ÆäÀÌÁö À̹ÌÁö
PDF
ePub

troops in Bender Abbas. On the other hand, he instigated the Khan of Khiva, who came against Merve and Serekhs, in Khorassan, with horsemen and a large force; but his expedition was disastrous, and he lost his life, as was described in a recent number of the "Tehran Gazette." Our correspondent is astonished that a British officer should cause such serious disorders in the capital of Persia, which endanger the very existence of the Persian Government. We have never heard of any breach of friendship having been committed by Persia against the English Government, that the latter should consider it suitable and proper that their authorities should create such disorders in Persia. But the most serious of all Mr. Thomson's proceedings was that he upset the Herat engagement, and commenced dispatching people to and "scattering letters" about Herat. He withdrew Syed Mahomed Khan, an obedient servant of the Persian Government, from his duty; and not satisfied with this, he wrote for an Englishman to come to Herat, who attached himself to Syed Mahomed Khan, and every day stirred up mischief, until he threw the frontiers of Khorassan into disorder, and that province was constantly harassed by the incursions of the Heratees and Toorkomans. Up to the day of Syed Mahomed Khan's death, when Prince Mahomed Youssuf became Governor, that Englishman was in Herat, and in all likelihood is there yet. If, in reality, the terms of the Herat engagement are such as have been stated to our correspondent, the Persian Government is justified in taking whatever steps she deems advisable with regard to Herat, and in looking upon the engagement as valueless and cancelled; and, in such an event, no objection can be taken that she has broken her engagement.

12. Besides this, Mr. Thomson never relaxed the system of protection, but found hourly occupation for the Persian Ministers. He also protected Ferhad Meerza, and invited him to take sanctuary in the Mission, and he struggled and disputed with the Persian Ministers. In this manner, Hajee Abdul Kerreem, a Candahar merchant, who has resided for 30 or 40 years in Persia as a Persian subject, and has a wife and family, having married the daughter of a Persian Prince, was taken under protection on the plea that his father was a native of Shirkapore, and that place now belonged to the British Empire; and on this question, he struck the English flag and suspended diplomatic relations. But the extraordinary part of it is, that our correspondent hears that Hajee Abdul Kerreem will not admit of his being a native of Shirkapore: he says he is not

* This paragraph about Hajee Abdul Kerreem alludes to the fact that he, the Hajee, has lately given in a paper to the Persian Government, renouncing British protection, and declaring that he is a Candaharee.

an English subject, but a native of Candahar, and that he was and is a dependent of the Persian Government.

13. When Mr. Thomson's turn passed, and it came to Mr. Murray's, his proceedings were more “spicy "* than those of all the rest. We hear strange news; they write from Persia, that when it first became known that Mr. Murray was coming, the Persian Government, looking at the times and the position of all the world, conceived that Mr. Murray might be coming for some important matters, which might be advantageous to the Persian Government as well as to that of England, and they thought that his advent would prove a redress (salve) for all the troubles they had undergone with former Representatives. This was the reason that they had anxiously expected his arrival, and when he reached the frontier, they sent one of the principal servants of the Government, a man of very high birth, to act as his Mehmandar from the boundary. He was escorted with every honour to Tehran ; every endeavour was made to gratify him, and never for a moment was it neglected to show him respect. Every day they were in expectation as to when he would open the discussion. After a period of expectation, all at once they perceived that Mr. Murray, too, imitated his predecessors. The first arrow which left his quiver, was the affair of Ferhad Meerza, whom he invited a second time to the Mission, and commenced a correspondence about him in such a way, that every one gave the preference to the conduct of Mr. Thomson) (although his proceedings were altogether unjust and injudicious) compared to that of Mr. Murray. When he understood that the affair of Ferhad Meerza was too unjust, and that he could not make an uncle of the Shah a dependent of the British Government, and that no injustice had been shown to the Prince to admit of his affording him protection, he then abandoned this case, confessing that the Persian Ministers were in the right, and he took in hand other unmeaning matters, such as the protection he gave to one of his ferrashes who had been drinking, and was apprehended by the watch. He demanded repeatedly, that the person who seized his servant should receive the bastinado; and all the messages sent to him to ask why he demanded that the sticks ! should be administered, seeing that he was residing in Tehran on the part of a civilized Government, and ought, therefore, to point out to the people the road towards civilization, were of no avail. In the same way, many unsuitable matters were undertaken by him during this short period, which are unworthy of (publication in) this paper. Every day he was in search of some matter to afford an occupation for himself, and to give embarrassment to the Persian "Ba mazaa."

