Hokitika Guardian & Evening Star THURSDAY, NOV, 1919. BRITAIN AND PERSIA.

Hokitika Guardian, 13 November 1919, Page 2

Hokitika Guardian & Evening Star THURSDAY, NOV, 1919. BRITAIN AND PERSIA.

Pji/tSfAN affairs and the visit of the Shall to gugland at the present juncture giye point fo the recent arrangement) with Great Britain. For some months past negotiations haye been in progress between the two countries for an international agreement, and in August last an understanding was reached. There are in point of fact, two agree-

ments, and of these, on e is political ,asd aims at binding more closely AngloPersiau and promoting the progress and prosperity pf Persia. To these end Great Britain agrees. 7’p respect Persian integrity; To supply experts for Persian administration; To supply officers and equipment for a Persian force for the maintenance of

order; To provide a loan for these purposes; To co-operate with the Persian Government in railway construction and other forms of ransport. Both Governments agree to th e appointment of a joint committee to examine and revise the Customs tariff. The second agreement defines the terms and condi-

tions on which tile loan is to be made to Persia. The loan .is for £2,000,000 at 7 per cent., redeemable in 20 years. It is secured on the revenues and Customs’ receipts assigned for the repayment of the 1911 loan, and should thes 0

be insufficient the Persian Government is to make good the necessary sums from other sources. In September last Lord Curzon speaking at a function in London to the Foreign Minister representing spoke freely concerning the attitude of Great Britain towards Persia. He emphasised the view that Britaon’s main interest in Persia was the independence of that country. Great Britain, he explained did not desire Persia to be a mere buffer against ' her enemies, but to be a bulwark for th e peace of the world. She had never j asked for a mandate for Persia, and ; would not have accepted one. She pre- ! ferred to treat with Persia as a partner on equal terms. Those who believed Lord Curzon suid, that Great Britain was, as the result of the agreement going to sit down in Persia to Anglicise or Indianise' or Europeanise that country, were grossly mistaken. All she wanted to .do was to offer expert assistance and financial aid which would enable Persia to carve out her own future as an independent and still living country. Lord Curzon further defended the agreement against the misconception that it amounted to a protectorate by Great Britain over Persia. He mentioned that as soon as the Council of the League of Nations came into effective existence, it was the intention of both Governments to communicate the agreement to the council of the League with a full explanation and defence of its conditions: But perhaps our interest may well be peculiarly arrested by the 1 wider viewpoint of the Anglo-Fprsipn agreement as emphasised by Lord Curzon. “In looking to the future,” he said, “nothing seemed to him more certain than that a time of great trouble and unforeseen developments lay before the nations of the world. He doubted very much whether, as the result of the war, we had succeeded in pacifying Europe. But whether we had done so or not, it was quite certain that we should not for some time secure stability in •Asia. The break-up of the Russian and Turkish Empires had produced a vacuum which it would take a long time to fill by settled and orderly conditions. The rise of Bolshevism had produced a new and disturbing element, and it might be that, in escaping the dangers of the recent war we might be confronted with a peril even more serious in the future. If that forecast were not over gloomy, if it were correct, nothing could be worse fpr the peace of ‘Asia, and indeed for the pence of the world than that there should exist in tiie heart of the Middle East a State which, by reason of its weakness, became a possible centre of intrigue and the focus and disorder. What they wanted to secure if possible was a solid • .block in which reasonable, tranquil and orderly conditions would prevail from Burma on the east to Mesopotamia on the west. So far a s Great Britain was -responsible, she would devote herself tc that task. If that end was a right' and reasonable end, it was necessary anc ■ vital that Great Britain and Persia work together in order to secure it. Great Britain and Persia were jointly i -epared to defends that agreement looked forward to th 0 vindication of ijts real character by its success.” As giVipg the clue to the last quoted pqrfioo of his remarks it may be added that Lord Giirzon had been referring to a statement which had been made in some quarters to the effect that the Anglo-Russian agreement amounted • to disparagement or deliberate neglect of the League of Nations. It°is of interest to note that in his reply the jpmian Minister gave the British Government for unshakable devojtijop” in upholding Persian nation ip ijts effects for liberty and prosperity-