Page 26 - PERSIAN 8 1912_1920

10 PERSIAN GULP ADMINISTRATION REPORT
must make tlio best of M. Stas, in the hope that he would find it the best
policy to work in accord with His Majesty’s representative.
The activities of the Belgian Treasury Department, in so far as they
affected British interests, may be *
Buiblrt. con.
sidered under two heads :—
(i) interference with the administration of Governor of the Gulf Ports •
(it) extension of administrative control to other departments, such ^
Posts, Telegraphs, etc. The latter question has been dealt with
elsewhere.
Under the old regiind the Governor used to farm the income both from
Customs and Land Revenue, from the Central
o lf“— witb tbe GoTorTlor of tb® Government, and make what he could from
iliii 1 or‘*' the contract. Since 1900, the Governor has
had nothing to do with the collection of Customs, whilst, as regards revenue, the
Belgian Administration has for some time been entrusted with revenue collcc-
tion from certain districts where it is easiest to collect, the Governor being
charged with the remainder. As a charge upon, or in compensation for, the
Revenue thus collected by the Customs, the Governor is entitled to receive
from them a regular monthly payment, which was formerly fixed at Tomans
15,000, but recently reduced to 11,200 Tomans a month
This payment was arbitrarily suspended by the Customs from 21st March
1912, ostensibly on the pretext that the Imperial Bank of Persia objected to the
payment as being contrary to the 1911 loan agreement. On its being made
clear, however, that the payment was due out of Revenue and not out of
Customs receipts, the Bank withdrew their objection, it being stipulated,
however, that Customs and Revenue accounts were to be separated and that
Customs receipts were not. to be used, as has been the custom, to make good
deficits in Revenue collections in order to effect this payment, unless the
Bank's prior claims on Customs revenue had already been satisfied. The pay­
ment to the Governor was, therefore, resumed in July, but only to be stopped
again in September, on this occasion at the direct but secret suggestion of the
officiating Customs Director, II. Zwimie (although ostensibly on cordial terms
with His Excellency) on the grounds that the Governor’s attitude towards the
Belgian Treasury Administration was improper and his accounts for the
previous year irregular. M. Zwinne had not, however, the moral couracc to
inform the Governor frankly of his views and recommendations, but had
repeatedly given him and the Resident also to understand that it was the Bank
who were responsible for the stoppage of funds, and that the latter step was not
taken at his recommendation.
In October, M. Momard addressed a somewhat offensively worded telegram
direct to the Governor, taxing him with behaving “ like a rebel*’ and making
a number of vague charges against him in order to justify his action in stop­
ping his monthly allowance. Asked by the Governor to explain the considera­
tions which gave rise to such a telegram, Monsieur Zwinne gave an evasive
reply; meanwhile some one took steps to have the text of M. Mornard’s telegram
to the Governor, of which 1L Zwinne had received a copy simultaneously!
circulated in Bus hi re and neighbourhood. On being invited unofficially by the
Resident to explain the reasons for his duplex attitude he delivered, under
instructions from M. Mornard, to whom he had thought it necessary to refer, a
message from the latter affording no reply to the Resident’s query, but
conveying the irrevelant assurance that Belgians were not anti-English, “05
commonly supposed M. Zwinne left for Bandar Abbas a day or two after,
on relief by M. Constant, who, while taking much the same line as h|s
predecessor in regard to the Governor, was full of scorn for M. Zwinne s
methods of dealing with the question.
The stoppage of his emoluments by tbe Customs afforded the Governor *
pretext for continuing to levy items of irregular taxation, such as “ Kalantari »
•* Alafi ” and other imposts amounting to “ Rahdari 99 and as such contrary
Treaty, in order to put himself in funds, whilst it, at the same time, enawe
him to plead lack of funds when coiled upon to take any action. < ™
reduced his prestige amongst the petty Shaikhs and Khans within liis juris*1

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