Page 185 - PERSIAN 9 1931_1940

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Co., Ltd., of Oldham for 5,000 spindles. During the summer work proceeded
sloadily with the construction of the mill building : in the autumn the machinery
duly arrived at Bushirc, was transported to Shiraz and the work of fitting and
installing under the supervision of an English mill manager, an English mechanic
and two English fitters was well-advanced at the close of the year.
Sir Aural Stein, K.C.I.E., having paid a brief visit to Shiraz in March,
returned in November with the intention of making an extended archaeological
tour in the Eastern and South Eastern portions of the province. After a short
delay due to difficulties over escort arrangements, Sir Aurel left Shiraz on
November 21st for Firuzabad. The following day news was received from
II. M.’s Legation in Tehran that the local authorities considered visits to
certain places, including Lar and Darab, for the present inadvisable. In spite
of various representations, this decision was maintained until the end of the
year.
In November a party of Anglo-Pcrsian Oil Company geologists under
Mr. Washington Gray using Shiraz as their base commenced a survey of the
region included in the quadrilateral formed by Shiraz, Kazerun, Jahrum and
Niriz. A second party under Dr. Harrison starting from Isfahan were carrying
out simultaneously a survey of the area to the North-West of Shiraz and to the
South-East of Urujan.
Two Dominican priests, the Very Reverend Father Dominic Blcncowe 0. P.
and Father Cyprian Rice (formerly of the Levant Consular Service) arrived in
Shiraz in November and rented two bungalows in what was formerly the Indo-
European Telegraph. Department compound, for the purpose of founding a
monastery. Their flowing white robes made them conspicuous figures when
they appeared in the “ Khiabans ” and at first aroused some curiosity amongst
the inhabitants. Father Blencowe himself tells the story of the small boy who
one night mistook him for a ghost and proceeded to throw stones at him. Their
failure to produce a permit (which has since been granted) brought them into
temporary conflict with the police authorities who refused to allow them to
receive persons into their chapel pending its production. (There was reasonable
evidence to suppose that a certain clique, of which Mr. Cassin, the French
Consul in Bushire who spent a greater portion of the summer and autumn in
Shiraz, appeared to be the leader, resented the appointment of British priests
to a district which had hitherto been attended to by French priests from Isfahan.
F. H. GAMBLE,
II. B. M.’s Consul,
Shi ras.

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