Page 624 - PERSIAN 5 1905_1911

24 ADMINISTRATION REPORT OF THE PERSIAN GULF
general attack by about 800 tribesmen, mostly, it would appear, inhabitants
of the villages in the Kazerun plain. Two followers were killed and 7 sowars
wounded, and a Hospital Assistant and one follower missing, as a result of
the fighting which followed, whilst Mr. Smart was also slightly wounded, and,
falling off his horse some way off the beaten track, was captured and taken to
Muhammad Ali Khan’s camp, where he was well treated. For some days his
fate remained unknown. The detachment fought their way very creditably
into Kazerun, where they were not further molested. Mr. Smart was sent
into Kazerun by Muhammad Ali Khan, on December 29th. He afterwards
explained to His Majesty’s Minister that his capture was in no way the fault
of the escort, but was due solely to the fact that he had not been in his proper
place in the middle of the party, but had been riding in the rear.
The force finally left Kazerun, on 2nd January, joining up ^ with a
detachment under Colonel Douglas which had gone out from Shi raz to
Kutal-i-Dukhtar to meet them, and arrived at Shiraz without further mishap,
on 5th January, the Kawam doing all he could to facilitate their passage.
With the landing of troops at Bushire, and the action taken in Tehran
and locally in consequence of the above incident, and with its effect on the
general situation, this Report does not deal; a summary of these matters and
of the discussions which took place as to the line of action to be adopted in
Fars, will be included in the Report for 1912.
In view of the stress laid by the Persian Government, on the inception
of an effective gendarmerie scheme, it
Gendarmerie schemes in Fars.
seems desirable to record briefly the
measure of progress effected in this direction during the year.
General Maletta, an elderly Italian General who had for the past 15 or
20 years been in the service of the Persian Government, arrived after long
delay in Shiraz on March 24th charged with the organisation of a gendar­
merie suited to the needs of Fars “ et conformement anre exigences de la
reform?. jnederne” He found three officers and 37 men between Aminabad
on the Northern Frontier of the Province and Shiraz, and one officer with six
men in the town itself, all alike clamouring for long arrears of pay. He
found no trace of the weapons said to be awaiting his arrival at Shiraz, nor
of the S0.CC0 Tomans which the Persian Government had solemnly assured
His Majesty’s Minister had been sent to Shiraz. Without arms and money
he could do nothing; and it was soon clear that the Nizam was in no way
anxious to see General Maletta’s scheme take shape; he no doubt hoped,
however, to use him in order to obtain control, directly or indirectly, of the
promised 80,000 Tomans.
It should be added that General Maletta’s scheme was considered by all
concerned to be quite inadequate to secure the safety of the road. Up to the
end of the year' the General remained quietly at Shiraz, unprovided with
funds, and apparently forgotten by the Central Government, who ignored all
his. communications, until October, when, momentarily galvanised by the
British note, they demanded from him a further “ project ” oblivious of the
scheme which he had submitted only six months before, and which had
received approval after meticulous consideration by the Minister for War.
On 5th September, His Majesty's Minister telegraphed (with reference
to a proposal then under consideration to employ Swedish officers to organise
a treasury gendarmerie with the assistance of Major Stokes, for use,
amongst other places, on the roads in Fars) that the appointment of the latter
was doubtful, and that without him there was little prospect of any effective
work being obtained from a gendarmerie.
The Persian Government in reply to the British note announcing our
intention to increase the Consular Guard at Shiraz and elsewhere, laid the
greatest stress upon the appointment of Swedish officers, but though the
officers destined for Fars arrived in Tehran in December, up to the end of the
year they had not left the Capital, nor had the Persian Government made
any attempt to fulfil its promise to us to cause gendarmes to be enlisted m
Shiraz in anticipation of the arrival of the officers.