‏"ملخص الأحداث والتدابير الرئيسية التي اتخذها سمو نائب الملك اللورد كرزون من كيدلستون، نائب الملك والحاكم العام للهند في إدارة الخارجية. ‏I‏. يناير ١٨٩٩-أبريل ١٩٠٤. ‏II‏. ديسمبر ١٩٠٤-نوفمبر ١٩٠٥. المجلد IV. بلاد فارس والخليج الفارسي." [ظ‎‎١‎٥‎٢] (٣٨٦/٣٠٩)

Persian Government to place a suitable bouse m Busbire at my disposal (they
bad explained that there was no other), that we should reiert tot he origmal
arrangement agreed to by the Persian Government, and that the Ala-ed-Dowleh
Should accompany me from the landing stage to the British Residency, which
should be trelled as my official quarters for the day, and should pay me his
visit there, after which 1 should at once return it to him in Ins official resi
dence at the Charburj. Sir A. Hardinge telegraphed in this sense to
and had no doubt of being able to settle the matter without difficulty. Co.onel
Kemhall was to precede me by two days to Bushire aud to arrange matters locally
with the Ala-ed-Dowleh.
8 Meanwhile two other small incidents occurred in connection with my
reception, in both of which I readily accommodated myself to the views of the
Persian Government. At each point in my journey the local Chief or Chiefs,
including the Sultan of Maskat, who is an independent sovereign, had come
off to pay the first visit to me on the Eardinge. Sir A. Hardinge represented
this to the Persian Government, and enquired whether the Ala-ed-Dowleh
would propose to do the same. The Persian Government declined to pay the
compliment, and I said no more about it, conscious that it was an act ot
courtesy alone, upon which I could not insist.
9. The next point arose in connection with the salute. . ihe Viceroy of
India is entitled in Indian waters to a salute of 31 guns. This compliment had.
been extended to me when I left British India and visited the Portuguese pos-
sessions of Diu and Goa three years ago, though of course I could not claim it
at either place. It had similarly been given upon my arrival at Maskat and
Koweit and at everv point in the Gulf. When I arrived at Bunder A das, the
Persian Governor of the Gulf Ports asked how many guns he should lire on my
behalf. Sir A. Hardinge informed him of the practice that had hitherto been
observed, and he willingly conformed to it by firing a salute of 31 guns at that
place.
Sir A Hardinge accordingly asked the Persian authorities what T ^ e y
proposed to do at Bushire. They had previously stated that I was only entitled
to 21 f,, uns, which they proposed to give me, but they now replied that they had
no obiection to firing 31 guns, provided that the salute of their Governor-
General (which by the British rules is fixed at 19 guns) was also raised to 31.
I had no objection to this arrangement, but the Admiral informed me that
under the Begulations he had no authority to carry it out, and that he could
not fire more than the stipulated number of guns for the Persian Governor.
Sooner than create any trouble, I accordingly yielded to the Persian position,
and consented to ba received with the ?.l guns which they offered to me.
10. These proceedings filled the time until my arrival on the morning of
December 2nd at Bushiie. Sir A. Hardinge had not had time in the interim
to receive any replies to his telegrams to Tehran—since the Shah, to whom
reference had to be made, was absent on a tour to Kum. But no doubt was
entertained by any one tl.at the original plan would be carried out without
objection. Upon arrival at Bushire I beard from Colonel Kemball that the
Ala-ed-Dowleh absolutely declined, without special instructions from the Shah,
to enter the British Residency, or to visit me there. In the course of the
discussion between him and the Ala-ed-Dowleh two compromises had been
suggested. One was that on my way from the landing place to the Residency
I should stop at the Charburj to drink tea with the Governor General, who
would then accompany me to the Residency. This was a transparent attempt
to place me in the position of paying t \e first visit to him. Indeed, in that
case I should withiu the space of a few hours have visited him three times
[(a) for the tea-drinking, (6) for the return visit, {c) for the dinner], while lie
would only have visited me, the guest of the Persian Government, once. Ihe
other compromise was that, although I had all along been told that there was
no house in Bushire fit for my reception except the Charburj, a house
occupied by the late F. O. Karguzar at Bushire should be hastily got ready lor
my reception, and should be treated by me as my official residence for the
day. As this seemed to be an equally transparent attempt at the last moment