Page 226 - Gulf Precis (VII)_Neat

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Government bearing the cost of purchasing horses and saddlery for the escort,
as also the expenses on account of the feed of the horses.
The members of the escort were however required to pay Rs. 2 each
per mensem towards a chanda fund to be maintained for the purpose of keeping
up uniforms and providing the cost of passages when the men return on leave
to India. These arrangements were carried out successfully as reported by
Colonel Wilson in his letter dated 27th February 1894.
(xxxvii). Consular escort at Bushlrc and Bandar Abbas, 1899-1905.
288. Though in their despatch No. 175-Sec. External, dated Qist Septem­
ber 1899, referred to in paragraph 254
Secret B., November 1899, Nos. HMli
above, the Government of India stated that
it was not desirable then to increase the number of Consular guards we had at
the time (at Meshed and Bushire), yet
Secret E, August 1901, Nos. 47-53.
Sir A. Hardinge in his despatch, dated 2nd
April 1901, to the Foreign Office, strongly urged the necessity of providing every
one of our Consulates with escorts. The Russians had provided their Consulates
in the north with Cossack guards and there were rumours that Consulates and
Vice-Consulates were to be established at Shiraz, Mohammerah and Bandar
Abbas each with its detachment of Cossacks. The impression created on the
Persian minds of Russian power by these escorts could only be counteracted
by similar move for our side.
289. Schemes were then prepared (1) of a cavalry contingent and (2) of
an infantry contingent for services as Consular guards in Persia. The cavalry
contingent (150 men with 2 British officers) was to be of selected volunteers of
the Silladar Cavalry of the Punjab, Bengal and Bombay Commands and of the
Hyderabad Contingents. Owing to the small number of Shiahs serving on the
native army and to its being undesirable to mix them with Sunnis, the contingent
was to compose wholly of the latter or Sikhs and Hindus. The infantry was
to compose of 145 native Musal.mans (Sunni) officers and men and 2 British
officers to be drawn from various commands.
250. For Bandar Abbas our proposal was that one guard should consist of
Secret E., October 1904, N01. 498-624 (No. 4 non-commissioned officers and 12 men
609). infantry, and one non-commissioned officer
and three sowars to be lent from the Bushire escort, for the Consul’s tour, the
Bushire guard being increased by the latter number. The Political Resident,
however, drew our attention to the fact that
Secret E, June 1905, Nos. 339“3t9«
his escort consisted of ex-soldiers espe­
cially engaged : it was in fact a civil escort, its members serving on a civil con­
tract and not subject to military discipline. The engagements of seven of them
expire in October 1906 and of two others in September 1907. The Government
of India desired that their status should be changed, by replacing the men by
soldiers seconded from their regiments for a limited period as soon as the men
at present employed completed the term of service for which they have been
engaged. Thus the Bushire escort would be placed on conditions of service
similar to those which apply to escorts serving at other British Consulates
(Foreign Department letter No. 3043-E. A., dated 20th October 1904).
291. The Government of India at the same time thought that the adoption
Foreign Department letter No. i868-E. a., dated at present of the original scheme for in-
17th May 1905. ^ creasing the Bushire Corps by the addition
of four sowars in order to provide a travelling guard for the Consul at
Bandar Abbas would result in the undesirable arrangement of locating a mixed
detachment at Bushire composed partly of soldiers of the Indian army and partly
of civil sowars serving on a contract engagement. In these circumstances it was
proposed for the present at any rate to abandon the idea of providing a travelling
escort for the Consul at Bandar Abbas from the detachment at Bushire and
instead to send for this service direct from India to Bandar Abbas a separate
unit consisting of one non-commissioned officer and three sowars who would
serve on terms similar to those of the escorts recently posted to Ahwaz, Khar-
rnansha and other places. The Bushire corps was thus to be left at its existing