Page 314 - PERSIAN 5 1905_1911

14 ADMINISTRATION REPORT OF THE PERSIAN GULF POLITICAL RESIDENCY

lie is a person of no manners or cultivation, has made a good deal of
money in this ollicc, and has very indifferent control over his subordinates
who appear to be responsible for the more outrageous acts of tyranny com­
mitted in his name; but he has a certain reputation for severity, and con­
sequently a certain measure of control over the disreputable elements of
the population.
Load politic*. Zil-es-Sultan was appointed during the anxious days which followed the
murder of Qavain-ul-Mulk, the attempt on his elder son, and the consequent
killing of two Seyyids and arrest of Motamid-ud-Divan. Matters remained
in status quo until his arrival, although the Mujtehids of Nejcf endeavoured
to provoke a breach of the peace by sending and causing to be placarded on
the door of the principal mosque in Shiraz furious telegrams addressed to tno
Assembly and the Anjumans, demanding the blood of all concerned in the
killing of the Seyyids. Zil-es-Sultan lost no time in declaring his sympa­
thies; he complimented several of the local Anjumans, entrusted to the local
Assembly or “Majlis-i-Ayalati” the investigation of the murder of
the two Seyyids, and facilitated, if he did not order, the early departure
of the Kavam’s two sons for Europe. The Shiraz populace, always
ready to be “ plus royaliste que le roi ” threw themselves into the anti-Qavarai
movement, and a strong agitation was set on foot to procure the arrest of the
brothers at Bushire, and their trial for the murder of the Seyyids. Zil-es-
Sultan, however, averted this, and satisfied public feeling by the execution of
two of the principal roughs of the Qavami section. The control of the Arab
tribes (Ainallu, Arab, Baharlu, Basari and Nafar), with the Deputy-Gover­
norships of Lar and Saba, was entrusted by Zil-es-Sultan to his son Akbar
Mirza, the collapse of the Qavami authority being emphasised by the ap­
pointment of Motamid-ud-Divan to be the latter’s Peshkar. At the end of
May, therefore, the situation seemed both clear and promising; the Zil-es-
Sultan had proclaimed himself “ the only spontaneously Constitutional Prince
in history ”, the ground was cleared by the departure of the Qavamis, the town
was in good order, the towers built during the disorders had been pulled
down, a flock of Deputy-Governors and special Mamours had set out to fill
posts vacant in most cases by the expulsion or voluntary flight of the previous
incumbent, and to enquire into specific cases of robbery and disorder, and all
prospects for the future were as radiant as can be expected in Persia of the
present day.
This happy state of affairs lasted for most of the month of June, the
principal pre-occupation in the political sphere being the conflict between the
Shah and the Parliament. The real facts of the activity of Zil-es-Sultan m
this connection were of course not ascertainable at Shiraz, but as far as was
apparent locally he was anxious to maintain his character for sympathy witn
the popular movement without compromising himself hopelessly with the
Shah. He went so far, however, as to hold a review of his troops with as
much pomp and dignity as possible, and there can be little doubt that his
object in this was to intimidate the Court party. At the end of this month
the stormy petrel of Shiraz politics, Motamid-ud-Divan, was treacherous
murdered by Asghar Khan, Arab, in spite of the presence at his back or a
men and two guns. It would have been interesting to observe the ellec o
this event on the prestige, hitherto unshaken, of Zil-es-Sultan, but u -
fortunately it was followed closely by the dismissal of the latter, who
Shiraz on July 6th. , .
Akhough the name of the new Governor-General excited nothing V
derision, the natural inertia of the Shiraz populace, when unstimu < y
cash payments, was sufficient to keep the town quiet until the arriva
lieutenant, Sardar Firuz, on July 16th. This inaugurated a peri
order in Fars, and of open tyranny and corruption in Shiraz. . ,
refugees appeared at the Consulate within a week of the *-ar *pjje
and the Consulate was not free of them for the remainder of the year,
most notable of these were :—
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