Page 303 - PERSIAN 5 1905_1911

AND TIIE MASKAT POLITICAL AGENCY FOR TIIE YEAR 1008. 8

(3) The affairs of the Bakhtiaris.
(4) The taking over of the Borasjun-Ahwaz telegraph line by the
Indo-European Telegraphs.
In regard to the operations of the Oil Syndicate, it may be noted that as
a result of the Indian guard being sent to Maidan Manaftun, and the with­
holding of the subsidy to the Khans, no trouble has occurred this year between
the Oil Syndicate’s representatives and the latter. Captain Lorimer calls
attention to the excellent work done by the two officers (Lieutenants Ranking
and Wilson) who came with the guard. Lieutenant Ranking was placed on
special duty as Assistant to Captain Lorimer and accompanied him on tour
to Ispahan, Kermanshah and Pusht-i-Kuh. Lieutenant Wilson in the
meanwhile made excellent use of his opportunities while in charge of his
guard to make surveys of the Bakhtiari lowlands, part of the Kuhgalu
country, and a good deal of the coast. The information which Lieutenant
Wilson has collected will be most useful to the Survey of India and to the
Intelligence Branch, ?nd his zeal is most commendable.
After leaving Ispahan, Captain Lorimer made a valuable tour to’Pusht-
i-Kuh regarding which a special report has been submitted.
Captain Lorimer gives some particulars about foreign enterprise in
Arabistan.
It is undoubtedly advisable that the Imperial Bank of Persia should
establish itself in Arabistan without delay. It is difficult to say definitely
what the most efficacious arrangement would be, but offices at Mohammerah
and Nasiri would probably be required with sub-agencies at Shushter and
Dizful.
It is very satisfactory to record that the question of the taking over
of the Ahwaz-Borasjun line by the Telegraph Department materialized after
the end of the year, and Mr. Smith, Assistant Superintendent, Shiraz, was
deputed in March 1909 to reconstruct the line.
Thanks to the firm policy pursued by Captain Lorimer in his dealings
with the Bakhtiaris and the unfailing support accorded thereto by His
Majesty’s Legation, the end of the year under report finds our relations
with the Khans on a much more satisfactory footing.
The condition of Bunder Abbas was somewhat unsettled, and robberies Bunder
and raids in the hinterland were frequent, during the period under review. Abbas.
The year opened with the so-called Constitutional regime, which in
Bunder Abbas was represented by a local council of busy-bodies who would
allow no matter to progress without their interference. The disappearance
of this “ Anjuman-i-Jamid ” in July after the Shah’s coup d!etat was
received with unmixed pleasure by the respectable inhabitants of the town.
Lieutenant Gabriel went on 3-J months’- privilege leave in May and
shortly after his return was invalided to India. Captain W. II. I. Shakespear
returned to Bunder Abbas on the 25th November and was in charge till the
end of the year.
Kerman affairs do not call for much comment. The province was in Herman,
a state of anarchy at the beginning of the year, but after the Shah’s coup
d'etat in May a semblance of order was restored by Sahib Ikhtiyar who was
named Governor. The Nationalist party do not appear to have made much
head-way in Kerman.
The Bunder Abbas-Kerman caravan routes have been chronically impas­
sable or unsafe throughout the year. Posts have only been getting through
at rare intervals and parcels and stores for the Consulate and other Europeans
have kin for months in Bunder Abbas to their great inconvenience and
discomfort.
The period under review is chiefly remarkable at Kermanshah as at Kermun^o.
many other places in Persia, for the non-existence of any proper form of
Government.
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