Manuscript of Persia and the Persian Question (Continued) [‎211r] (421/690)

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steamers of the British
India Company and the Bombay and Persia Com
pany trade from Bombay, carrying cargoes from
India to the Turkish port of feuoowh. Two busi
ness houses—Messrs. Darby, Andrews, and Co.,
of Bagdad, and a native merchant or liussorah-
nameclAsfar, who charters vessels on a large scale—
also run steamers direct from London to -Bussorah.
There thegoodsare transshipped into the capacious
river boats of the Euphrates and Tigris Steam
Navigation Company (Messrs. Lyncl^ a Brothers)or
into those of a Turkish company, running on the
Tigris between Baaserah and Bagdad. There are at
present two English and foiir Turkish boats
engaged in this service. On these boats the goods
are conveyed to Bagdad, where, after passing
through the Oustom-liouse, merchandise in transit
for Persia proceeds by the caravan route which
crosses the Turco-Persian frontier at Khantkin,
and continues by way of Kermanshah and llama-
dan to Teheran, a distance of««B=Sf#^»milos,
and a caravan journey of 28 days. JKermanshah
and Ham ad an are both the capitals of populous
districts and the distributing centres of a wide
area. Por articles from Europe of uncommon bulk
or value, such as carriages, pianos, and the like,
whose destination is Teheran, this is the favour
ite road of entry into Persia, owing to its shortei
duration, and bo its immunity from the perilous
Ratals of the Bushire-Shiraz line. Merchandise
travelling by this route has to pass two Custom
houses, Turkish and Persian, though the former
is more to be feared for the artificial delays which
it delights to enforce, than for the severity of its
tariffs, 7 per cent, of the 8 per cent, ad valorem
import duty exacted at Bagdad being returned
when the frontier is crossed at Khanlkin. The
break of bulk at-Buseeraitis one shortcoming from
which this route suffers. But the Turkish quaran
tine regulations, which are skilfully devised so as
to irritate and offend, are a worse. One day’s
quarantine isregularly imposed upon vessels coming
from Bombay, even when cholera is rampant in
Turkey and extinct in India, the only motive that
any one has been able to suggest being the vulgar
cupidity that is gratified by the extortion "of
? [uarantine fees. As I was descending the river
rom Bagdad an even more unwarrantable act of
malice was perpetrated by the Turkish officials at
-Buesorah. Five days’quarantine was imposed upon
all vessels hailing from Persia, or that had touened
at a Persian port, not because any epidemic
could be alleged to prevail-in Persia, but owing,
it was said, to the British India boat by which I
had come up from Bushire having stopped to put
me down at Mohammerah—which it was entirely
within its right in doirfg, the Turks having no
control either over vessels navigating the Shat-el-
Arab, or over the Persian ports on its left bank—
although I fancy that this was merely made the
pretext for an act of incivility to the Persians and
to Mohammerah in particular, of the rising fortunes
of which the Turks atBussorahareintensely jealous,
inasmuch as it must in the future divert a consider
able partof the Persian trade that nowpasses through
their voracious maw. In entering upon my travels
I narrated in my -fifst icttefr a fair sample of the
amenities of Ottoman officialdom at Constantinople.
In bringing them to a close I am compelled again
to record that for wanton obstructiveness and petty
bureaucratic malevolence no such people within
my experience exists on the face of the globe.
Figures are almost as hard to procure from Turks
as from Persians ; and no statistics have ever
been published of the volume or value of the]
Persian transit trade passing through Bagdad.
During my stay in that city, however, I procured
from the best possible source the following estimate,
which I was enabled to verify, and which>*-ff-
substantially correct. From 20,000 to 25,000 laden
mules annually enter and leave Bagdad upon
this line. The goods imported by sea for Persian
destinations which they carry may be approxi
mately classified as follows Manufactures,
chiefly Manchester piece goods, but also Con
tinental woollen and cotton fabrics, 7,000 to
8,000 loads, valued at 150,000 Turkish liras :
Indian manufactures, 1,000 loads, valued at 20,000
liras ; drugs, metals, &c.—comprising pepper,
coffee, tea, sugar, indigo, cochineal, copper, ana
spelter—7,000 loads, valued at 100,000 liras ; loaf-
sugar, principally from Marseilles, 6,000 loads,
valued at 30,000 liras . Total value 300,000 Turkish
lims.or £270.000*7^
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