‘Confidential. Persia’ [‎492r] (33/112)

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31
Hid, Proceeding No. 347.
Ibid, Proceeding No. 348.
Bokhara, and that it was useless to sign agreement
iu its present form, as Her Majesty’s Government
would regard it as waste paper, and Persia would
find herself in the position of having to side with
Russia in order to force us to respect it. I insist
ed on my right to see the Shah, and the Amin
finally begged me to make the application through
the Minister for Foreign Affairs, which I agreed
to do on receiving a distinct assurance that nothing
should be signed until I had seen His Majesty.
This morning at an audience, which lasted more
than an hour, I held similar language to His
Majesty, warning him that he was sacrificing his
sovereign rights, aud adding that Her Majesty’s
Government had no wish to force railways upon
him against his will. The Shah promised that
nothing should be signed for the present, but
asked what he should now say to Russian Minister,
to which I replied that His Majesty might throw
the whole responsibility upon England, and that
Russian Minister could, if he saw fit, cause repre
sentations to be made to Your Lordship by the
Russian Government.”
Mr. R. J. Kennedy to the Marquis of
Salisbury.
11th November 1390.
No. 267 (Secret).
Telegram.
Your telegram No. 113 of yesterday.
I have just learnt that the Shah has signed
Russian Agreement.
(Sent to St. Petersburg.)
I will telegraph details later.
Mr. R. J. Kennedy to the Marquis of
Salisbury.
11th November 1890.
No. 268.
Telegram.
“ My previous telegram.
tc Amin, who has just called, states that aftor
my interview on Sunday with His Highness, the
Shah angrily declared that he would be thwarted
no longer; that, as Sovereign of Persia, be knew
best bow to act in defence of his country’s in
terests, and he peremptorily ordered His Highness
to make immediate arrangements for signing the
last Russian proposal, which His Majesty counter
signed yesterday. The Shah has sent me a
message saying that he hopes Your Lordship will
not misinterpret his action, and that he is ready to
sign any agreement which Your Lordship may
think necessary for the protection of British, com
mercial interests in Persia, in spite of the signifi
cant warnings of the Russian legation ; His
Majesty thanks Your Lordship for intervening to
save his sovereign rights, which he considers has
been done by the rejection of the first Russian
proposal, and by the omission in the present one,
after much difficulty, of the words : ‘ between^the
two parties.’ I told Amin I thought Your
Lordship would take a very serious view of this
transaction, and I feared the Shah nad plunged
himself into a sea of difficulties by his want of
confidence in our support, and that too at the
very moment when we were taking active steps on
his behalf. Amin agreed, but said it was unbear
able to struggle any longer against the will of a
capricious despot, who had weeks ago seriously
committed himself in conversation with Russian
Minister, and whose love of ease and natural
timidity have been so successfully worked upon.”