"ملخص للأحداث الرئيسية. ١٩٠٨" [ظ‎‎٣‎٨] (١٥٦/٨١)

64.
PERSIA.
POLITICAL.
(Internal )
General Situation in Throughout the year the state of disorder and anarchy prevailing in the
Persia * country has been continuous. The local Governors, finding all their actions
hampered by the local assemblies, either resigned their posts or refrained from
taking any action to maintain order in their respective districts : the power to
do so was quite beyond the local assemblies. The natural result was that the
country was oyerrun by bands of armed robbers, and that trade practically
ceased on even the main roads. In the Capital was witnessed the coup whereby
the Shah in June overthrew the Constitution, and once more assumed the powers
of a despotic ruler. Tabriz, and other cities in a minor degree, have been the
scene of strife, riots, and general disorder.
The Shah and the
National Assembly.
After the crisis of the 15th December 1907 and the Shah’s attempted
coup d'etat, recorded in the Annual Summary for the previous year, the posi
tion of the Persian house of Parliament was,probably stronger than it had
e?er been previous to that time. A temporary reconciliation between the Shah
and the Parliament was effected, -and Tehran remained relatively quiet for a
time. Amir Bahadur Jang still continued to perform his duties as Commander-
in-Chief of the Shah’s Body Guard, but theforce was placed unders the orders of
the Minister of War. A new Cabinet was formed under the direction of the
Mzam-us.Sultaneh, and the Ihtisham-us Sultaneh remained President of the
Assembly.
Dissensions, however, soon appeared in the Majlis. The President became
an object of suspicion, and was accused of having joined the Shah’s party, as
well as of entertaining strong pro-German tendencies. At the end of January
he had a violent quarrel with the Chief Mujtahid, Saiyid Abdullah, which con
siderably complicated matters, and it seemed that his resignation was inevit
able.
J anuary.
February.
The only work of importance accomplished by the House during the month
of January whs a sanction given to the German proposal to enlarge their school,
and the enhancement of the subscription paid by the Persian Government.
The Shah, in spite of his oath to support the Assembly, continued to intri
gue against it, and was believed to have hired six assassins to remove the more
prominent supporters of the Constitutional regime. These men murdered Fari-
dun, a Parsee merchant, who had given the Assembly some rifles, and attacked
the house of the Minister for Foreign Affairs.
The unsatisfactory state of affairs caused by the rupture between the Cleri
cal and National parties did not improve.
On the 16th February, the House voted the dismissal of the Asaf-ud-Dauleh,
the Minister of the Interior, on various charges, and the Cabinet was in conse
quence reconstructed, the Nizam-us-Sultaneh retaining the Premiership.
The President’s activity in support of German education caused much
adverse comment. During the month financial matters were again discussed
with, however, little result.
March,
April.
At a sitting on the 2nd March a lengthy rescript from the Shah was read in
which His Majesty urged the Assembly to insist on the speedy arrest of the
persons who had attempted his life at the close of February.
Protests were lodged against the grant of the subvention of 12,000 tumans
a year for the German school, which, it transpired, was to come from the Cus
toms Revenue, and not from the Shah’s Civil List, as had been supposed.
Hie 1 resident still continued to retain his seat although his unponularitv
was increasing. 11 J
In April the Ihtisham us-Sultaneb was finally forced to resign, and Mum-
taz-ud-Daulek was elected to the Presidency on the 4 th of the month.
Considerable excitement was caused by the arbitrary arrest cf certain ner-
by < th + e Chief ° f J tlie Poli(,e ’ acting under the orders of the Shah,
th, pr rn S T e ma i e . a " aillst what was considered to be a violation of
allowihr wi 01 ! - i 116 lr l me ] ^ mister was seYer ely censured by the Shah for
a eis o come to such a pass, and the whole Cabinet in consequence