Page 619 - PERSIAN 5 1905_1911

POLITICAL RESIDENCY FOR 1011. 19

Under instructions from Ilia Majesty’s Minister, His^MajestjJ^OMUl
Warning to Bowiot od-Dowieh. that his presence and that of his tribes­
men in Shiraz only made for disorder, and that should any harm to British
lives and property render intervention necessary, the consequences would
be visited on his head. Sowlct treated' this warning with contempt, and a
few days later announced that he was about to drive the Arabs out of Shiraz,
and that any householder who declined to facilitate the movements of hio
men through their premises would be held responsible for all damage resulting.
The Arabs continued nevertheless to be successful in their encounters
with the Kashgai, and even the time-honoured threat of closing the already
insecure trade route to Bush ire now failed to secure for Sowlet-ed-Dowleh
the favours of the merchants, who appealed to Tehran for his dismissal.
The Karguzar, meanwhile, declared his inability to afford protection for
the lives and property of British subjects, for which the dismissed Governor-
General also disclaimed responsibility when approached on the subject by
His Majesty’s Consul through the Karguzar. Fighting went on interrup­
tedly, and by the end of the month the success of the Arabs was assured, and
Sowlet-ed-Dowleh, seeing himself likely to be forcibly ejected in the future,
endeavoured to come to terms with the Kawam-ul-Mulk, but without result.
On October 3rd, His Majesty’s Consul at Shiraz warned Sowlet-ed-
Dowleh that unless he -at once left
Further warning to Sowlet-cd- Dowlch and Shiraz with- his men, His Majesty’s
N izam -ca • Sul tanoh.
Minister would recommend His Majes-
ty’s Government to take immediate steps to protect our own interests and
to visit the penalty for any damage to those directly upon himself and the
Nizam-es-Sultaneh. At the same time he informed the Khamsch Chiefs
that, in the event of harm befalling themselves and property of British sub­
jects, His Majesty's Minister would take steps to exact full reparation.
On the following day Nizam and Sowlet left Shiraz and camped some six
miles away, the latter having publicly
Departure of Nizam ond Soviet.
ascribed his departure to the action of
His Majesty’s Government, whilst at the same time threatening to cause dis­
turbances on the Bushire-Shiraz road; there is little doubt, however, that
tribal and climatic exigencies would have forced him to leave in any case.
The Kawam lost no time in leaving the Consulate, whence he and his 6on,
who had come to meet him, were escorted
Kavam-ol-Mulk leaves the Consulate.
by a large force of Khamseh tribesmen
with all their leaders. Intizam-cl-Mainalik took a different route to that
adopted by his father, a wise precaution, for on his wav to the town Kawam-
ul-Mulk’s party was fired on and sustained some casualties.
The Kashgai on their way down to their winter quarters did a great
deal of wilful damage to the telegraph line, and for several days telegraphic
communication with Bushire was totally interrupted.
It is difficult to realise to the full the ultimate results of the six months*
anarchy outlined above; the best indication of their severity is the fact that
the casualties during the three months are estimated by reliable authorities
at not less than 4G0, whilst many more were wounded; the damage to property
was enormous, and in addition tribal enmities have been aroused which can
scarcely be forgotten in this generation; while the prestige of the Central
Government, at no time strong, seems to have received a blow from which it
can scarcely recover.
Towards the end of the year, after the arrival of the troops, an attempt
was made by scune of the leading clerics
Run on the Imperial Bank of Persia, and the
a.lompt to boycott troops. of Shiraz to engineer a run on the Impe-
. % rial Bank of Persia; some inconvenience
vras caused, but the crisis was successfully tided over and the agitation died
a natural death. The same persons endeavoured to organise a boycott of our
°Z™r' “^chants in the bazaar being compelled to refuse supplies; this too
was. short duration, the troops commandeering supplies and giving recent*
against which payments would-be made on application to the Co™^P
O 1