Page 169 - PERSIAN 9 1931_1940

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ccllency the Governor, Bushire, by the Honourable Liout.-Colonel Gordon
Loch, I.A.
The newly appointed Senior Naval Oniccr, Captain J. V. Crcagh, D.S.O.,
in H.M.S. “ Shoreham ” and II. M. Sloops Fowey “ Lupin n and
Bideford ” visited Bushirc during the year.

SECTION 3.
Local Administra'iion.
Governor 0/ the Southern Ports and Apanages.—Ilis Excellency Aqai Mirza
Ali Asghar Khan Taliqani was summoned peremptorily to Tehran on the 2I$t
October. He handed over his duties to Naib Abdullah Khan Minjal the Acting
Chief of Police who continued as Governor throughout the year.
Taliqani toured the Coast ports as far as Charbar and was away for some
six weeks. He received numerous complaints of the bad treatment of the
people by the Military authorities. He suggested to Tehran that a road should
be built from Charbar to Iranshahr (Bampur).
Assistant Governor.—Aqai Mohammed Khan Zand was Assistant Gover­
nor up to July 23rd and from October 21st Abdul Shakoor Amin.
Customs Administration.—Up to the 6th August Shahzadeh Lutfullah
Doulatshahi was Provincial Director of Customs, when he was transferred to
Zuhidan and was relieved by Monsieur Vcndenrydt who acted in the dual capa­
city of Provincial Director and Inspector until the arrival of Monsieur La
Fontaine, who continued as Provincial Director until the end of the year.
Customs Smuggling Preventive Department.—The Customs Smuggling
Preventive Department continued to work in a half-hearted manner. A spurt
to their activities was given in the middle of the year by their being re-organised
and a Military Lieutenant made leader. About 1,500 bags of sugar, a few eases
of matches and shoes and odds and ends constitute the year’s bag of contraband
captured from smugglers.
A subsidiary guard was formed in June under a Captain of Military. The
idea was to enlist time served soldiers, hire gun men and enlist the sympathy of
the Tangistanis apparently on the principle of set a thief to catch a thief. The
result seems to be that smugglers are sometimes caught unless they pay us some
60 Rials for a bag of sugar smuggled which sum is to be divided between the
Guard and Customs Mudir (Manager).
Chamber of Commerce.—The Chamber of Commerce passed determined re­
solutions with a view to boycott trade with Russians. The main duty of this
Chamber is to. apportion the right of importation to the traders the Bushire por­
tion of the tea and sugar quota.
The amount allowed to be imported at Bushire is allotted by Tehran.
Census Operations were started at Deshti and Ahrnm in Tangistan and on
Karag Tslc. The object is not to take a census in the ordinary sense of the word
but to ascertain how many young men are available at a certain place as military
conscripts.
Economic Conditions.—Economic conditions were a little better than the
year before in as much as there were crops. The mass of the people are, how­
ever, distressingly poor.
A scheme to set up a Spinning-IVeaving-Bleaching and Finishing Plant, was
gone into during the year but its futility being realised the scheme was dropped
in November in favour of a Gunny factory. Apparently a small amount of
raw material is available at Kazeroon and Behbehan.
Education.—The Education Administration of Bushire has been separated
from that of -Shiraz and now comes directly under Tehran.
Bushire Municipality.—This Department has an annual income of 24,000
Tomans. The sum is made up by monthly instalments paid by the Revenue
Department. During 1933 an extra sum of 7,000 Tomans was paid especially
for Town improvements.
The sources of income arc octroi duties, taxes mi houses, shops, liquors,
tobacco, passages, etc. The taxes used to l>c collected by the Municipality itself
when the* Municipality avers that the income was always between 4,000 and 5,000
Tomans a month.
LcISOFD