
first Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. as far back as 1812. Even then British interests had been
represented here for as much as half a century ; since it was in 1763 that the
East India Company first opened a factory An East India Company trading post. at Bushire. At that time one vessel
a year from India was sufficient to accommodate the whole of British trade. In
1902, 136 steamers entered this port, and of these 133 were British. In the
last twenty years the imports have increased from 135 labhs, of which 117 \
were from Great Britain and India, to 201^ lakhs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees in 1901, of which lo2^ lakhs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees
were British and Indian. In the same period the imports of tea from India
have risen from a value of Bs. 65,000 to a value of close upon 10 lakhs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees . Ihese
figures do not leave much doubt as to where the preponderance of trade lies.
This history of 140 years is without a parallel in the connection of any
other foreign nation with these coasts. Under it have grown up connections
with the Local Governments and peoples of close friendship and confidence ; it
is a chapter of history upon which we have every right to look back with pride;
and it imposes upon us obligations which it is impossible that we should over
look, and which no Government, either of Great Britain or India, is likely to
ignore.
Bushire is the headquarters of this longstanding connection. From here
the British Besident exerts that mild control over the waters of the Gulf, and
over the tribes upon its opposite shore, the results of which I have enjoyed so
many opportunities of observing during my present cruise. From tliis place
the principal caravan route strikes into the interior of Persia, tapping its chief
cities in succession, and ultimately reaching the capital; here the wires of the
Indo-European telegraph, which in their earlier stages have brought Persia into
connection with Europe, which have done so much to strengthen the authority
of the Shah in his own dominions, and which carry the vast majority of the
messages from India to England, dip into the sea ; here is the residence of the
Persian official who is charged with the Governorship of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ports
by his Government, and with whom our relations are invariably those of the
friendliest nature; and under these combined auspices—the British bringing
the hulk of the trade, and policing the maritime highway, and the Persians
gradually consolidating an authority which, though once precarious, is now
assured—this place has grown from a small fishing village into a flourishing
town of 20,000 inhabitants; it has become the residence of foreign Consuls and
Consular officers; the leading mercantile communities who trade in Southern
Persia and Turkey have their offices and representatives here ; there is seldom a
day in which steamers are not lying off the port; and Bushire has acquired a
name which it is safe to say is known in every part of the world.
This development is the mom remarkable because, as you have pointed out,
no one could contend that trade is conducted here under favourable conditions ;
on the contrary there are few, if any, of the conditions that naturally mark out
a place as an emporium or channel of commerce. Bushire can hardly be said,
even by the wildest stretch of imagination, to possess a harbour. Landing is
difficult and often impracticable. The trade route that penetrates into the
interior is one of the most difiicult in Asia ; and inland you do not find a people
enjoying great wealth or a high standard of comfort or civilisation, hut instead
you encounter tribes leading a nomadic form of existence ; and even when you
come to the settled parts of the country and the larger cities, the purchasing
power of the people does not appear to be great. The fact that a large and
flourishing trade has grown up in spite of these drawbacks is an irrefutable
proof ol the dependence of Persia upon outside supply for many of the neces
sities and most of the luxuries of life. Since I first visited Bushire fourteen
years ago I have always indulged the hope that, as time passed on, progress
would be made in all these directions, and I agree with you in thinking that
the Persian Government could embark upon no more remunerative form of
expenditure than the improvement both of the maritime and the inland
approaches to this place.