+ The verb is used in the second person singular, which is never done in the Persian language, excepting to servants and inferiors. [1856-57. XLVII.]

M

Ministers, until he found the case of Meerza Hashem Khan. The story of this person, which our correspondent heard, is, from first to last, as follows:

14. Meerza Hashem Khan, from what has become known, was first of all employed as a page in the late Shah's harem, and afterwards accompanied Nassir-oon-deen Shah, then heir apparent, when he went to Azerbijan. When the Shah returned from that province to Tehran, and ascended the throne, Meerza Hashem Khan* was appointed on a salary of 200 tomauns a-year, to be a Gholam Pishkhidmet to His Majesty. After some time he was, at his own solicitation, named to a post in the army, and one day, he secretly, without rhyme or reason, fled and took sanctuary in the British Mission. Mr. Thomson wished to appoint him first Persian Secretary to the Mission, and intimated his nomination to that post to the Persian Ministers; but they silenced him by sound arguments, and he relinquished his first intention, when he dismissed him from the situation and placed another in his stead, whose appointment he announced to the Persian Government. The Persian authorities desired to withdraw Meerza Hashem Khan from the sanctuary of the Mission; but he put off from day to day, saying that he feared he would be molested, Mr. Thomson proposed to send him to the Persian Ministers, accompanied by one of his own people; but the Persian Ministers declined, because several cases similar to this had occurred, and whenever a person from the Mission came along with any one, he was considered by the Mission as one of their depen dents and a British subject. Mr. Thomson was informed that if Meerza Hashem Khan left the Mission without the interference of the British anthorities, he would be treated with perfect kindness. He, however, remained in the Mission until Mr. Murray arrived, and in the summer, when the Shah with his Court and the Mission all removed to their summer quarters, Meerza Hashem Khan accompanied the Mission.

15. From what we have heard from Persia, whether true or false we cannot assert, Meerza Hashem Khan,t who is married to the daughter of one of the princes, and about whose wife there is a long story which cannot be inserted in this paper, took his wife with him to the summer residence, and gave her a place near the garden in which Mr. Murray resided. This matter having acquired in the city of Tehran notoriety in an improper and scandalous way, it appears

* Meerza Hashem Khan never was named to any post in the army. The Meerza took his wife with him when he accompanied the Mission to country quarters; and as the whole village does not contain more than 30 houses, it is not wonderful that theirs should be near the garden in which Mr. Murray resided.

that the Persian Ministers, wishing to make (Mr.) "Murray acquainted with this circumstance, addressed an official letter to him and to the other foreign Missionst in Tehran; and under a disguise, explained the matter to them all in general terms, intending that (Mr.) Murray should be warned, and alter his conduct, so that mischief should not be excited for himself and the Persian Ministers. (Mr.) Murray paid no attention to these hints, and when he returned to Tehran, he again hired a house in the neighbourhood of the Mission for the wife of Meerza Hashem Khan. The priesthood§ and people of Tehran, on learning this, sent letters and wrote petitions on the score of religion, and expostulated with the Persian Ministers, and, as nearly as possible, they were having a sudden and general tumult. (Mr.) Murray seeing that the curtain was withdrawn, began a discussion and correspondence with the Persian Ministers, under the pretext that he intended to employ Meerza Hashem Khan in the Mission, and to send him to Fars. Notwithstanding all the remonstrances made by the Persian Ministers, who demanded by what right or on what grounds he appointed a servant of the Shah, who had been brought up in the Royal Family, to the Mission, he would not listen; and, not satisfied with persisting in his demands, he alluded to the wife of Meerza Hashem Khan openly and publicly in an official letter, and demanded and intended to opel the Persian Ministers to lend themselves to the disgrace and ager of sending Meerza Hashem Khan's wife to the Mission.|| Ty, however, perceiving how dangerous the matter was, could not tonsent to his proposition, and (Mr.) Murray made this the pretext ir striking the Mission flag, for suspending relations, and for withcasing the Mission towards the Turkish territory. Our corredent writes that it is extraordinary indeed that this affair in a

