'Lord Curzon's Notes on Persia: About 1889-1890' [‎685v] (1391/1486)

568
JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY OF ARTS. \May io.
about a fortnight, and they very rarely returned
home ■without taking something with them. Ihe
numbers who went there were twice as many as
those who went to Kerbela, which lay almost on
the border of Turkey. If by means of the Karun
river, English goods could be taken far enough north
their superior quality would beat the Russian goods;
but the Russians were very shrewd, and were not so
credulous as the English. They had conquered the
whole of the north of Persia for trade, and when he
was there he found the whole of that part crowded
with Russian goods, which actually came as far as
Shiraz. Russia had a concession to Resht, and
would probably get a railway to Teheran, and
another along the northern frontier. Under these
circumstances he feared the opening of the Kanin
would not be very useful to England unless a railway
were made from Shushter to Ispahan, or Kum. But
the Shah did not give concessions to any nation with
out the consent of the Czar, and he did not believe he
would ever consent. Englishmen seemed lately not to
have been awake to their own interests, and to have
lost their old spirit, and if this were not altered they
would be entirely superseded by the Russians.
Mr. Underdown Q.C., said he could not claim to
have been in Persia, but matters which had recently
come to his knowledge rendered it extremely important
to know what was likely to be done there. There was
no doubt that the opening of river communication to
the point indicated was a thing to be grateful for ;
but assuming Shushter were taken as the starting
point, he would ask whether there was any proba
bility of further communication being made by rail
way into the interior of the country. Mountains
were no obstacle to railways now, for he, together
with the Chairman, was interested in a line which
reached a height of 13,000 or 14,000 feet, but that
was in a country where the people had established
what was more important even than rivers or water
ways, viz., confidence in the safety of invested capital.
Wherever capital flowed, railways would penetrate.
The old pilgrim routes referred to by Professor
Vambery would soon be superseded if a convenient
and rapid means of communication were established.
The making of railways was now merely a question
of so much a mile, and if English capitalists could
be assured that a reasonable interest would be re
turned on so much a mile they would soon find the
money, provided public tranquillity could be secured ;
but that would soon follow the presence of a railway.
He understood there was a range of mountains be
tween Shushter and Ispahan, and another range not
so high between the latter place and Teheran ; but
these physical difficulties were not of much import
ance if the capital were forthcoming. Reference
had been made to a concession offering certain ad
vantages to England, but, as a contre coup, the
White Czar had obtained certain privileges with
regard to the making of railways in the north ; and
he should regard it as very unfortunate if the advan
tages we gained by means of water communication
were neutralised by Russia having exclusive privileges
with regard to railways ; but if we were not debarred
doing so, he saw no reason why we should not also
embark in railway enterprise, which would be the
true key to the future of Persia. To aid in this, the
Indian Government, the British Government, and the
wealth of the English people might all be invoked^
and such aid would no doubt be secured if they could
see that their interests were involved, and that there
was security for their money. No time should be lost
in developing some system which should secure to us r
first,the developmentoffinancialoperations; secondly,
trade advantages; and, lastly, some convenient trad*
route from the point indicated to Ispahan.
Mr. George Mackenzie said there was one
point of consideiable importance in connection with-
the entrance to the Kanin from Shat-el-Arab, anc>
that was the depth of water, which was stated in the
paper to be nineteen feet; but that was the depth at
the bar at Fao, which might be easily removed, and
beyond it there was depth enough for the largest
vessels. He knew several persons who would under
take the removal of this bar if they were allowed;
but the Turks, like the Persians, would do nothing
whatever to facilitate commerce. He did not see
why the Turks should have it all their own way, and
perhaps the Persians, who were equally interested
in the river at Fao, might be induced to allow this
obstacle to be removed. As to the trade which might
be likely to grow up, he could not say so much as
Mr. Lynch, who was the father of trade in the
Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. . When he first went there nearly
twenty years ago he found Mr. Lynch’s vessels were
the only ones trading to these ports from England
direct. He believed Mr. Lynch’s first vessel brought
home about 300 tons of dates, but he found that,
in 1887 , 20,000 tons of dates were exported from
Bussorah to Europe alone. The trade in grain,
had also increased very materially, and this was very
largely a grain-growing district. There had been
famines in southern Persia when there was plenty
in Kermanshah and Hammadan, though there was
no possibility of relieving the famine in other places-
for want of communication. If this trade were
opened up, even Bombay could be supplied in times
of scarcity from the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. . When Colonel
Napier visited Kermanshah he found there some
thousands of tons of surplus grain, having a nominal
value of 10 s. a ton. If the Karun were opened up,
no doubt the trade in grain would increase to a much
greater extent than that in dates. If the Shah would
grant a concession, no doubt English capital would be
forthcoming if there were a moderate guarantee; but
to make it more secure the English Government should
join in it, and he did not think there would be much
risk, as there was no doubt that in a few years
the line would pay itself. At the same time he did
not advocate a line of railway being made imme
diately ; the first thing needed was a road ; nor