'Report on the Persian Army' [‎29v] (58/170)

British officers arc naturally much disgusted with the present
state of things. Commanding officers attend to their sugges
tions or not, very much as they think proper; they hate their
interference, especially when it prevents them from amassing
money illegally; and latterly they have shown considerable
repugnance at the idea of being dictated to by captains and
lieutenants. To obviate the latter difficulty Sir H. Ellis sug
gested to our Government that all the British officers in Persian
employ should be given the local rank of lieutenant-colonel or
major. This was done in the latter part of 1830 (p. 194).
Among the regiments which the officers were expected to lick
into shape they found it difficult to contend with the turbulence
and rascality, the thieving and drunken propensities, of the
officers and recruits. Sheil, after three months’ hard work with
the Shekakis, wrote : “I begin to think it hopeless to endeavour
to establish a regular army.” And later, in a note to Lady
Shell s “ Glimpses of Life, etc., in Persia,” he said
With no power except that of the lash and such authority as from
personal character they could acquire for themselves—no control over the
pay or rations, which were always embezzled, or over promotion, which was
m 3 8 ^ t0wed £ om CulTU P t motives—it is not surprising that the English
officers did not effect more than was done. If they could not enable'" the
Persian troops to contend successfully with the regular troops of other
nations, they at a 1 events gave the Persian artillery and infantry the means
ir^Kian ZK’ nUm,>er " f Afgha “ S ' Ko ° rd9 ' ami
■ was owing jio„-ever, to political and diplomatic rupture
. tbo fust place that this second British experiment in Persia
broke down In the second year of his reign Muhammad Shah
commenced the execution of a design long chei-ished by himself
hLA 0 "™ 7 repU - gnant t0 England, by marching against
Herat. J he growing ascendancy of Russia and the strained
Persia ”LSffa™m'!:i Sim ° ni ‘ Cl ’’,> tl ' e Ku , SBian Minister to the Court of
political and military agents in Persia, and
Sr,pr haH £ _i? ii ,.. .
proUbly t 1f a tti" g Br h iti-K"&i r?h - r'T*! m “itary agents in Persia, and
M’Neill arrived n wkLl' / n Sftah * mtted his capital 3rd July, and
presented themselves to the^uffilmentTt Bu ^ lllsu Pe ra ble obstacles
ai to Herat and liivi'nrr r ^ i a t this time of the Shah’s intentions
Turkomans, he returned discontente.l to T!?™’. t ‘ li " , 5 ’ ea t r a 8 ai,let “' e
year (Watson, “History of PpimIt t 1 i ^ € i e a n towards the end of the
(1*4,11,0 Sliah once ioL^:LohEe°eVS If the
at Bostam (near Shahrud half-wav to Min . He mustered his army
consist of about 8 000 effective inf \ Meshed), where it was found to
and thirty gun* had been sent rt 7 T* h50 ° F mir battalions
November, 1837 the Shah am'v , ln . ad . %ance f° Sabzvar. On the 23rd
following day siege operations mr . 'i 1 A mde Herat, and on the
•and watched by the Shah from b C * 1 + eCte ^ ^ Furo pean officers
lingered on moifth T sZh
> pr ae ot the Shah preventing him from