"ملخص للأحداث الرئيسية. ١٩٠٨" [ظ‎‎٤‎٨] (١٥٦/١٠١)

Discipline of Con
*ular Escorts i 1
Persia.
■ DurinEr the year there have been a couple of regrettable incidents show-
'ing a lacfof discipline amongst the men of the Consular guards m Per S 1 a.
In January a sowar of the Kirman escort had to be dismissed from the
service for actilg in a most insubordinate manner. The man was a Sikh.
In August it was reported that the escort at Isfahan was showing conduct
verging on rnutioy, owing' to discontent with their ration allowance. The whole
detachment was finally relieved by fresh men from India.
Knssian Consular rj] ie on } v important increase in the Russian Consular Escorts was that of
E8Cort9 ' Tabriz which was raised from a strength of 25 to 50 : two machine guns were
also sent with the reinforcement.
Communications.
A.— Railways. ,
Constmctinn The question of the construction of an Anglo-Russian Railway hetweon
Augio Russian Rail- j u ]f a and Mnhammareh formed the subject of conversation betvv n
way between Juifa , R ia x^orei^n Ministers during the exchange of visits between the
King and the Emperor of Russia at Revel. M. Isvolsky intimated that he ap
proved of the proposal. Subsequently the Russian Government communicated
a memorandum in which it was stated that the Russian Government agreed m
principle to a line from Juifa to Muhammareh, and that they were prepared to
enter into exchange of views as to practical details, and also would he ready to
free the Persian Government from obligation to abstain from giving conces
sions before 1910. The Russian Government, however, being unable to furnish
capital themselves, would be ready to settle the financial side of the question
with Great Britain. The Russian Government also proposed to join the line
with Tehran and to link up Tehran with Rasht and Enzali. Furthermore,
the necessity of constructing a line from Askhabad to Meshed would have to be
considered. In order to preserve Russian interests in the north it would also
probably be necessary to examine the question of freight rates on the Muham
mareh line. To this memorandum a reply was given in October in which it
was stated that His Majesty’s Government considered that some mis-apprehen-
sion appeared to have arisen in regard to the precise nature of the British pro
posals. In approaching the Russian Government actual construction was not
contemplated, but rather timely co-operation in ear marking concessions which
otherwise might be exploited to the detriment of Great Britain and Russia.
B .—Postal Service.
The Sistan Postal
Contract.
At the close of 1907 the Sistan Postal Contract was given to one
Pasand Khan, a Russian protege, by the Persian administration. His Majesty’s
Consul in Sistan thereupon protested, and urged that the contract should be
cancelled on the ground of the past misconduct of Pasand Khan’s men,
between whom and some of our Escort sowars there had been a fracas in the past
year. Finally the contract was terminated in April on the Persian Government
undertaking’not to employ Pasand Khan and his tribesmen in the future.
C.— Telegraphs.
Exdmngp of the In a despatch dated the 16th January, the Government of India suggested
Menhed-sistan and to His Majesty’s Government that as it seemed unlikely that a favourable oppor-
Lines' an Tele ^ U11 ^y wou ^ P reseilt ^ tse ^ an ear ty ^ ate ^ ov givi 11 " formal effect to the
arrangement with Russia regarding the exchange of the telegraph lines in
Persia ; and as, in view of the fact that reports received since the conclusion of
the Anglo-Russian Agreement show that Russian control is being further ex
tended over the Meshed-Shtan line, it would be greatly to British interests that
this control should cease at an early date, the object aimed at in the agreement
might he sufficiently secured if Great Britain and Russia transferred informally