Page 625 - PERSIAN 5 1905_1911

POLITICAL RESIDENCY FOR 1911. 25
Russian.—Four Russian steamers of the Russian Steamship Company
arrived from Odessa during 1911, on
March 18th, May 11th, September 18th
Foreign Interests.
and November 17th.
The total number of packages landed was 2,819, of which 1,900 were oil,
321 earthenware, 144 glass, 138 sugar, 80 flour and 49 macaroni.
Exports to Russia consisted principally of 16 tons of Gum Tragacanth.
Persian “ Tambaku ” for Turkey, for which the Russian Company act as
Agents, was also forwarded by the line.
Early in 1911, two brothers Konoff arrived to represent the Company at
Bushire, and showed themselves keener on business than their predecessors.
Samples of articles were sent from Bushire to Odessa. In May the elder
brother M. Konoff returned temporarily to Odessa with the firms broker, a
Persian named Muhammad Husain, but came back to Bushire in November.
Early in December, a portion of the Bushire population were stimulated
to resentment on account of Russian action at Tabriz in the north of Persia.
A boycott of Russian goods was engineered and Russian crockery broken in
the bazaar; while the Mullahs forbade lighters to go out to the “ Tigre,” on
December 6th.
On April 1st, Monsieur Kadloufcousky handed over charge of the Con-
sulate-General to Monsieur Dmitrieff who had been previously Russian
representative at Jeddah. M. Konoff, the elder, acted as his Secretary.
Difficulties arose on the new incumbent’s arrival in connection with the
purchase of a house and grounds by M. Kadloubousky from an Armenian,
now in England, for a new Russian Consulate-General; his successor dis­
approving of the bargain, which has apparently been set aside.
German.—During the year, 12 vessels belonging to the Hamburg-
Amerika line called at Bushire on the outward voyage, and landed about
4,503 packages from Hamburg, and 29,053 packages from Ahwaz, a total
of oS.559. The S. S. '* Bielefeld ” of the German-Australian line also called
in ballast on her way to Basrah to take a cargo of dates to Australia. This
was the second year that Messrs. Wonckhaus & Co. and their friends had
despatched dates by German vessels to Australia; but, in 1911, the British
India Steam Navigation Company entered into competition by sending a
vessel from Basrah to Australia.
Ten vessels called on the homeward voyage, and two British steamers,
the S. S. “ Corinth ” and “ Ivydene,” were also chartered by Messrs. Wonck-
haus & Co. to carry grain to Hamburg and London. The total quantity of
grain exported from Bushire by Messrs. Y/onckhaus & Co. during the year
was about 4,973 tons wheat and 3,795 tons barley.
These figures show an important expansion of export trade to Germany,
though imports remain on the same level as in 1910. In imports, a large
business in su^ar, Belgian from Antwerp more particularly, is being built
up, and the failure of British refiners to put the required kinds and shapes
of sugar on the Persian market in the first place, and of the British shipping
lines to call at Antwerp in the second place, makes it difficult to prevent the
import of sugar from becoming a German monopoly.
Messrs. Wonckhaus & Co., profiting by the higher limit of purchase
provided by the special shipping rebates given by the Hamburg-Amerika
line, outbid all British firms buying grain at Bushire, and drove local British
competition off the field. Their increased activity and extension of business
was made possible, not so much by the good harvest of 1910-11, as by large
credits being opened in their favour at Basrah, £30,000 by the Deutsche
Bank, £30,000 by the Deutsche Orient Bank, the Dresdner Bank and Ferdi-
£10,000 by Martin’s Bank of London, all in January, and
M0,000 by German Banks in February. This new banking is undoubtedly
the result of the new formation of the Wonckhaus firm, with M. Otto Beit
as a sleeping partner and Mr. Thomas Brown (a British subject! directing
operations in the Gulf. ^
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