Page 424 - PERSIAN 5 1905_1911

ADMINISTRATION RETORT OF TIIE PERSIAN GULF
14.
ing an account of the Customs receipts, appropriated by him and his con­
federates, and by sending away the gang of tufangchis which surrounded
him.
Seyyid Murteza left no stone unturned during this time to induce sec­
tions of tufangchis to return in order to re-assert his control, and, as he said,
hold the place against the Darya Begi, who had been despatched from Tehran
as the only person likely to be able to handle the situation. His pretence was
that the rest of the community were in league to oppose him and to let the
Darya Begi enter Bushire on behalf of the Shah. The wind was however
taken out of his sails in this respect by the receipt a few days later of a
peremptory telegram from the High Priests of Nejef stating that the Darya
Begi had given satisfactory undertakings to support the constitution and
that his appointment had been approved by them. The situation would pro­
bably have been quickly restored, had the Darya Begi been able to arrive with
this mandate before, but His Excellency was delayed by the impassibility of
the Tigris, and he only reached Bushire on 8th May when he was well reoeived
by all parties.
He having given assurances satisfactory to the Consular Body for the
future maintenance of order and security, they were accepted and the blue­
jackets and marines ashore from H.M.S. “ Fox ” and “ Sphinx ” were re-
embarked on 19th May, and H.M.S. “ Fox ” with the Senior Naval Officer,
Captain A. T. Hunt, left on the 20th. The bearing of the men during a
trying six weeks ashore had been admirable.
His Excellency the Naval Commander-in-Chief, Rear-Admiral E. J. W.
Slade, M.V.O., visited Bushire in the Flagship, on 27th-28th April, and
inspected the arrangements and precautions in force for the maintenance of
security.
This troublesome chapter of Bushire history may be considered to have
ended with the expulsion of Sevyid Murteza from Bushire. After being a
prisoner for some time, he was placed cn board the mail steamer, on 7th July,
for Basrah, and thence proceeded to Nejef where he still was when the year
closed.
Lingah suffered throughout the year
Afairs at Lingah.
from the effect of the antics aDd excesses
of Seyyid Abdul Husein of Lar above-mentioned.
Lingah being the Chief port for Lar, and having a considerable leaven
of Laris in its community, events happening in Lar naturally re-act in
Lingah.
The keynote of Seyyid Abdul Husein’s proceedings, apart from his desire
for loot, is violent animosity to the Kawara-ul-Mulk of Shiraz and all his
works. It was on this account that, late in December or early January 1909,
the Seyyid attacked Haji Ali Kulli Khan, Deputy Governor of Lar, supposed
to be a partizan of the Kawam, and badly defeated him. The Seyyid was
credited with having killed 13 Gerashi notables and some 200 of the Deputy
Governor s adherents. This was doubtless a great exaggeration, but that he
had made a successful raid, is evidenced by the swelled head which he quickly
developed.
Thus he forthwith* addressed the Deputy Governors and Directors of
Customs at Lingah and Bandar Abbas and warned them that, if they did not
obey his instructions, they would share the fate of the slain Gerashis.
On hearing of his success, the Lari element at Lingah assumed a trucu­
lent attitude and, among other things, demanded from the Deputy Governor
the release of a notorious rascal Haji Ali Lari'whom he had in durance.
About ^is time an Armenian named Aratoon, in the employ of Messrs.
R. Wonckhaus, who had been sent to Lar to look for business, reached Lingah
in a sorry plight having been turned out of Lar and robbed of everything ho
had on his way back.
Early in March further missives were received in Lingah from the Seyyid
in which he gave instructions (said to have been received from Nejef) for tho