Correspondence and Papers on Various Matters Relating to Persia [‎143r] (287/306)

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(Hear, hear.) Tlhe chairman had referred to members
of the staff who had joined His Majesty’s Forces.
He had met one of them—Mr. Ward—when he was
a sergeant in the O.T.C. at Berkhampsted, and at
Christmas had received from him a letter, and it
might interest Hie meeting to know that Mr. Wand,
who was now a member of the force referred to
by the chairman, was well and happy.
The Chairman, in repily, said that, as regarded
the question put by Sir John iRees with reference
to the Zill-i-Sultan, alii they knew was that he
had returned to Persia and had ibeen appointed to
some position in the south, 'but they had no first
hand knowledge, because Persian politics was a
matter into which the hank did not enter. They
tried to keep clear of all matters of that kind. Had
John Rees heard ithe first part of his -(the
Chairman’s) speech he would have heard the rea
sons the hoard had for thinking there was greater
security in the south now. He wished ho (thank
Mr. Vere (Smith for his remarks. It was a great
satisfaction to the directors to be able to present
what he thought must (be considered a ihiighly-satis
factory An East India Company trading post. report in the very extraordinary circum
stances which this hank had had to face during the
year under review.
PERSIA’S HARDSHIPS.
There was one remark he would like to make,
although it might he oonsidei - ed to be rather out
side his province. He did not speak as a politician
but as an onlooker who had a very sincere sym
pathy with Persia and the Persians. There was
no doubt that Persia had suffered very severely
at the hands of our enemies in this war. It was
obviously in the interest of Persia to maintain strict
neutrality, if for no other reason than that, they
might at any rate profit, as other neutrals had
profited, by the export of their produce; hut what
had been the result? No sooner was Turkey
brought into the conflict by Germany than Persia,
a neutral State, found herself attacked and invaded,
her police force tampered with and rebellion and
unrest fomented and stirred up throughout the
country. No doubt the object of the Germans had
been to drag Persia into the war, as they bad
dragged Turkey, and then to base a olalm, real or
fictitious, that there was a great Pan-Islamic move
ment on the slide of the Central Empires, in the
hope that the effects of that might spread to
Afghanistan and the Mohammedan tribes on the
frontiers of India. Fortunately that plot had
failed and Persia had adhered strictly to her neu
trality, although at the cost of considerable suffering
to herself. When the time came for the restitution,
reparation and guarantees for the future which the
Prime Minister had recently spoken about so elo
quently he hoped that the British Government and
her Allies would not forget that Persia deserved some
reimbursement for what she had suffered and some
compensation for the gross indignities and serious
losses caused her by the enemies of Britain and her
Allies. (Hear, hear.)
The resolution was then put and carried unani
mously.
On the motion of the Chairman, seconded by Mr.
V. A. Caesar Hawkins, the retiring directors, Messrs.
W. A. Buchanan and F. D. Sassoon, were re-elected.
On the proposition of Mr. Vere Smith, seconded
bv Sir J. D. Rees, the auditors, Messrs. Kemp, Sons,
Sendell and Company, were reappointed.
A vote of thanks to' the chairman, directors and
staff at home and in Persia, proposed by Sir J. P
Rees and seconded by Mr. Vere Smith, concluded
the proceedings.
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