Page 430 - PERSIAN 5 1905_1911

ADMINISTRATION REPORT OF TIIE PERSIAN GULF
20
Mcdjliss and local Council, he was careful to keep the entire direction of all
affairs in his own hands, no single order issued by any department being
valid without his seal. In the ease of an ordinary Governor-General, this
would have resulted in administrative chaos, owing to the flood of arrears
which the laissez-faire policy of Asaf-cd-Dowleh had left for settlement; but
Saham-cd-Dowlch united an extraordinary personal energy to an equally
unusual capacity for the organization of business and the economizing of
time. His system for registration of petitions, for checking the progress of
business through the various departments so as to fix responsibility of delay
in any particular case, and for the orderly preservation of archives, was
worthy of the best modern administration, and the pertinacity with which
he almost daily paid surprise visits to the various departments showed that
he had correctly gauged the capacity of his countrymen for sustained effort.
From the day of his arrival until his failure to bluff Sowlet became obvious,
he had the city completely in hand, and there can be little doubt that he would
gradually have extended'the circle of his authority through the province, had
he only been supplied with the necessary forces from head-quarters. Thus
the new constitutional experiment in Shiraz when entrusted to Saham-ed-
Dowleh was in hands which were not only strong but clean. In such hands
it has failed and its failure must be regarded as definitive.
Mcazziz-ed-Dov,deb’s relations with the Governor-General grew progress­
ively more and more strained, and he
Korjjozar.
felt himself in a very false position on
the completion of the local revolution in March. He consequently resigned
at the end of April, and was directed to remain in charge until the arrival
of his successor, Ehticham-i-Eunarun, from Tehran. The latter, however,
never appeared, and Moazziz-ed-Dowlch eventually left with Asaf-ed-Dowleb
abandoning his post without leave. At the end of July, Muvaqqar-ed-Dowleh
was appointed to act and was eventually confirmed while protesting that his
acceptance must be regarded as provisional. He is a familiar figure in these
Administration Repoits, and it is sufficient to say that his thorough know­
ledge of English and unusually V/estern type of mind make him extremely
pleasant to deal with, even though he is more tenacious of his own point of
view than most Persian officials and more skilful in maintaining it.
Under Asaf-ed-Dowleh, Sardar Firuz. His leading characteristics were
described last year, and he did not im­
Dcpnty Governor.
prove. He left with his master.
Under Ala-ed-Dowleh, Beha-es-Sultaneh and Mudabbir-es-Sultaneh
jointly. As the first of these two was the leader of the cabal against Ala-cd-
Dowleh, and the second was instantly prostrated with fever, their adminis­
tration was not very effective, and on the 25th July, they repudiated respon­
sibility for order in the town.
Under Saham-ed-DowleH, Asem-es-Sultaneh, Commander of the Buz-
challu regjraent. This appointment was speedily cancelled on Saham’s arri­
val, the official in question being quite unsuitable for this or any employment.
The post remained.unfilled until early in December when Saham-cd-Dowleh
very foolishly nominated Nasr-ed-Dowleh to it, an appointment which was
So e^D^0/h^ letter’s dignity, while it gave gratuitous offence to
For the first two months of the year the centre of gravity of Fars politics
was in Laristan, where the Kawami
Local Politics.
. . brothers spent much time and money in
manoeuvring according to the recognised Persian practice, i.e., combining
the maximum of noise with the minimum of bloodshed. Kawam-ul-Mulk
eventually abandoned the field to the Lari Seyyid and arrived in Shiraz on
, . Jk.® only event in Shiraz worthy of note during this period was one
which illustrated better than ever the “ opera bouffe ” side of Persian poli­
tics. On the 20tb February the Bakhtiaris in Ispahan who had control of the
Ispahan telegraph office sent a telegram purporting to come from the Sadr
Azam in Tehran directing Asaf-ed-Dowleh to proceed urgently to Tehran.
The telegram was fully credited and Asaf-ed-Dowleh made all preparations