Page 107 - Gulf Precis (VI)_Neat

Chapter III-A. 85
to himself alone—which wish it was impossible to accede to. On 25th July
1903 ho wrote to the Resident to say that ho would in no way accept whole or
any portion of the boquest.
191. Tho Persian Consul-General at Baghdad, probable under orders from
Tehran, was instigating the olergy in Turkish Arabia against the Resident and
advising them to avoid tho bequest as a trap land for them. It was also said
that tho Turkish authorities wero being incited to object to any distribution.
Thero was reason to suspect that tho letter, dated 23rd July 1903, referred to
above, was written at tho instigation of the Consul-General.
192. At tho same tirno the Persian Consul-General went so far as to
request the Resident to give something from the bequest to one Soyyid Karnal-
ud-din (a brother of Soyyid Abdullah Hijjat-ul-Islam at Tehran). To show the
inconsistency of tho Persian Consul-General’s conduct, Major Newmarch pur­
posely referred this proposal to Agha Sharabiani for favour of his opinion.
Ho replied that he would refrain from making any suggestion either nogativcly
or affirmatively; and requested that his communication might be kept secret
(letter, dated 17th August 1903).
193. Hero the correspondence closed so far as the Oudh Bequest, and
Major Newmarch proceeded to work, out a system of distribution as approved
of by the Government of India (see Chapter XVI).
194s. The Mujtahids caused in 1904s further uneasiness to the Russian
Government and tho Russo-phil party at
Socrct E., November 1904, Nos. 29-1G.
Teheran. It appears the Mujtahids had
been befriending a certain Persian paper called the Hciblul Matin pub­
lished at Calcutta, which used to publish strongly worded articles against
the Persian Minister Atabeg as being the chief instrument of Persia’s ruin
and its interests being sacrificed to Russia. The paper onco published what
purported to be “ correspondence with the Sultan of Turkey ” supposed to
proceed from certain Mujtahids. This alleged source of tho correspond­
ence was denied by the Mujtahids. The Prime Minister prohibited the
circulation of tho paper in Persia. Some of the Mujtahids of Najaf also
passed a decree against its circulation among their people. This was attributed
by one of the Mujtahids (Mulla Abdullah Mazandarani) to the alleged imputa­
tion mado by tho paper against the Mullah class. The British Vice-Consul
at Kcrbolla, however, did not credit this information (British Vice-Consul’s
letter, dated 26th March 1904, to tho Consul-General).
196. It was further rumoured that the Mujtahids of Najaf issued a decree
of ex-communication against tho samo Prime Minister but this was denied
by them (see Consul-General to Sir A. Hardinge, dated 22nd March 1901).
196. Mahomed Hassan Mohsin (British Vice-Consul at Kerbella) in
his letter, dated 27th May 1904j, to the Resident, reported that the Vali of
Baghdad had received a telegram from Constantinople and had sent copies
thereof to the Mutarscrif of Kcrbolla and the Kaimakam of Najaf for inform­
ation and guidance. The purport of the telegram was as follows :—
“The Persian and Russian Representatives at Constantinople have been directed by the
Governments to represent to us that the Mujtahid of Atabat have for some time past been
interfering in certain matters which were purely connected with their State affairs and that
their conduct has been looked upon by thorn as very displeasing and offensive. They have
therefore requested us that in future if any of them behave in the old manner wc should forth­
with execute whatsoever is necessary in that connection/'
The words italicized are supposed to mean banishment from Turkey.
197. In the recent troubles, one Sheikh Abdul Ali Merali, son of
Kasim, a native of Herat, played an im­
Secret Frontior, January 1904, Noa. 380-421,
portant, though not a very useful, part.
He was a Russo-phobe and heartily hated the Grand Vizier Atabeg-i-Azam for
selling tbe country to Russia. But he was of a turbulent character, and a
blustering fellow, whose warmth, zeal, and restlessness did not, as a rule, keep
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