![‘Seistan Persia & Seistan’ [‎168r] (344/617)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000001452.0x0003ba/Mss Eur F111_350_0346.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg "‘Seistan Persia & Seistan’ [‎168r] (344/617)")
‘Seistan Persia & Seistan’ [168r] (344/617)
The record is made up of 2 volumes (301 folios). It was created in 22 Jun 1896-3 Mar 1900. It was written in English. 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.
Shah t d ,‘ vid ed the responsibility between the different Ministers, eivi
¥ 0 . 13 .—Employment and Payment of Public Servants.
alone^^^ 0 ^ ntmentS C ^ en ^ ° n r ig^^ family interest, favouritism, seldom on merit Employment.
Government service is a matter of great consideration in Persia, and the staff of
servants is exceedingly large when compared to the field of labour, so large that numbers
ot officials are maintained with pay and without employment.
A considerable sum of money is annually budgeted for on account of its servants, but
fixed pay is a figuie of speech, the influence of the individual being the one determining
In the provinces the payment of the subordinates and of all those borne on the Payment of public
Provincial Lasts is a matter which depends very much on the financial prosperity of the servants.
Governor. If his affairs are doing well, and the demands made by the Central Government
have been within reason, the officials may be paid, if, on the contrary, the demands have
been excessive, the salaries will either be withheld, paid in part, or not paid at all.
In the latter case every individual sufferer will set about making good his losses from
the people, who eventually reap the harvest of the misdeeds of their superiors.
(Signed) H. PICOT, Lieutenant-Colonel,
Military Attache.
Tehran, August 31, 1895.
Paet II .—Proposals for Reform of the Central Administration of Government.
No. 1.
(Confidential.)
The papers on Persian administration, Part I, have entered into the question of Reform in
administration in some detail, and have shown the evils resulting from too great a concen- administration,
tration of power, the effacement of the individual Minister, the weakening of the central
authorities, want of permanency in the administration of the provinces, disorganization
and want of control over the finances, &c.
In this, the second part of my sketch, I propose dealing with the subject of reform
and such other matters, financial or commercial, as may assist the country in re-establishing
its finance and credit.
In drawing up this scheme I have attempted to keep the following points continually Object aimed at in
before me :— scheme of reform.
1. To retain the old forms whilst endeavouring to reconstruct; in other words, to
avoid novelty.
2. To restore the central authority, and to extend its control and direction to every
Department of the public service, whether in the provinces or the capital.
3. To re-establish the responsibility and individuality of the Ministers, as well as of
other chief officers of the State. To extend their powers in the provinces.
[ 668 ]
H
About this item
- Content
The volumes contain papers relating to Persia [Iran], including Seistan, and the tract of land south of the Baluch-Afghan boundary between Nushki and Persia, which had become British territory following the demarcation of the Afghan-Baluch border.
The papers largely consist of printed copies of correspondence between the Governor General of India in Council (Government of India Foreign Department) and the Secretary of State for India (Lord George Francis Hamilton), and enclosed correspondence and papers.
Letters from the Governor General of India in Council to the Secretary of State for India include:
- Number 170, 16 September 1896, relating to the opening up of a trade route between Nushki and the Persian frontier, crossing the tract of British territory south of the Baluch-Afghan boundary, and the protection of the newly-demarcated frontier, with enclosed memorandum by Captain Arthur Henry McMahon, British Commissioner, Baluch-Afghan Boundary Commission, containing his proposals for the management and administration of the tract and for the protection of the trade route
- Number 58, 31 March 1898, concerning the trade route between Baluchistan and Persia, including the suggestion that Consular Agents should be appointed at central points along it between Seistan and Meshed, with enclosures including a report by Lieutenant Frank Webb-Ware, Political Assistant at Chagai, on his visit to Seistan at the beginning of 1896, and the measures introduced for the development of trade between Baluchistan and Persia (which includes a blueprint map, Mss Eur F111/350, f 33)
- Number 163, 15 September 1898, forwarding copies of papers regarding the situation in Makran and Panjgur, following recent ‘disturbances’ in Makran.
The file also includes:
- Copies of Government of India Foreign Department papers numbered 40-58 relating to the Kerman Consulate and British interests in Southern Persia, including correspondence between the Government of India Foreign Department and the Secretary of State for India
- A letter from the Secretary of State for India to the Governor General of India in Council, with enclosed despatch from Sir (Henry) Mortimer Durand, HM Minister at Tehran, to the Foreign Office, dated 12 February 1899, in which he gives his opinion on suggestions for the appointment of additional consular officers in Persia (this includes a map titled ‘Skeleton Map of Telegraph Lines in Persia.’ Mss Eur F111/350, f 187)
- A letter from Durand to the Secretary to the Foreign Department of the Government of India, 24 February 1899, enclosing a copy of his memorandum (with appendices) drawn up in 1895 on the situation in Persia, and the steps he proposed should be taken to improve the British position there
- Copies of a draft despatch from the Governor General of India in Council, 2 September 1899, regarding relations between Great Britain and Persia, including improving the British Political and Consular service in Persia, and the extent of the share of responsibility for Persia that should be devolved upon the Government of India, followed by printed comments upon the draft
- Copies of a minute by George Nathaniel Curzon, Viceroy of India, on Seistan, dated 4 September 1899, including the question of a railway connection between India and Seistan
- Handwritten pencil notes by Curzon relating to Persia and the ‘Seistan Question’.
In addition to the two maps noted above, the file also includes the following maps: map of the area south of the border between Afghanistan and Baluchistan (Mss Eur F111/350, f 300); map of the area west of the border between Persia and Afghanistan (Mss Eur F111/350, f 301); and ‘Route Plan of Robat Nala’ (Mss Eur F111/350, f 302).
- Extent and format
- 2 volumes (301 folios)
- Arrangement
Most of volume A is arranged in reverse chronological order from the front to the rear of the volume (from folios 6 to 76); volume B is arranged is rough chronological order from the front to the rear of the volume.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: this file consists of two physical volumes. The foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover of volume one (ff 1-150) and terminates at the inside back cover of volume two (ff 151-304); these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, 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 in Latin script View the complete information for this record
Use and share this item
- Share this item
‘Seistan Persia & Seistan’ [168r] (344/617), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/350, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100072740554.0x000091> [accessed 15 August 2026]
https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100072740554.0x000091
Copy and paste the code below into your web page where you would like to embed the image.
<meta charset="utf-8"><a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100072740554.0x000091">‘Seistan Persia & Seistan’ [‎168r] (344/617)</a> <a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100072740554.0x000091"> <img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000001452.0x0003ba/Mss Eur F111_350_0346.jp2/full/!280,240/0/default.jpg" alt="" /> </a>
This record has a IIIF manifest available as follows. If you have a compatible viewer you can drag the icon to load it.https://www.qdl.qa/en/iiif/81055/vdc_100000001452.0x0003ba/manifestOpen in Universal viewerOpen in Mirador viewerMore options for embedding images
Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- Mss Eur F111/350
- Title
- ‘Seistan Persia & Seistan’
- Pages
- front , back , spine, edge , head , tail, front-i, 2r:32v, 34r:62v, 64r:84r, 86r, 89r:93v, 96r:96v, 99v:100v, 101v:128v, 129v:149v, back-i, front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, 152r:186v, 188r:189r, 190r:299v, 303r:304v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence