Page 122 - PERSIAN 5 1905_1911

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ADMINISTRATION REPORT OF THE PERSIAN GULF
A certain number of cases
~j- f-t-—pX°ra pt-rfcK
been referred to the British Consulate at Shiraz by the Political Resident in the
Persian Gulf, and the numerous complaints against the road-guards, whose crown­
ing insolence was the holding up and exaction of blackmail from an English ladv
unredressed despite the pressing represent-
In addition to the claims above-mentioned sums amounting to over £1,000
were recovered through His Majesty’s Consulate for a British firm from a British
and several Persian creditors.
POSTS.
The transport of mails from Ispahan to Shiraz and vice versa by ** fourgons,”
which in March 1906 had been made to run as far south as Pouzeh, was initiated in
April 1906 and has continued. Owing to bad condition of portions of the road
between Zarghan and Abadeh accidents have been frequent and the mails which
are supposed to effect the transit from Ispahan to Shiraz in 5 da vs, sometimes in
the winter months take as much as 8 or 10.
The office of Postmaster (combined with that of “ Directeur de la Caisse) ”
was held by M. Mirza \antz "up to the end of October 1906. He was succeeded bv
Yabya Mirza.
TELEGRAPHS.
Indo-European Telegraph Department.—The year was marked by an abnor­
mal amount of wilful damage—chiefly ascribed to tribesmen—compensation ior
which amounted to nearly 40 per cent, more than that of either of the two years
immediately preceding. Assaults on dependants of the Department and violation
o! restrooms did not as in previous years call for the intervention of His Majesty's
Consul, but in January a very glaring infringement of the inviolability oi the
Department premises occurred, the office at Kazeroon being invaded by a number
oi “ Ma amours ” despatched by Salar-ul-Sultan and Xasr-vJ-Dowieh to seize the
local Governor Khajeh Ibrahim who had taken refuge there.
As the result of Strenuous protests the “ Maamours ” were after a few days
withdrawn and subsequently an apology was offered.
CHURCH MISSIONARY*SOCTETT.
The school of this Society maintained by the Kev. Napier Malcolm was prac­
tically closed in July 1906 by the threat on the part of Ala-ul-Dowleh to flog severely
any boy attending it. A dispensary maintained in its stead by Mr. and Mis. Mal­
colm assisted by Mr. and Mrs. E. J. Clifton (lay helpers) has been very numerously
attended, especially by the poorer classes. The ministrations of Mrs. Malcolm, who
is a fully qualified practitioner, have been greatly appreciated.

JEWS.—ALLIANCE ISRAELITE UNIVERSKLLE.
The Jewish community of Shiraz, which numbers between 5 and 6,000, is in
times of disturbance generally made to suffer. An attack on the Jewish quarter is a
not unusual premonitory sympton of political agitation. The Jews of Shiraz had
suffered considerably in the early spring of 1906 when, under pretext of
them to adopt a distinctive head-dres3, certain Mullahs caused them to be confined
for several months' to their own quarter of the town. Their position became so
intolerable that in April a crowd of about 200 Jews repaired to the Consulate, but
was induced to retire. The Vazier-i-Makhsous shortly afterwards obtained a relax­
ation of the religious orders against them, but during the rest of the year they were
not immune from persecution. The harsh treatment they too frequently expen
ence in Shiraz is driving many of them to emigrate to Palestine.
In October 1906 M. Lahana, formerly at Ispahan, assumed the charge of e
schools of the Alliance Israelite Universelle at Shiraz, assisted in this wor y
Mme. Lahana.
SLAVES.
There is certainly in Shiraz, and presumably throughout Fare, a
of slaves
been im