The Conservative. (M'connelsville, Ohio) 1866-1871, 1870-02-04
PERSIA.
Present Condition OF the Country
Scenes and Incidents.

Acorrespondent of the London Examiner
writes from Teheran, Persia, under date OF
October last, as follows:
only first impression on landing in Persia
was anything but pleasant. The seaport
OF Eugilee, on the Caspian, put me il mind
Of a narrow creek on the Soonderbunds OF
Bengal, and the ride through dense jungle
10 Resh, the capital OF the Gilan provinces,
was a caution-mud and mire, holes and
stones the whole distance, riding on ponies
so small that once or twice l was sorely
tempted to get off and carry the poor beast,
instead Of inficting It with my weight.
Teheran is not so striking as the native
town of Agra, and without any OF its em-
bellishments-nll mud, and a few dabs OF
paint at the Kings palace. Cholera is rife
all over Persia. The country is impoverish.
ed by misgovernment, whose sole aim is to
extort money from all and every one by
fair or by foul means, to crafty its "
poor ideas of show.
The failure of the silk cultivation Of the
Gillian and Mazanderan provinces, owing to
disease among the worms, has put n I'm.
ishing touch to the misery and poverty
which is palpable throughout the three
hundred miles l have travelled. / am with
in the mark when l say that five villages
out of six we're deserted and IN ruins. In
spite OF all this the King insists on getting
mis- revenues; and 20 avoid mutilation, bas-
'tinado aud other torments, close on one
half Of the population is in what they call
Sanctuary, that is, have taken refuge in
mosques or other holy places, where the
Kings soldiers are not allowed by the Ko-
ran law 10 enter. However, / am not go.
ing to inhict on you q treatise on Persian
politics; but you will ut once comprehend
the demoralized state OF society when
tell you that the King has no hesitation in
, hosting up the feet of his Prime Minister,
his Chancellor of the Exchequer, his Gov
ernor-General, and ~bastinadoinR them TIL
their ~toe-nails drop of. His wives are
similarly treated; and, as he IL despotio, he
considers this mild punishment, and some
times orders the throat Of the offender 70
be cut.
cat a village, or rather collection Of mud
/, huts, 1 passed through, Al order had ar
rived that the head man was to receive this
little piece Of attention. and es IN the lock.
mp there was a prisoner who had one hand
cut of a few days previously for stealing
he was told TO do the deed, on the promise
that he should be released. The poor fel
low found it a difficult job with his on,
hand, and a knife hardly larger h thos'
! we put into our pockets; but at last he pro
4 nOulONl ~ uputs ~ mn AoAAa hp Nhi
) quietly put into prison again, where he will
remain till released probably by death.
, ''The capabilities Of the country arc
something wonderful, but the Persian'
won't allow European enterprise to step IL
for the next fifty years or more. There II
no population, no traffic, no commerce
governed by a despotio King and fanatica
priesthood, the people are in a hopeless
state. They won't allow any Europeans L
hold land, or TO enter into commercial pur
suits; they place restrictions and prohibi
. tory transit duties ON merchandise 10 sucl
Q an extent that the only respectable hous,
n in Persia, the Raillys, are going to leave /
with over e200, 900 outstanding.
',As my return will not only be through
Persia, Georgia, and the Caucasus, but b,
way Of the Black Sea, IL squite impossibl,
to calculate the length Of time the %iourne!
will take; suffice il 70 say that have a rid,
OF twelve hundred miles before me, by wa.
\ Of the Kasbin, Tabriz, Erzrum, and on Z
Trebizond, where / take steamer for Con
stantinople. The distance is not so grea
/ as tho difficulties to be encountered on tn,
\ road, crossing as it does, high chains o
q snow-covered mountains, for winter ha
there already set in, and my feeling will b
that OF disappointment, az no business cai
. be got out of the journey.
"Ihe carrier with the Englis.
v mail ought to nave been here OF the 10th
and yesterday we heard Of his having bee
q killed and mail.bags destroyed by the viii
% Khoor tribes ON the frontier. Owing to tn
breaking out of these wild tribes, it is i'm
possible to obtain O guide across the des
. ert, 80 l must remain some days longer, ii
. the country is more settled; but shall no
! be able to rest long, for now that l see pos
a itiyely that nothing is TO be done here / al
all anxiety to be on the roads m getting oN
d or some Of the twelve hundred miles rid
that is before me.
II was disgusted this morning when rio
ing outside the city wall TO stumble on
dozen poles with a dozen reeking huma
heads that had evidently been taken Of a
, hour or so before by the orderof the Shal
who is Generally guided by some freak
whim.'