Page 235 - Gulf Precis (VII)_Neat

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been directed to place himself in communication with Colonel Polly, with a view
to the preparation of a draft order in Council extending the provisions of the
Foreign Jurisdiction Act to Persia and the Persian Gulf.
The Secretary of State now forwarded a copy of a further correspondence with
Despatch No. 67. dateJ 31st May 1871, the Foreign Office on the subject. On the
30th December last, Sir Philip Francis
Political A., August 1871, Nos. 53-544.
asked directions from the Foreign Office
upon one or two points which had arisen in regard to the preparation of the draft
order. In the first place it seemed to him that there was no one in the Political
or Consular Service on whom the duty of drawing up the rules of practice could
be well imposed. These, he thought, should be based upon the Code of Rules
in use in the Courts of the Ottoman Empire, which had, he said, on the whole
been found to be a well-constructed system. He raised the question whether
the Constantinople Court should be charged with the duty of drawing up the
rules and modifying them from time to time, or whether the Persian Courts
should be independent of the Supreme Consular Court of Constantinople. He
submitted that there was no advantage in giving appeal from Courts constituted
as the Persian Consular Courts must be to other courts,—
such as that of the Minister of Tehran, who necessarily has no such special experience or
aptitude in legal procedure as would offer any advantage in the administration of justice
for him to decide, or revise cases in appeal.
317. He thought that it would be advantageous to constitute the Supreme
Consular Court of Constantinople as a Court of appeal from Persia, as it was from
Turkish and Egyptian Courts. He was in favor of giving to the Resident at
Bushire and the Assistant Resident within his jurisdiction such commission as
would empower them to hold Court as Consular Officers, and to have direct
relation with the Supreme Consular Court as a Court of appeal, or, better still,
with Bombay.
318. Earl Granville asked the Duke of Argyll whether he concurred with him
in thinking that Sir P. Francis should be entrusted with the preparation of the
rules for the proposed Consular Courts in Persia, and that the Persian Court
should be independent of the Supreme Consular Court at Constantinople, except
in cases of appeal, whilst the Court of appeal from Bushire should be at Bombay.
The Secretary of State for India adhered to his former opinion that the rules
should be drawn up by Sir P. Francis in communication with the Political Resi­
dent in the Persian Gulf. His Grace stated that Colonel Pelly was fully empower­
ed to represent Indian interests in the matter, and that, unless in the event of a
diversity of opinion between Sir P. Francis and him, there did not appear to be
any necessity for any reference to the India Office on the subject of the applica­
tion of the Act to Persia.
319. Earl Granville in reply intimated that Sir P. Francis would be instructed
to place himself in communication with Colonel Pelly, with a view to a definite
settlement of the question. It appeared to His Lordship to be necessary, in the
first instance, to determine what orders in Council were required to confer jurisdic­
tion in territories on the Persian Gulf not belonging to Turkey or Maskat; and
he suggested that Colonel Pelly’s attention should be called to this point so far
as relate to the Chiefs of islands or places not subject to Turkey, Persia, or
Maskat, and that he should be directed to take steps, if necessary, to procure
the requisite assent from the rulers of these territories.
320. In forwarding the papers here, the Duke of Argyll requested that
Colonel Pelly might be instructed accord-
Despatch No. 67, dated 31st May 1871.
ingly, and that he might be made acquainted
with the purport of the correspondence.
321. The following were the instructions issued by the Foreign Office
to Sir P. Francis:
'* The first point to be settled is the preparation of the orders in Council under which
the jurisdiction is to be exercised, and then the rules should be framed on the model of
those for the Consular Courts in the Levant; but as these are now under revision, it will
be far better to proceed, in the first instance, with the question of the orders in Council.