Page 196 - PERSIAN 8 1912_1920_Neat

54 PERSIAN GULP ADMINISTRATION REPORT

as tlio result of a reference to Hia Majesty’s Minister at Tehran, the A •
Mufakham, who remained obdurate, was dismissed and his brother, the sr
Muhtasham, then and still in Tehran, was appointed in his piace
appointment was not however antiouncod till tho fourth week of tho mouth *le
In tho meantime the carpet weavers* strike had come to an end, on «
13th October, but not before it had occasioned a loss estimated at nearly £1 rl,
to the foreign carpet merchants. The cessation of the strike had followed’ ^
tho receipt of a telegram from the Persian Government announcin'* that th'*
“ Nawaqil ” was temporarily abolished, which tho Amir published °witii th
omission of the word “ temporarily” hoping thus to gain a cheap popularity e
The Amir, on tho 22ad October, publicly announced that ho had resigned
and that his resignation had been accepted. He withdrew from public affairs
sent out orders recalling tho scattered parties of Bakhtiaris in the districts and
eventually set out for ifezd witli bis Lieutenant, tho Amir Hismat, on Kovem-
ber 1st The gendarmerie arrived on October 2 Ith, while the Amir was still
in Kerman, but no friction of any kind arose between them and the Bakhtiaris
Thus ended the Amir’s attempt to crush Mr Lccolfre, for such it had been
and to assert the absolute supremacy of the Governor-General over the Pinanco
Department and ail comers. That his failure caused him much ciiagriu js
improbable as he aud his men had secured for themselves all the readily
securablc property in the province and their only further hope of lucrative
business lay in a Baluchistan expedition The agitation did not however
entirely cease on the Amir’s departure. An outcry had been raised against the
appointment of the Sirdar Muhtasham, which, while tho Amir remained in
the offing, was couched in tho form of a domand for the reappointment of that
most estimable Governor. On his final departure the ciy changed to one of
“ No more Bakhtiaris," which was being reiterated by the wealthier class of the
population up to the end of the year.
The Governorship of Sirdar Nusrat.—On relinquishing the reins of Gov­
ernment the Amir-i-Mufakhara had entrusted them, to the Sirdar Xus rat, an
arrangement in which Eis Majesty’s Consul concurred and which was subse­
quently ratified by the authorities in Tehran.
In the fortunate absence of any serious outbreaks in the districts, the
Sirdar Nusrat carried on the affairs of the Government in a satisfactory manner
till the eud of the year. lie showed himself friendly to the newly arrived
gendarmerie and, profiting by the lesson presented by the Amir-i-Mufakham,
he studied every means of commending himself to the good graces of Mr.
Lecoffre. His deference to His Majesty’s Consulate, based on his own lesson
of the preceding year, and his appreciation of his own interests, and perhaps
also in part on a geauine feeling of old friendship, did not fail at any time
during the year. His faults appear to be principally the result of a desiic to
enjoy the position and importance in Kerman to which his rank entitles him
combined with a weakness of character which makes him unable to sustain the
part with credit in times of difficulty.
The appointment of the Sirdar 'Muhtasham.—Ever since his appointment,
the Sirdar Muhtasham has been announced as on tho point of leaving Tehran
to join his post, but the announcement still remained unfulfilled at the end oj
the year. His Majesty’s Consul has been and remains of opinion that he will
not appear in Kerman before Nauruz, March 22nd, aud that it is improbable
that ne will come at all, unless he is granted a Baluchistan expedition. « 1.t“*
out the latter, the post is not under present conditions sufficiently attractive
financially to entice one of the bigger Bakhtiari Khans.
have
Happily up to tho present, tho rebels and robbors of tho province .
almost entirely neglected their opportunities, save only in part the BaUumi'j
If this continues Mr. LecofFro’s dictum, that Kerman requires no P0"!*1*!,1 e
Governor, nor external armod force, will bo made good. If it docs not*
Persian Government- will have incurred a serious responsibility.
Tho cry of “ No more Bakhtiaris ** from those in the province who h-1'^
anything to lose i:i natural and in itsolf must command tho sympathy oi a .