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were imperatively necessary to build wharf, warehouses and offices. But Sir
II. Drummond Wolfli telegraphed on 23rd November 1888—
« Considering the storm stirred up by the Russian Legation about Karun and their
assertion that we mean to establish British settlements, as well as the dread of the Shah of the
acquisition of land by foreigners, / do not think it judicious at present to put forward Lynch’s
application. Conld they not purchase it privately from or through Persians? ”
15G-B. The regulations, however, provido for erection of tlio nccossary
See Cumm'. Tenia, Voi. ii, pn^c 352-3co, buildings by Persian subjects, and this pri-
Cbirol'a tlic Middle Eastern Question yn -u HJ3-1C4 VllegC Was granted lO 0110 MoyUU-i-Timor
•Dti Oulf Administration Hej’ort* from Ib'Jl to 1898. 0[ Blislliro, a friend Of the Govcrnor-
Genoral. His terms provod so exorbitant, that it was found impossible to
accept them. Ponding the negotiations the Company’s agent had to bo con-
tout with an old mat-shed for which a rent from COO to GOO tomans (about
£ 150 to £ 170) was charged annually. This was the liut in which Mr. (now
Lord Ourzon) found tho Company’s agont risiding when he visited Ahwaz in
18S9. This hut, and the local Governor’s residence, a similar structure, with a
few others of tho same kind, wore the humble beginnings of the now rising
town of Dunder-i-Nasiri, above tho landing placo of the Lynch Company's
steamer and below the Ahwaz rapids and about a mile below the Ahwaz village.
It was only in 1894, that the Porsian Government wero able to erect tho
buildings, which the Lynch Company’s agent have since been occupying on a
lease the terms of which are supposed to allord opportunities to the Persian
authorities for obnoxious interference.

(ii) Misunderstanding as to the tonnage dues.
157. A difficulty also arose as to tho interpretation of Regulation No. 14,
which provides for a payment of one
Secret E, Octobor 1689, No*. 251-263.
kran for every ton as toll for a steamer
going up the river and returning, and half tolls for unladen vessels. The
Karguzar at Mohammorab insisted on the payment of a kran for a ton as a
separate charge for every passage ascending and descending, while tho Lynch
Company contended that tho toll of one kran covered both. It was decided to-
refer the matter for determination to tho Shah’s Government in consultation
with Iler Majesty's Legation. Meanwhile a bond was offered by Messrs. Lynch
promising to pay tho tonnage claimed, if the Shah on his return from Europe
decided in favour of the Karguzar. This the Karguzar refused to accept.
15S. A compromise was then proposed in bohalf of Messrs. Lynch and
Co., to the ell'ect that 1 kran per ton
Secret E., July 1890, No*. 327—351.
should he charged for tho upward passage
on the vessels tonnago if the ship is laden, half if empty, and that one kran per
ton should be charged on actual cargo for the downward journey. Amin-es-
Sultan proposed another compromise, that is that steamors entering the Karun
should pay full toil, if laden, if empty one-half and that vessels leaving
Ahwaz should pay full toll, if laden aud nothing if empty. This latter con--
cession was of no benefit to the Company, since on the return journey, their
vessel was seldom empty and had to carry some cargo, however little it was.
Ultimately the Teheran Government proposed the following arrangement, which
the Lynch Company accepted Vessels entering the river if laden to pay one-
kran per ton, one-half if empty, and vessels coming downward, if empty
nothing, if laden one krau for each ton of actual cargo.

(iii) Difficulty as to certificate of tonnage of the Blosse Lynch.
159. Tho Karguzar of Mohammcrak wished tho Lynch Company to pro­
duce the original of the certificate of the
Secret B., October 1S89, No*. 251-2G3.
touuage of the Dlosse Lynch given by
its builders. This they at first stated was left in their London Head Office.
Subsequently, they asserted that the original was missing and produced a certi­
ficate signed by tho British Consul, which the Karguzar would not accept as
authoritative enough. The matter was referred to the Central Government,
who decided that the Consul’s certificate
Sciret E., July 1890, No*. 3J<—351, (No. 323).
should bo accepted for measurement.