Persia and England

New-York Daily Tribune.
Nr.3966, 2. Januar 1854

Persia and England.

In announcing the declaration of war by the Shah of Persia against the Turkish Sultan,
we copied from The London Times a statement that Persia has fallen entirely under
"Russian control;" but since our London cotemporary fails to explain how that
country has become estranged from the influence of Great Britain, we will supply
the deficiency. It includes some singular historical facts.

In 1811, England bound herself, by the treaty of Teheran, negotiated with Persia
by Sir Harford Jones Brydges, to maintain Persia on her then footing of independence,
against Russia and all other powers. Persia, on her side, stipulated that she would
not enter into any relations with European nations, or with any power whatever, to
the detriment or prejudice of the British Indian Empire. The stipulations of that treaty
were faithfully kept by Persia. England violated them at first in 1826, when she
allowed Russia to extend her territory to the frontier of the Araxes. And Lord
Palmerston, from 1830—1841, did all in his power to supplant the British influence in
the Persian councils by Russian influence, as we proceed to show.

At the time when the noble Lord came into office, the Russians were so detested
in Persia that they were scarcely able to find a footing for their Consuls or agents
in any part of the kingdom. In Hamadan, for instance, permission to reside was
secured to them only upon the application and remonstrances of the British Envoy.

So complete was the British ascendancy in Persia at that time, so complete the distrust

and suspicion of Russian designs. In 1831 the menaces of Lord Palmerston prevented
Persia from succouring the insurrection in Poland, disgusted the mind of Abbas Mirza,
the Crown Prince, whose march to the Russian frontier he had intercepted, and thus
disposed him and his house to look less unfavorably towards their former enemy,
Russia, than towards Great Britain, their unfaithful ally. On the death of the Crown
Prince, Russia, with the aid of Palmerston, set aside the next heir to the crown of
Persia, who, according to the usage of that country, was the eldest surviving son of
the reigning Shah, and replaced him by the son of Abbas Mirza, the Governor of
Azerbijan, a province bordering on the Russian territory, this Prince having already
agreed to exchange the English for the Russian alliance. This transaction deeply
compromised the independence of Persia, and had the effect of giving to the Czar
a direct voice in the alteration and new arrangement of the succession to the Persian

monarchy. Aided by British forces, the Russian nominee was enabled to vanquish
and put to death his competitor, the lawful heir, and place himself on the throne of
Persia.

This was in the year 1834; and subsequently the noble Lord made it his system
to leave the British Envoys at Teheran entirely without instructions ; or so to instruct 5
them as to leave them entirely unprovided to meet any foreseen or unforeseen
emergency. They had, moreover, one standing direction given them, which was this:
that they were in all cases to act in conjunction with the Russian Envoy. Dispatch
after dispatch—some times as many as twenty consecutive dispatches— were received
in Downing-st. from the British Envoys in Persia, beseeching information and advice, 10
and the necessary powers to proceed. But the answer of Lord Palmerston—when it
came—was, invariably: "I approve of what you have done, and I shall waitfor further
information from you before I send you further instructions." In the meantime they
are directed by him to continue to act upon the instructions already received. But
these were that they must act in conjunction with the Russian Legation—that is, 15
concur in the measures which Russia might think fit to take. Thus it appeared to Persia
that Russia alone was active, that England did nothing, except to concur with Russia,
and that accordingly it behoved Persia to secure a favorable position with Russia
alone. In Central Asia it is therefore said to this day that Russia and England are united
on the terms of sovereignty and vassalage: the Czar of Russia being said to be the 20
suzerain and the Queen of Great Britain to be the vassal. The Russian Envoy, Count
Simonien, actually advised and headed an expedition of the Persian army against
Herat, with the avowed object of making that the first step toward the conquest of
Candahar, of Cabul, and finally of Delhi itself. The first intimation to Lord Palmerston
of the design to attack Herat was conveyed in a dispatch from Mr. Ellis, in November, 25
1835. And notwithstanding the earnest and frequent entreaties of Mr. Ellis and Sir
John McNeill for instructions to lodge with the Czar protest against the expedition,
the date of the noble Lord's first instructions is July 27,1838, when the Herat expedition had already been brought to an ignominious end. This proves conclusively the
cooperation of the late British Minister in the work of Russian aggrandizement. 30