Page 322 - 5 Persian Trade rep BUSHIRE I_Neat

0^
Europe ntid cUcwhcrc : the ground i* covered with Tho atovo description of the buying cap.vjf
matting locally plaited in tlie Gulf or, in the of the population applies solely to thc rural n J
bettor houses, with felts and carpels manufactured tribal dL-tricts of tlic littoral: the demand f
in Furs by the nomad tribes, ('hairs and tables European articles and the general standard ^
tire Only seen in the houses of Khar.?. The walls living and luxury in thc towns is on a consider!
are of mortar or mud plaster: in tin* better houses ably higher scale.
whitewashed l «t quite bare of ornament. 'lh" Xo separate statistics arc available as icrrari
roofs of lhe*c village houses are u-niaby supported the consumption of goods along the littoral* I
by beams formed by the trunks of date palms : date prices arc largely governed by the state of l.usin«K
branches make an excellent thatch : window glass upoountry, and to gauge accurately condition*
is rarely seen outs.de the town except in the houses affecting the towns of the interior dnrinn* lOll.i-**
of Chief, and similarly t*»ak doors. The bulk of a ft js i,tvo<?;iry to describe events in some detan*
tribesman’s belongings con-usds of lidding, metal especially regarding the routes to the interior ’
trays for food, a little cro.kcry, c basins, earth- Vrom'm^ onwards deterioration in the sh,
enware ami ci.a.nclwa.o; Jisl.cs, tra-glasres with R,of se.urity tl.rouEW
earthenware saucers, al-o teapots, generally »»f „VUr:ty in 191.-1912. Southern l\ r<:a has » *
Russian manufacture, earthenware plates, metal inark.Ji Pn5r,.liy has each year been worse than?
copper cauldrons for cooking; wwden or some- thc similar season of the previous year and H
times tin chests as receptacles. cfTicton trade is clearly defined in many wavs
On thc other hand, for dress the Southern Per- It may, however, be said at once that the f.a.-t
sian tribesman is almost entirely dependent on that the total import and export trade through
imported cotton-goods: in fact the only articles Ku-diire in the year under report showed a larn.
locally manufactured are his ‘ kulah ' (a high and | imrea-e on the trade of 1010-11, has little relation
6tiff hat of black or broivu fell), his 'abba' oi j with the real position in the interior. As far 23
out* r cloak of cainels-liair or wool, and his' mahkF j imports wore concerned the bulk of the increase
or footwear of rough canvas uppers finishing in a , came in cottons, and was due (i) to the exccssSe
point,’with soles of old cottoin or cloth folded, * cr« dit allowed hy some firms, (ii) to competition
macerated and beaten into layers, reinforced by : for vanity’s sake betweeu Persian importing
strifs of hide and with horn or hide plates under agents, and (iii) to confidence unfortunately mi>
the heels and toes. The col tea textiles which are placed in the restoration of ord r in Pars under
used for dross of tribesmen and cultivators are Xizim-«s-SuUaneli: while as far as related to
de-crihed under thc heading “ Imv-.uts—Cotton- exports, the increase was entirely due to a larger
goods." ' export of opium, of which the market value Lad
A rifie cartridge-belt and a cheap telescope in j advanced gr. atly on that of 1910-11, and to the
& slim- make up the rest of his outdt. ' export of grain from the littoral in the immediate
At the vam* lime the material pr«reritv of the ; °f .li,,il,ir.e' ".hi,°,h Is comparatively little
inhabitants of the littoral is hy no means low: | olloeleJ hy ,,county of the tntertor.
thev feed themselves remarkably well: probably | , * actual results of the insecurity on the roads
few beads of families expend less than the value ; an<* disorder throughout the provmce are not easily
of L\ in money or kind each month. i ai‘l»fre:it froir. the trade statistics and require
, 1 r si \ 1 • explanation. They may be summed up under the
A perusal of the above will, tt hoped, give a he‘aJ; of (u) K.rormoutly Increased prices of
smalt idea of the economic condition prevailing lransport ;Q,0 (he interior: J) Losses b/Persian
m the immediate hinterland of B^lnre, and make mert.hants unabie l0 obtain in Wd centres ,
it clear that conditions are primitive and that buvi price 6uffi,icnt to cover both original in-
there ,s no fresh ground to be exploited by manu- T0;ce =ri‘c and COit of (ratlSport. (c) J,.;mSat!ooof
factl.rcrs and carters in Great Britain m the arcJ of market for goods from the Persian Gulf
unm*’diut? present. The interior is not yet a wht.n tbrown int0 competition with goods trans-
coantry for the commercial traveller: ported more cheaply, from the North : (rf) Impos-
Railway transport might change matters, but sibility of safe communication between provincial
the only openings, which now suggest them­ centres like Shiraz and the surrounding country
selves as possible, are such as: introduction or di>tri. ts, owing to continuous fighting, raiding and
adaptation of machinery in the neighbourhood of marauding; and, consequently, reduced sales to
the po:t8 for the treatment of dite fibre and the country districts: (c) Congtslion of goods in
manufacture of matting, rope and many similar the provincial centres as the result of the above
products: agricultural machinery, with which ex­ causes, combined with excessive quantities of goods
periments have never been made in this hinterland, ordered out from Europe: (/*) In consequent^
and which is an economic need, though sales could largely increased indebtedness of Persian firms
only scientifically be developed by a firm with an working on European credit, or forced 6ales of
agency in the country, able <0 find out require­ goods at prices involving a heavy loss in order
ments on thc spot, and educate the people up to a to meet bills and obligations.
demand for it: the manufacture in Europe of such Financially, the full elTect of this year of larg*
implements as iron “ fails " or spade-heads of a par­ import and dislocation of sales may not be ap­
ticular shape: machine-made imitations at cheaper parent for some little time to come, but there
prices of woven “Abbas" (woollen or camel-hair is every reason to apprehend a crash in the near
cloaks): imitations of the national felt head-dress future, when even Persian merchants with larp*
of the Southern Persian called “kubbs," now sold capital of their own,—and they are not many-
in bazars for Krans 4-S (li. Od. to 3s ) ea* h : and wili l*e badly hit. Already cautious firms^a^
imitations of their national foot-wear (Malikis) reducing their imports apd commitments in ^oo*
often home-made, but commonly sold for 6 Krans them Persia, 6ome agencies in the Provincr
[it. 3d.) to Krans 10 (3*. 9J.) per pair in bazaars centres have been closed, other firms aro fC<y?
of towns. safer market* than Persia, while the outstaDu,nfi*