Page 194 - PERSIAN 8 1912_1920

51 PERSIAN GULF ADMIN 1ST RATION REPORT

as the result of a reference to Ills Majesty’s Minister at Tehran, the A •
Mufakhara, who remained obdurate, was dismissed and his brother, the
Aluhtasham, then and still in Tehran, was appointed in Ilia place l«!?r
appointment was not however announced till tho fourth week of tho month A le
In the meantime the carpet weavers* strike had come to an end,
13th October, but not before it had occasioned a loss estimated at nearly (w
to the foreign carpet merchants. The cessation of the strike had followed’ ^
the receipt of a telegram from tho Persian Government announcing that th"
“ Nawaqil ” was temporarily abolished, wliich tho Amir published ^
omission of the word “ temporarily ” hoping thus to gain a cheap popularity th«
The Amir, on tho 22ad October, publicly announced that ho had resign,,
and that his resignation had been accepted. He withdrew from public affair*
sent out orders recalling the scattered parties of Bakhtiaris in the districts and
eventually set out for Yczd with his Lieutenant, tho Arair Hismat, on Novem­
ber 1st The gendarmerie arrived on October 2 tth, while the Amir was still
iu 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 Govornor-General over the Pinaneo
Department and all comers. That his failure caused him much chagrin is
improbable as he aud his men had secured for themselves all the readily
securable property m 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 Atnir-i-Mufakhain had entrusted them, to the Sirdar Nusrat, aa
arrangement in which His Majesty’s Consul concurred and which was subse­
quently ratified by the autaorities 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 cud of the year. He 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 genuine 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 tbe
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 the 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 lie wm
not appear in Kerman before Nauruz, March 22nd, aud that it is improbable
that he will come at all, unless he i9 granted a Baluchistan expedition, d
out the latter, the post is not under present conditions sufficiently attract!'®
financially to entice one of the bigger Baklitiari Khans.
have
Happily up to the present, tho rebels and robbors of the province ,
almost entirely noglccted their opportunities, save only in part the Balnea1'*
If this continues Mr. Lecoffro’s dictum, that Kerman requires no poweriu
Governor, nor external armod force, will bo made good. If it does not, ,L
Persian Government will have incurred a seiious responsibility.
who have
Tho cry of “ No more Bakhtiaris ** from those in the province
anything to lose in natural and in itself must command the sympathy «» u .