[ocr errors]

Throughout the rest of the paper, Her Majesty's Minister is mentioned as May," without any titles whatever.

This Circuall the Missions, had no reference at all to the British Mission, and was antecedent in date to all the discussions concerning Meerza Hashem Im and his wife.

A downright falsehood. She lived with her own husband, and Mr. Murray 4t and does not even know where their house was situated.

The Priesthood, &c.," that is, the Sadr Azim himself, drew up a paper saing all his own calumnies and falsehoods, and sent it round among the requiring them to affix their seals to it, which many of them, for fear of pleasure, were obliged to do. The Chief Priest, Imaum-o'-Joomah, had arage to refuse to sign the paper, saying that he had no knowledge of the

ata of its contents.

Another gross and absurd falsehood. Mr. Murray's demand, often repeated mitted to the Foreign Office, was that she should be released, and be to her husband.

The flag was hauled down, and the Mission removed from Tehran, before of Dost Mahomed Khan's march had reached that city.

Mahometan country did not lead to a general outbreak and tumult and that the Persian Ministers must have taken great trouble ir preventing things from going further. From what our correspondent hears, if Mr. Thomson struck the Mission flag, still it was on accoun of a merchant, and was not so disgraceful; but it is very disgracefu that the English flag should come down for the sake of a woman We do not know in what way the British Government will remov this disgrace, or how they will treat their Representative.

16. Our correspondent has also learned that Dost Mahome Khan, the Ruler of Cabul, had marched, at the instigation of the English Government, and with their support, against Candahar, an had captured that place; and that he intended to take Herat also Although our correspondent was not certain of the truth of thi intelligence, if such should really prove to be the case, it is eviden that the withdrawal of the English Mission from the capital o Persia has been planned on that account; otherwise, a matter of s little importance as that reported to us, and which is the ostensibl reason for the removal of the Mission from Tehran as stated above could hardly have caused a rupture in the relations of that friend ship which has for so many years existed between the Government of England and that of Persia. This is a rumour which has reachet our correspondent; but the truth or inaccuracy of it has not yel been ascertained.

No. 69.-Consul Stevens to the Earl of Clarendon.—(Rec. Mar. 3.) (Extract.) Tehran, January 8, 1856

I HAVE been informed, on reliable authority, that the Persian Government are sending proposals to Dost Mahomed Khan of a nature hostile to the British Government. It is probably more in the belief that this will delay the Affghan Chief's march upon Herat, and thus give the Persians time to reach the place, than from any real hope of drawing him into an alliance against British

India.

The Earl of Clarendon.

CH. A. MURRAY.

No.70.-Mr.Murray to the Earl of Clarendon.—(Rec.at Paris Mar.27.) (Extract.) Tabreez, February 15, 1856. IF I am not much mistaken, the intelligence most interesting to Her Majesty's Government, which can be transmitted from Persia at this moment, is that which would throw light on the present state of affairs in Herat, and as the letters which reach me from India must doubtless have been, long ere this, delivered in London, it is not improbable that their contents may have caused considerable anxiety to Her Majesty's Government. I believe the sum and sub

« ÀÌÀü°è¼Ó »