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'PRINCIPAL DESPATCHES AND CORRESPONDENCE RELATING TO PERSIA CONNECTED WITH THE SUMMARY OF EVENTS AND MEASURES OF VICEROYALTY OF HIS EXCELLENCY LORD CURZON OF KEDDLESTON IN THE FOREIGN DEPARTMENT. JANUARY 1899 TO NOVEMBER 1905. VOLUME IV-PART IV. PERSIA.' [‎8r] (20/136)

The record is made up of 1 volume (64 folios). It was created in 1908. 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. .

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“ The probable result of such action on our part will be the introduction
of a certain measure of administrative reform, and the strengthening of our
influence in Persia, .especially in the south, where we ought to be able to revive
it and make it very strong.
“If we do not help the Persian Government in the manner indicated, we
run the risk of alienating the Sadr-i-Azam, who has been sore with us about
the Regie Debt, and of driving him and the Shah, whose greed for money is
increasing with age, into some compromising transaction with Russia.”
I will now proceed to enumerate the principal changes which have taken
place since these words were written.
The old Shah, Nasr-ed-din, who had then ruled for nearly fifty years, is-
now dead. He has been succeeded by his second son, Mozaffer-ed-din, who has
proved an amiable but very weak ruler. The Sadr-i-Azam, or Prime Minister,
all-powerful in 1895, was overthrown in the following year. He has now
returned to office, but with a shadow of his former power. All real power is
at present in the hands of the Shah’s irresponsible advisers, notably his doctor,
the Hakim-ul-Mulk. There is practically no Government. Some of the troops
have disbanded themselves and the rest are unpaid. The pay of the Civil
establishments is also in serious arrears. The finances, which were in disorder
in 1895, are in worse disorder now. The Sadr-i-Azam has borrowed three
hundred thousand pounds (£300,000) from the Russian Bank in Tehran, but
all attempts at raising a substantial loan have broken down; the revenues,
except from customs, are coming in very slowly; and at this moment the one hope
of getting any considerable sum of money lies in the sale of the Provincial
Governoi ships to the highest bidder. This destructive system, abolished by the
new Shah when he came to the throne, has been revived by the Sadr-i-Azam.
And it is said that this year’s auction is to be on a very large scale indeed.
There is much murmuring throughout the country at the state of things in
Tehran, and the discontent is increased by the high price of food, which has led
here, and there to some serious rioting. Altogether the internal condition of
Persia is very unsatisfactory.
The Russians meanwhile have not been inactive. To the north a road
from Enzeli to Tehran, which had but little progress before the visit of General
Kuropatkin to Persia in 1895, has since then been vigorously pushed on, and
it is now nearly ready for wheel traffic throughout its length. This is a most im
portant advantage to Russia, both from a commercial and from a military point
of view. Even now two-thirds of the imported goods sold in Tehran are
Russian. In the north-west Russia has pushed forward her railway towards
Kars, and has surveyed a line from Kars to the Tabriz frontier, while within
Azerbaijan there has been a remarkable propaganda among the Nestorian
Christians, some thousands of whom have been won over to the orthodox
Church, thereby obtaining Russian protection, and opening the door to Russian
interference. To the north-east the Russians have constructed a good cart-
road from Asterabad to the Meshed frontier, and by energetically encouraging
their trade in Khorassan they have secured a commanding position in°this
valuable market. They have also made use of the outbreak of plague in
India to push down “Sanitary” posts along the Afghan border, in the
direction of Seistan, where also they are trying to introduce their trade and
where they are shortly to have a Consul. Even in the centre of Persia, as fai.*
south as Ispahan, the Russians have shown fresh activity by establishing there
a Consulate on a considerable scale of expenditure; and our Consul reports that
the sale of Russian goods has already begun to increase. I will not go into
detail here, or enumerate the persistent rumours which reach me as to Russian
schemes in various directions, but it is, I think, quite clear from the facts I
have mentioned that the Russians have been working consistently, and not
without effect, to push their trade and to enhance their political influence in the
country.
It is only natural that their operations, and the unsatisfactory slate of
internal affairs, should have had a depressing effect upon British trade,
3

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Content

Published by Superintendent Government Printing, India, Calcutta.

The volume consists of a draft Part IV to the Summary of the Principal Events and Measures of the Viceroyalty of His Excellency Lord Curzon of Keddleston, Viceroy and Governor-General of India in the Foreign Department. I. January 1899-April 1904. II. December 1904-November 1905. Volume IV. Persia and the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. (Parts I-III), published by GC [Government Central] Press, Simla, 1907 [Mss Eur F111/531-534].

The volume includes a letter from the Foreign Department, Government of India, to Lord Curzon, dated 27 August 1908, stating that an examination of their records had shown that these were the essential despatches, and hoping that the volume would answer Lord Curzon's purpose.

The despatches and correspondence cover the period 1899-1905, and include correspondence from the Secretary of State for India, and HBM's Minister at Tehran, and cover the question of the appointment of an additional consular officer in Persia, 1899 (with map); relations between Britain and Persia; the protection of British interests in Persia; British policy on Persia; the political and financial situation in Persia; and the threat of Russian encroachment.

Extent and format
1 volume (64 folios)
Arrangement

The despatches and correspondence are arranged in chronological order from the front to the rear of the volume. There is a list of contents on folio 6, giving details of name and date of paper, subject, and page number.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 66; 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. Pagination: the volume also contains an original manuscript pagination sequence.

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English in Latin script
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'PRINCIPAL DESPATCHES AND CORRESPONDENCE RELATING TO PERSIA CONNECTED WITH THE SUMMARY OF EVENTS AND MEASURES OF VICEROYALTY OF HIS EXCELLENCY LORD CURZON OF KEDDLESTON IN THE FOREIGN DEPARTMENT. JANUARY 1899 TO NOVEMBER 1905. VOLUME IV-PART IV. PERSIA.' [‎8r] (20/136), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/535, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100083163671.0x000015> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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