Page 612 - PERSIAN 5 1905_1911

12 ADMINISTRATION REPORT OF THE PERSIAN GULP
played in the Kawami-Sowlet feud and his bitter hostility to the latter and
to the Governor-General, Nizam-es-Sultanch, facts which made it inevitable
that Bushire and its affairs would now become involved in the torried poli­
tical intrigues chronically emanating from Shiraz.
Another unfavourable augury of his advent was that he seems to hqve
owed his appointment partly to the patronage of the Muin-ut-Tujjar in
Tehran, ana could consequently not be relied upon to take an independent
line of policy. The manner of his shaping will appear from the body of the
Report.
Governor-General of Fars.—Nizam-es-Sultaneh, who was appointed
Governor-General of Fare towards the end of 1910, arrived at Bushire by
mail of the 10th January. He was met by Sowlet-ed-Dowleh, Ilkhani of the
Kashgai, who, accompanied by a large force of his tribe, had come to Bushire
to welcome him. The presence of a considerable body of undisciplined
tribesmen in the island was a source of some anxiety to the Residency, but
although they occasionally gave trouble by trespassing in the compounds of
European residents, their conduct was on the whole unobjectionable. Nizam-
es-Sultaneh left Bushirc for Borasjun a fortnight later, but at the end of
February had not got further than Kazerun as his energies were nlainly
directed towards recovering the arrears of rent due from the extensive tracts
which he owns near Daliki, as well as arrears of revenue from Tangistan and
Dashti. After more or le:s unsuccessful encounters with Zair Khadhar
of Tangistan and Khurshid Beg of Kamarij, he arrived early in April in
Shiraz with a force of some 150 horsemen, chiefly Kurds and Lurs.
After many vicissitudes, which are related elsewhere, he was finally
dismissed end left Shiraz in October cn route nominally for Arabistan, of
which Province he bad been appointed Governor-General, though the appoint­
ment was cancelled almost as soon as made. The circumstances of his escape
to Mohammerah in November with the assistance of Shaikh Khaz’al are
touched upon in the Arabistan Administration Report.
Rukn-ed-Dowleh and, shortly after him, Farman Farina were succes­
sively nominated bp the Central Government, but it was apparent from the
first that neither candidate had any intention of assuming the responsibilities
of office. Early in November ’Ala’-ed-Dowleh, who had twice previously held
the post with some success, was appointed with a great flourish of trumpets,
and lost no time in telegraphing instructions to his nominees in Shiraz
assuring, them of his intention to leave Tehran shortly for the south, in com­
pany with Zaigham-ed-Dowleh, Kashgai, the Bakhtiari nominee for the
Ilkhaniship of that tribe. Iiis procrastination, however, deprived his nomi­
nation of much of the wholesome respect which his name at first inspired in.
the breasts of the population of Shiraz and proved his undoing, for he was
assassinated at Tehran in December.
At the close of the year no one had been found to fill the breach, and the
Central Government had no option but to appoint Kawam-ul-Mulk tempor­
arily to the position, though much against his wishes.
Mirza Ghulam Ali Khan, Saad-es-Sultan, held the post of Foreign
Office Agent until October, .when he was
E&rpizu.
transferred to Shiraz in the same capa-
city, his place being taken by Mas’ud-cs-Sultan, younger brother of the
Governor Lluwaqqar-ed-DowleL The conduct of both officials was reason­
ably satisfactory and afforded no ground of complaint to the Residency.
Mushedi Abdur Rasul, whose attitude towards the Residency last year
was several times a matter of complaint,
Kalantar and Kadkhoda.
continued in the post of Kalantar
throughout the year, although it was nominally abolished by the Governor,
These posts were abolished in April, or at all events placed in abeyance,
as the result of the following incident.
Amin-i-Malijob and Raia-i-Nazmiek.
. In an altercation in the bazaar the
Deputy Chief of Police was insulted by one of the gunners, whereupon the
former drew a revolver and killed the latter on the spot. He then fled,