Page 555 - PERSIAN 4 1899_1905

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BE8IDEN0Y AND MA8KAT POLITICAL AGENCY FOB THE YEAB 1904-1006.
non-arrival at Kerman was no small disappointment to the Parsi
that ocntro, for the amelioration of whose circumstancee His Britannic
Majesty’s Consul has earnestly laboured during his residence in Kerman.
It was at first intended that after dealing with Kerman the Mission should
travel to Bampur and thence ©ta Magas and Kuhak to Gwadur, but <m further
consideration it was decided that after visiting Khabis, Bam and Jiruft the
party should return to Kerman and proceed thence to Yezd, Shiraz and Bushire.
At the end of the year under report the members of the Mission accom-
panied by Mr. Griibame, His Britannic Majesty’s Consul at Shiraz, were on the
road between Yezd and the Capital of Bars, and hitherto had bad a successful
tour.
Kerman suffered from epidemics of small-pox -and cholera during the year.
The former raged for some "weeks in September, and in October was followed
by an outbreak of cholera, but happily the visitation was a mild one and soon
died out.
The frontier meeting which took place at the beginning of the year for the
settlement of frontier claims, met with a considerable measure of success and
there is good reason to hope that the meeting now in progress for the current
year will be still more productive.
Forty-six slaves were freed during the year. XI —Slave
Trade-
There has of late been a regrettable increase in the export of Mehrani
slaves to the opposite shore of the Gulf, both to the coast of Oman and that
of the Trucial Chiefs. Every effort is made to trace and rescue them when
heard of, but it is exceedingly difficult to place any effective check on their
import as long as adequate measures are not taken on the Persian side to stop
their export. Representations made by His Majesty’s Minister to the Central
Government have not as yet had any appreciable effect
In March the Besident visited the small community of freed negroes
voluntarily domiciled at Bassidu, and found them quite contented with their lot.
Not one of them was willing to leave tho station. They have built themselves
huts within our limits and many of them cultivate a small plot of ground, and I
if their means are small and their life frugal, they are at all events free from
any sort of worry cud oppression. !
No trace has been discovered of the Arabs who perpetrated the piracy on XII—Piracies-
the Karachi sailing vessel mentioned in last year’s report, and the efforts of
His Britannic Majesty’s Consuls at Mobammerah and Bussorah in this direction
have been barren of result.
In August the pirate Ahmed bin Selman seized a boat with its crew at
Sefwa near Katif, and-proceeded to sea. He first took R2,380 from a boat
belonging to Saeed bin Mahomed El Mehanadi of Khor Shagig in Katr, off Has
Rakan. He next plundered a Persian boat laden with melons.
A British man-of-war was on duty at Bussorah during the date season as
usual and nothing untoward occurred during that time, but later several instances
of piracy occurred. Thus in December some pirates boarded a boom off Katif
krfied three of the crew and carried off $200. The following morning the
authorities at Katif sent soldiers in search of the marauders. They brought in
three men from Tarooth and two men from Anaaz, all of whom were imprisoned.
Ab a sequel to this outrage, a Persian boat from Tangistan crossed over to Katif to
wimvengttnee on the pirates who had murdered their countrymen. Thev
attackal a Darein boat on the high seas, killed eight men and then left for their

caBP® of Pira°y occurred in or near the 8hatt-el-Arab-two on
Bahrein and twoton Koweit boats. ™
There seems to be little falling-off in this traffic. When
slackens another tones its place. one market Armm
Traffic.