‘Confidential. Persia’ [‎496r] (41/112)

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1892.
Secret E., June 1892, Nos. 244-252, Proceeding
No. 252.
October 1897.
^ Secret E., February 1898» No». 1-23, Proceeding
39
(3) The Customs of Southern Persia.
The question of the alienation of the
customs revenue of the southern ports of
Persia first arose in 1892 in connection
with a proposed Russian loan to enable the
Persian Government to meet the compensa
tion due to the Persia Tobacco Concession.
Lord Salisbury instructed the British
Minister at Tehran as follows: —
The Marquis of Salisbury to SirF. LascELLEs.
(Telegram ) 22nd April 1892.
“ You should inform the Amin-es-Sultan that
any aet by which the Shah hands over to a
foreign Government his control over the customs
revenue of the southern ports of Persia would be
an alienation of his sovereign rights, to which Her
Majesty’s Government would be justified in ob
jecting. Y< u should state that it will be your
duty formally to protest against the validity of any
such act.”
2 The same view was held by His Lord-
ship in 1897, when it was rumoured that
the Persian Government were negotiating
a loan with Messrs. Oppenheim’s Branch
Bank at the Hague, and the Hon’ble Mr.
C. Hardinge, then Charge d’Affaires at
Tehran, was instructed to represent to the
Shah that it would be a grave error of
policy to pledge to foreign financiers the
customs revenues of the Southern Persian
ports. Accordingly, in a note to which
a memorandum was annexed, he requested
an assurance from the Persian Government
that, under no circumstances whatever,
would the control of the customs of
Southern Persia be ceded to a foreign
power. The memorandum was as follows,
but it may be noted that the expression
“ control over the customs revenue of the
southern ports ” was altered in the
Persian text of the memorandum to
“ control over the revenues of the customs
of Southern Persia.'*
The Hon’ble Mr. C. Hardinge to the Amin-ed-
Dowleh.
TeAran, 16th Octoler 1897.
il I had the honour to communicate to Her
Majesty’s Government the information given to
me by His Excellency the Mushir-ed-Dowleh res
pecting the foreign loan which the Persian Gov
ernment are at present negotiating.
“ I have now been instructed by Her Majesty’s
Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
to represent to His Imperial Majesty the Shah
and His Imperial Majesty’s Minister that it
would be a grave error of policy to pledge to
foreign financiers the customs revenues of the
Southern Persian ports. Any default in payment
of interest would be likely to result in a claim by
the Government to which such financiers belong
to interfere in the administration and control of
the customs.
“ I am also to state that, in such an eventuality,
it would be the duty of Her Majesty’s representa
tive to protest against the validity of any act by