Coll 30/9 'Persian Gulf: Administration Reports 1926-1938' [‎304v] (613/1028)

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From the Khamseh tribes little of importance was beard. Tbe Qawam did
not visit Fars at all during 1931 but, from tbe fact that some of the more influential
of his former lieutenants were sent for at the end of the year, it is surmised that he
is involved in certain of the accusations and counter claims voiced in the canital
about past troubles here.
5. Security was certainly better and various brigands were brought to hook ^
notably one Mehdi Surkhi, who had for long given trouble in the Fassa district and
other parts ; he was hanged in Shiraz in May.
Another band was broken up at Mazijun near Lar in March. Only one serious
robbery was reported on the main Bushire road and this occurred in July when a car
was held up near Khush-Ali and all the passengers, including an official of the
Financial Department, were robbed and stripped.
Few robberies were heard of in the latter part of the year either in Shiraz or on
the main roads, where Amnieh posts are still numerous ; on the 35 miles of main
road between Shiraz and Persipolis for example there are five posts.
On the less frequented roads complete safety cannot be relied on for some;
time to come.
6. Municipal and social services in Shiraz progressed. The electric lighting of
the streets was started at the beginning of the year and the British engines worked
well; probably no other town in the country has such an efficient electric supply.
The new wfide main streets were well kept and work on others was commenced-
The completed roads are often lined with empty shops and some of the wounds
caused by demolitions for these roads were still gaping but the work was planned
with care and none of the interesting old buildings were damaged. None of them on
the other hand were repaired and the only work of restoration in the neighbourhood—
that at Persipohs—has been undertaken by Germans with American money and
does not appear to have aroused much interest among the Persians. An Italian
subject works as engineer of the Municipality.
There were no serious epidemics. Apart from the Church Missionary Society’s
hospital, which is to be replaced by a larger building now under construction, there
is no proper civil hospital, the military having acquired the two buildings given by
Persians in the past for use as hospitals. A new and comparatively enlightened
Director of Public Health was appointed in the summer.
Education remained in charge of Mirza Abul Qasim Khan Fuzuyat and the
Persian schools are using less antiquated methods even if their teaching is still super
ficial. The Church Missionary Society’s school for girls was well attended by the
children of leading Persians but considerable interference from unintelligent ins
pectors had to be borne. English is widely spoken in Shiraz owing to commercial
connection with the Brit sh Empire ; even at the National Bank here English is,
after Persian, the most used language.
Two clean looking hotels were opened and also a fine new cinema. The back
wardness, though perhaps not the lack of sence, of Shiraz is somewhat shown by
the fact that men ana women are not yet allowed to attend the cinemas at the same
time ; in other places in Persia the sexes are no longer separated in this way.
7. Outside the main towns the only representatives of a beneficient government
who come into close touch with the people are the tax collectors and the military.
The conditions of life in the villages have hardly changed for the better. The
improvements to the main roads only affect them in that their animals are often,
in more senses than one, driven off the main routes by motor transport.
The road to Bushire was worked on and considerable widening was completed
on a number of parts of the narrow passes. Work was continued to make the road
from Kazerun to Khuzistan practicable for motors.
In connection with communications outside the towns mention must he made of
the departure in March of the officials of the Indo-European Telegraph Department,
whose predecessors did much to make movement in the province possible in former
days. As tne lines and other equipment of the Department were handed over to
the Persian authorities in good order, deterioration was not really marked by the
end of the year.