Manuscript of Persia and the Persian Question (Continued) [‎30r] (59/690)

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from the glowing accounts in the newspapers 0110
s ago formed a roseate conception of Mohammerah as a
rading emporium, will be disappointed to hear that it is a
and exceptionally filthy place with a ruined fort, a little over
two thousand inhabitants (of whom, however, 40 per cent. said
to have been swept off by the cholera lutrfe yettr), and as yet only an
insignificant foreign trade. In the old days, six centuries ago, when
Ahwaz, Shuster, and Dizful were large cities and the centres of
popular districts and an extensive commerce, Mohammerah was a
port of some renown. (1
Sir Henry Layard, in his Early Adventures —one of the most
romantic narratives of adventure ever penned, and so rich in inci
dent that one is at a loss to understand why the author should have
deltyed its publi< ation for foriy years—describes the important part
played by Mohammerah in the conflicts between Turkey and
Persia in the first half of this century. Attacked and taken by
a Turkish force, but subsequently abandoned by them, it was in
November, 1841, occupied by the Persian troops, who, under the
infamous Motemed-jcl-jRiwleh, pilloried for ever by Layard’s un
sparing pen, had undertaken an expedition against the t^b Arabs
of the Karun. IVhen the fighting was over, the Turks claimed the
territory on the ground that it was situated, not on the Karun
proper, but on an artificial canal which appertained to the northern
littoral of the Shat-el-Arab. On their side the Persians declined
to withdraw, advancing the counter-claim that no one could certify
the origin of the Iluffar branch, which, for all practical purposes,
was both a physical continuation and the natural mouth of the
Karun Piver. Layard himself, who, from his intimate knowledge
of the locality, was employed by Lord Aberdeen to report upon the
matter, recommended its cession to Turkey; but the llussian
Government, taking a strong line in favour of Persia, the English
Government followed its lead; and when the Treaty of Erzerum
was signed, Mohammerah was left, and has ever since remained, in
Persian hands. At a later date it cut a somewhat inglorious figure
in the Anglo-Persian war of 1857, when it was hastily fortified by
the Persians, and was incontinently shelled from the river by six
British men-o r -war. After the bombardment was over, and the
British troops had landed to attack, the defending force vanished
without striking a blow into the desert,(^Now it is little more than
a local mart for the needs of the Arab tribes, and for a limited
export of native produce, such as grain, opium, wool, and dates.
Its customs w r ere farmed a few r years ago for £1,500 ; but as the
duty was levied on the number of packages or bales, irrespective of
bulk or value, no criterion was thereby afforded of the total volume
of trade, trieutenmtt Selby in 1842 laid stress upon the exceptional
healthiness of the place, which he said w r as superior in this respect
to any other part of the adjacent country, to wdiich he attributed the
continued immunity from bad fever of himself and ship’s crew, and
which he explained by the coolness of the snow r -fed stream. This
testimonial, if it be applicable to the river,* which has been disputed
by other witnesses^ can scarcely be transferred to the town, wd
main street is also its eloaem maxima, and w r hich riots in smells.
Nothing, indeed, redeems the place from insignificance but its palm-
groves, which are superb, and its physical situation, which in any
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