Page 374 - PERSIAN 8 1912_1920_Neat

20 PERSIAN GULF ADMINISTRATION REPORT
were particularly attracted "by the Bakhtiari Governors they had had imposed
upon then beforo and the Sirdar Zafar’s avowedly jiro-Brltieh sympathies woro
particularly distasteful to the Democrats, so that there was more than a
sneaking hope that hi8 tour might end disastrously for Iiim. Tho Democrats
sent letters to Gunj Ali Khan encouraging him in his opposition to the
Governor-General and, when the latter returned to ICerman with his Bakhtiaris
flushed with their complete victory over the combined tribes, they felt very
nervous and subdued. While the Governor-General was still held up by
Gunj Ali Khan, the advanced agent of the Germans, one Daud Ali Khan, a
temporary Muhammadan but really a Bengali Babu, had arrived in Kerraau
and had been given a most enthusiastic reception by tho whole town. Shortly
after the Governor-General's return the two Germans, Messrs. Zugmeycr and
Groisinger arrivod. Partly from a feeling that they had rather overdone the
reception of the subordinate and partly from fear of tho Governor-General tho
town received them with less demonstration hut with much joy in anticipa­
tion of material benefits. The wcaveis thought they were going to set all the
looms working full time and the rest of tho people expected them to restore
trade and cheap prices. All thought they were going to fulfil tho Persian
ideal, in others, of throwing money about with both hands. When they first
arrived, the German thrust into Poland had only just begun, the Mesopotamian
campaign-was going all in our favour and the Gallipoli operations were ex­
pected to result in the opening of tho Dardanelles and the fall of Constanti­
nople, so that the Democrats did not hope to do more than annoy the Russians
and British in Persia by a display of pro-Germ an feeling. But the German
advance and Russian retreat developed on a largo scale, there was a long pause
in Mesopotamia and then a British set-back, and the Gallipoli operations
came to a deadlock. The Germans in Kerman had made it quite clear that
the Governor-General was not disposed to allow his pro-British inclinations
to commit him definitely to the unpopular and possibly losing side, and gradu­
ally the Democrats began to see much greater possibilities. The ICarguzar
was their leading spirit and they backed up the Germans in their systematic
under-mining of the Govern or- General's authority by adding local pressure to
make him give way before each fresh aggresion of the Germans. The Germans
disappointed all the bright hopes of the general populace. They only spent
their money on surrounding themselves with cut-throals and bailies who
became the terror of the town, or in bribing bad characters to try and raise
riots, ar.d, in a few months, the ordinary Kern .an i was very sorry that they
hod ever come. They however served the purpose of the Democrats by putting
the turbulent and disorderly element completely in the ascendant and the
rest of the town into dumb fear, while tho Governor-General refused to join,
but was unwilling to oppose them. There had been a certain amount of
coming and going of Germans and Austrians betweeu Kerman and Yazd and
Ispahan, but no large number of them had remained in the vicinity till Novem­
ber when a party of over thirty, with about seventy Persian levies, arrived in Yazd.
They forcibly requisitioned medical stores and instruments from the Missionary
hospital tut, at first, they did not otherwise molest the British Colony or display
any aggressive intentions. But nearly a month after their arrival they suddenly
one day seized the Bank and Telegraph Office and confined tho Europeans
to their own houses. This spurred on the Kerman Democrats who felt
satisfied that they had command of the situation and were afraid of losing
it to the Germans if the Yazd party came on to Kerman, and so they deter­
mined to push the matter at once. They knew that the Governor-General
had solemnly promised His Majesty's Consul that he would protect tho
Europeans, and they wished to avoid a collision with the Bakhtiaris. Their
object therefore was, if possible, to get tho Europeans out of Kerman without
attacking them and they desired to demonstrate to the Governor-General and
to the Europeans that they were prepared to po to extremes, if necessary, and
that tho Europeans had better quit. With this object they decided to murder
two persons who, though not actually Europeans, wore sufficiently identified
with thorn to make it clear that their removal was a warning to tho Europeans.
These two persons wero Farukli Shah, a cousin of tho Agha Khan, and
HusaainofF, the Agent in Kerman of Castclli Brothers. Both had already in­
curred the onmity of the Democrats and had been warned that their lives were