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Part VII—Chap. LXXI. 301

honor to state that tho very largo deficiency in tho annual revonue, payablo by the Governor
of Bushirc, for the last two years, is tho causo publioly assigned for his supersossion.
2. In respect to tho latter portion of Your Excellency’s enquiry, whether in ray opinion,
this measuro is iu any degreo connected with the friendship which cxistod betweon Sheikh
Nasir and myself, I bog to say, that so far as the authorities of Shiraz aro concerned, I should
be inolined to reply iu the negativo. My improssion however is that an idea has been floating
for some timo in tho mind of Ilis Excellency tho Primo Minister, that considering the
intimacy which hat for several generations existed between the English and the Sheikh's family,
it would be for the interests of the Persian Government that this principal seaport of Persia
should be under the control of persons wholly unconnected with us, and who would be more
immediately subject to the influence of tho inland authorities than it was likely any momber
of tho Ali Muzkar family would be. It was probably under 6ome impression of this nature that
Esan Khan was nominated to the post of Dureya Besrgeo during the timo that Bahram Meerza
was Prince Governor of Ears, and it is not unlikely that Shoikh Nosir has been summoned to
Court on tho present occasion in furthoranoo of this idea : Be this as it may, it is impossible to
deny that in tho great defalcation in the Bushiro tribute, the Persian Government have a
plausible reason to justify tho removal of Sheik Nasi* from the Government of that place.
3. The Sheik may plead with some justice, that the irregular and aggressive proceedings
of Bakir Khau of Tungistoon, by depriving him of the revenue of the outlying districts
interrupting tho trade of Bushire and obliging him to maintain a largo garrison at a very heavy
expense, bavo necessarily occasioned a great falling off in the amount of his annual payments for
the last two years. On the other hand, the reply is not without foundation, that a Persian
Governor, being free from all bias, and having no local interests, would not, like the Sheik, be
perpetually engaged in feuds and quarrels with his neighbours, and consequently no interruption
would be experienced in the regular collection and transmission of tho revenue.
I