Page 157 - PERSIAN 8 1912_1920_Neat

FOR THE YEAR 1013. lt
sir E. aSreed and directed that Hia Majesty’s Consul should be bis­
ected to discourage independent action by tho Kawam-ul-Mulk and impress
JVhim the necessity for loyal assistance to the Governor-General No hope
f ohtoin^S money should be held out to him.
° Nevertheless by the 8th March we find the Kawam-ul-Mulk still at Shiraz
flDd the Governor-General proposing to employ him in tho task of maintaining
Ller during the coining tribal spring migration. He is to enlist 300 horeemon
and shout 400 riflemen to be paid by the Fiuance Agent from savings on hia
budget- A financial' agent is to accompany the force and control expenditure,
'fbe Kawam-ul-Mulk is to go to Fasa ana the other eastern districts where he
vj]l ho in a position to restrain the Baharlus and Arabs and collect some
avenue-
On the 6th April he started. Tho tribal migration passed off quietly;
there was no disturbance of any kind and more confidence and tranquillity
prevailed than had been the case during the tribal migration for some years.
In early May the Kawam-ul-Mulk with a force of 7,000 to 8,000 Arabs was
reported to have advanced to near Darab. Some sections of Baharlus had sub­
mitted, but the majority of the Chiels had fled, and the Kawam-ul-Mulk had
sent 850 horsemen in pursuit. The expedition experienced some difficulty
owing to scarcity of forage and ravages of locusts in tne Fasa district.
In early June we find Asghar Klian, brother of Muhammad Kuli Khan
of flic Shebani Arabs, a prisioner in tlie Kawam’s hand. The Kawam is about
to return to Shiraz and the problem of 4‘what to do with this too powerful
subject” is exercising the minds of the Fars authorities. A fortnight later,
the Kawam is in Mei vdasht and Muharumad Kuli Khan, who has just suc­
cessfully evaded the gendarmerie, surrenders to him. The Governor-General
bangs Asghar Khan, and Muhammad Kuli Khan is executed by the Kawam.
These freebooters had for some years past been one of the chief causes of dis­
turbances in Pars and had organised Arab depredations which had occasioned
serious loss to private individuals and to the State.
During the expedition, another firebrand also disappeared in the person,
of Shaikh Zakarieh, who was murdered by his own people, This brigand was
responsible for many of the raids into Kerman from tne lawless south Eastern
districts of Fars. Thus three of the most turbulent factors of the disturbed
situation were removed from the scene and the Kawam-ul-Mulk’s prestige was
greatly increased.
The expedition was described in the following terms by His Majesty’s
Minister in a Despatch to the Secretary of State. Its object was €C to punish
certain Kbamsoli tribes, more especially tbe Baharlus, who frequent the South­
eastern and Eastern districts of the province. It would appear that this ex­
pedition has met with no small measure of success, and has retrieved a dis­
aster to Government arms that took place near Darab some 4 years ago, since
which time all semblance of Government authority over the district had dis­
appeared. There is, of course, a danger that Kawam-ul-Mulk, when he returns
as a conqueror, may become a more dangerous factor than before.”
The Kawam-ul-Mulk eventually returned to Shiraz on the night of the
August. He did not, however, stay long as. on the 24th September, His
Majesty’s Consul reports that the Finance Agent has completed an arrange­
ment with Kawam who undertakes the Governorship of Laristan, Sabeh Juyin
Bidchahi, Sabeh iiudaneh Ahmadi Fasa and the Khamseh tribes. The annual
Avenue for these districts is 2,07,765 tomans The Kawam was accorded a
eduction of 73,000 tomans for this year and 53,000 for next, and responsible
f°r all expenses, taking over and conducting the administration.
On several occasions between his return to Shiraz nnd October, his name
put forward as a possible Governor according as the position of Mukhbif-
^•Sultaneh appeared, from time to time, impossible to sustain. On the last
°®oasion it was suggested that “ if the change is made, the initial appointment
Jjould, of course, come from the Persian Government, but Hia Majesty's
Government would be prepared to assure him, if appointed, that so long as he
^•operated loyally with tho Central Government, he could count on the diplo­
matic support of His Majesty's Legation at Tehran and His Majesty's Consu­

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