Page 184 - PERSIAN 8 1912_1920

44 PERSIAN OTJLP ADMINISTRATION REPORT

CHAPTER III.

ADMINISTRATION REPORT FOR THE BANDAR ABBAS vioi,
CONSULATE EOR THE YEAR 1913. ^

Tlioyear under review presents a striking contrast to those immediatol
. ceding it, and the dawn of more no
Jorcnt ° and more prosperous times appears at
to be breaking oyer South Eastern Persia tliougk it is early days yet to i,r,,
It is true that incursions by Baharlus occurred iu February and again in \r ••
but those disturbances wore sporadic and their effect was but temporary ’
caravans conveying British owned goods wore robbed during these raids, arid a
condition of the trade routes to the interior was more satisfactory than it hi
been for many years past.
Peaceful conditions were the rule and not the exception as heretofore a
the confidence of merchants, which had been rudely shaken by tho frequ^'
robberies oi the preceding 3 years, was a in great measure restored. 'ut
Captain H. V. Biscoe, His Majesty’s Consul, held charge of the Vice-Co
sulate up t} the 12th May, w|„'.n £
Yico-Consulate.
proceeded on 3.} months privilege leave
returning on the 27th August During his absence tho Head Clerk, Mr. y j’
Gazdar, was in charge. On return from leave Captain Biscoe contiuuel to hoi i
charge up to the ead of the year.
The Russian Government continued to maintain a Consular Agency here
and were represented by Mirza lliilum-
Foroigo Representative*.
mad Ali Sadid-us-Sultaneh. He proceed­
ed to Bushire in August, to visit tho newly-appointed Russian Consul there,
and while there received a dccorat:on consisting of a gold medal with ribbon
He takes but little part in local affairs of any kind.
Mirza Ali Karam Khan, Shuja-i-Nizara, was Deputy-Governor of Bandar-
Abbas throughout the year, and prored
Local Government.
himself a thoroughly satisfactory incum­
bent. He was zealous in his efforts to obtain redress for British subjects, and to
settle their disputes, and succeeded in recovering several long outstanding claims.
He is illiterate but not lacking in intelligence, with a genial manner, and is on
very friendly terms with His Majesty’s Consul.
Saiyid Husain, Ilassam-us-Sadat, was Karguzar till the 23rd January when
he was relieved by the Midhat-us-Sultaneh, a young English speaking Porsi.ro.
Aft might have been expected he lost no time iu embroiling himself with the
Shuja-i-Nizam, whom he despised, both on account of his parentage and of his
lack of education. Their relations continued very strained until July, when
the Midhat-us-Sultaneh’s salary having been reduced from tomans 150 a month
to tomans 45, he resigned the post and left for Bushire. From that time the
post of Karguzar remained vacant, all references from the Consulate being dealt
with by the Deputy-Governor. It had long been customary here to refer th'
majority of cases direct to the Deputy-Governor instead of to the Karguzar, who
was consequently a wholly superfluous official. By his removal the practice ha*
become regularised and a useful precedent established, should an officious
individual be at any time appointed as Karguzar. The Hassam-us-Sadst
however arrived from Bushire ori the 4th August, and took up a new appo,n**
ment under the title of Mufatishi-Hukumat, his functions being apparent!.'
to inspect the accounts of tho Deputy-Governor of Lingah and Bandar Abbas
presumably in order to enable tho Governor of the Gulf Ports to exercise soinc
control over them. Towards the close of the year he was put in charge of tn«
Passport Office as well
Under instructions from Bushire the Shuja-i-Nizam proceeded on 0
revenue-collecting ^ tour to Kohistak, in June, where ho mot Mir BarW
Khan aud Mir Ilaji, and according to his own statement succeeded in extracli r

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