‘Confidential. Persia’ [‎511v] (72/112)

* *
* >
eo
Bank. Such a proceeding would, in the opinion
of His Majesty’s Government, give the Russian
Bank a share in the administration of the revenue
of Seistan, and would disturb the commercial and
political status quo prevailing in that province,
which it is equally the interest of the British and
Persian Governments to maintain.
“His Majesty’s Government have instructed
me strongly to urge on Your Excellency the
desirability of sending stringent orders to the
Governor-General of Khorasan to prohibit the
sale of the Seistan revenue grain to the Russian
Bank, and I shall be much obliged if Your Excel
lency would, as soon as possible, place me in a
position to reassure Lord Lanedowne with regard
to the matter.”
The Mushir-ed-Dowleh denied the truth
of the report.
What really was taking place it was not
easy to ascertain. On the one hand, the Per
sian Government asserted positively that
there never had been any question of the
sale to the Bank, and issued stringent orders
that the grain was not to be disposed of,
directly or indirectly, while the Governor-
General of Khorasan denied emphati
cally that any communication had taken
place with the Hashmat-ul-Mulk on the
subject. On the other hand, private
letters sent to the Hashmat-ul-Mulk from
Meshed came into the hands of Colonel
McMahon, proving that the sale was
actually being negotiated on behalf of the
Russian Bank by the Governor-General’s
Vizier through the Rais-ul-Tujjar.
In January 1904, an Agent of the
Muavvin-ul-Tujjar passed through Turbat
on his way to Seistan to take over the
grain, hut the Prime Minister persisted
in his assertion that no wheat had been
sold to the Bank, although he admitted
they had been given permission the
previous summer to export some 150 or
200 kharwars of barley—an explanation,
which, though quite inadequate to ac
count for what was now going on, was of
interest in view of the rigid prohibition of
exports in the case of travellers for India
bv the Nushki trade route.
Meanwhile evidence continued to ac
cumulate that the sale had actually been
carried out, and that delivery would be
taken unless peremptory orders were
received from Tehran prohibiting it; and on
21 st March one Abdul Karim, an Agent of
the Muavvin-ul-Tujjar arrived at Nasrat-
abad where he was met by the Manager of
the Seistan Branch of the Russian Bank,
and housed in the residence of a Peshkhid-
mat of the Russian Consul.