UNFULFILLED PROMISES II5
the National Assembly or Majlis, allusion must be made to some minor events of the February and March of this year. The report of the British commercial mission of 1904-5, edited by Colonel Gleadowe-Newcomen, appeared in February. At the beginning of March the Turkish Government promised to with- draw its troops from the Persian frontier, which they were already threatening?» On March 3 the Shdah’s brother, the Ndéibu's-Saltana, was reappointed Minister of War, a post which he had formerly held for twelve years (1884-96), but of which for the last ten years he had been deprived*, There were also about this time currency troubles, of which the following account is given in a communication from St Petersburg dated March 20,1906. The high price of silver had induced speculators to buy up Persian silver coins, export them in large quantities to India, and recoin them as rupees. In consequence of the shortage in silver thus produced, the Mint at Tihran suspended operations, while, on the other hand, the country was flooded, according to this Russian correspondent, with the notes of which the (English) Imperial Bank of Persia had a monopoly. The Persian merchants, it was added, were already refusing to accept these notes, and it was feared that the result might be a run on the Bank and a demand for coin in exchange for paper money‘, Early in April there was a bread-riot at Mashhad in which three persons lost their lives.
Towards the end of April the mwd/és of Tihran presented to the Shah a petition (also published, apparently, in the official Journal or Gazette) regarding the disturbances of December, 1905, praying His Majesty to give effect to his promised reforms, and to exercise the executive power in accordance with the laws®. This petition produced no effect, and, indeed, so far from improving, matters got steadily worse. Spies were every- where ; the streets were full of Cossacks and soldiers; and no one was allowed to go about the streets later than three hours after sunset. Sayyid ‘Abdu’ll4h and Sayyid Muhammad con- tinued to address fruitless remonstrances to ‘Aynu’d-Dawild, and,
1 Times, Feb. 27, 1906. * Tbid., March 2, 1906. 8 Jbid., March 5, 1906. 4 Lbid., March 22, 1906. > [bid., April 28, 1906. 8-—2
