Page 342 - PERSIAN 5 1905_1911

42 ADMINISTRATION REPORT OF TIIE PERSIAN GULF POLITICAL RESIDENCY

from Rcsht and Mazandcran saying, that Muhammad Ali Mirza had l>ccn
opposed to the Constitution from the beginning, that his conduct resembled
that of Louis XVI and that the province of Ghilan renounced allegiance
to him. Several hundred copies of the telegram were distributed in the
town. An answer was then sent from here to the Shah’s telegram saying
that the people were glad to know that the Shah was doing all he could to
assist the Constitution.
A further telegram was received from Ispahan on the 14th June to the
cfTcct that the 14 cities of Persia, which formerly had the right to coin
their own currency, had agreed to depose Muhammad Ali Mirza, under the
terms of the Constitution, and that, as under the said terms, they had agreed
to a Kajar as the sovereign, they would appoint his son to be Shah under
a Regency. Kermanshah replied that it would follow Tabriz in its politics,
a promise which it has hardly carried out and indeed could not for the
tribes around would swamp it in ten days once the Shah’s authority had been
determined at Tehran.
The new Governor arrived on the 14th June without a single soldier,
indeed with hardly a servant. Poiiunate'y the town was sick of fighting
and the two parties were ready to make friends, for the moment at any
rate.
I was about to leave for Hamadan when the news of the Shah’s coup d*
etat, on the 23rd dune, arrived. Notwithstanding all the brave words which
had passed it was soon evident that the people of Kermanshah did not
propose to do anything to assist their fellows in Tehran. Still I think
that had not the telegraph office been seized, it is possible that the town
might have risen, but, since the first authentic news which arrived was from
the Shah himself and announced his victory, oriental like, the town accepted
the fait accompli. The seizing of the telegraph office was a sign that other
than Persian brains were at work and the news which arrived of the part
which Colonel LiakhofT had taken in the proceedings were simply confirmation
of what was evident from the method in which things were carried out.
The telegraph office is always considered as sanctuary in Persia and hither­
to, notwithstanding that it had worked strongly to his disadvantage, the
Shah had not attempted to interfere with it. On this occasion the telegraph
office was occupied and no news filtered through.
It was believed in Kermanshah that the Czar had sent Russian Cossacks
to assist the Shah, a thing which appeared quite possible to the Persian
mind.
Before the coup d'etat Zahir-ul-mulk, chief of the Zanginchs, had wired
that the Shah could depend on all the Kurdish tribes, and offered his own
services. Hearing of this, the chiefs of all the other tribes, being determined
that Zahir-ul-mulk should not have it all his own way, came in and tele­
graphed offering 2,000 troops. Zahir-ul-mulk’s offer had been refused, but the
latter offer was accepted, though for 200 sowars only. This was an eventuali­
ty which the chiefs had not had in mind and they had great difficulty in rais­
ing the 200, for all the minor and small chiefs refused to go, saying that it
would cost too much and they would never be paid. In the end 200 men of
the Kalhor and Sinjabi tribes left in two parties respectively under Zargham-
/id-dowleh, son of Daud Khan, and Shuja-el-lashkar, son of Sarasam-ul-
mamalck, for Tehran.
On the 18th July, the Governor left for Kurdistan to insfal his Deputy
there. He was, however, dismissed from the Governorship of Kermanshah
while absent, and given the Governorship of Kurdistan, a favourite method
of exiling an undesirable person. Shahzadch Zafar-es-Sultanch had been
too busy on the Constitutional side to be a persona grata with the Shah.
The Russian Consul, the Turkish Consul-General and myself made
simultaneous complaints against the Karguzar Sharif-ul-mulk and he was
dismissed soon after I left for Tehran.
Syed Abdullah, the notorious Mujtahid in the Majlis, arrived at Ker-
man shah under escort the day before I left and was supposed to be cn route to