Page:Statesman's Year-Book 1921.djvu/1216

 1164 PEESIA

1915, it has cease J to exist as a legislative or administrative body. (Fot a history of the struggle see The Statesman's Year-Book for 1916, p. 1220. ) The government of the country is in the hands of the Cabinet, which was formed on March 1, 1921, as follows : —

Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior. — Seyed Ziaed-Din.

Minister for Foreign Affairs. — Modirel-Molk.

Minister of War. — Eeza Khan.

Minister of Education. — Nayerol-Molk.

Minister of Finance. — Mirza Eissa Khan.

Minister of Justice. — Mansures-Sultaneh.

Minister of Posts and Telegraphs. — Mochir-Moazam.

Minister of Public Health and Charity. — Moadebod-Dowleh.

Minister of Public Works. — Movaghared-Dowleh.

The country is divided into thirty-three provinces, which are governed by governors-general, who are directly responsible to the central Govern- ment, and can nominate the lieutenant-governors of the districts com prised in their own governments. Some of the governments are very small, and do not bear subdivision into districts, &c. ; others arc verv large, and comprise several provinces. Governors-general and governors are generally called Hakim, the former also often have the title of Wali. Every town has a mayor or chief magistrate called Kalantar, or Darogha, or Begler- begi. Every quarter of a town or parish, and every village, has a chief who is called Kedkhoda. These officers, whose chief duty is the collection of the revenue, are generally appointed by the governors, but sometimes elected by the citizens. Most of the governors have a vizir or a pishkar, a man of experience, to whom are entrusted the details of the government. The chiefs of nomad tribes are called Ilkhani, llbeggi, Wali, Serdar, Sheikh ; they are responsible for the collection of the revenues to the governors of the province in which their tribes reside.

A law of May, 1907, provides for the election of rural and town councils. In these elections practically all subjects have a right to vote, and it is intended that the councils should be in direct communication with the National Council.

An agreement was concluded between Great Britain and Persia on August 9, 1919, in which the British Government (1) reiterated the past under- takings to respect absolutely the independence and integrity of Persia ; (2) undertook to supply whatever expert advisers may be necessary for the several departments of the Persian administration ; (3) also to provide such officers. munitions and equipment as may be adjudgod necessary by a joint British and Persian Military Commission for the formation of a uniform force for the maintenance of order in the Country and on the Frontiers ; (4) to provide a substantial loan to finance the reforms in 2 and 3 ; (5) to co operate in railway construction and other forms of transport ; (6) to appoint a joint Committee to revise the existing Customs Tariff. The agreement was on February 27, 1921, denounced by the then Prime Minister, Seyed-Ziaed-Diu.

Area and Population.

Persia, which has an area of about 628,000 square miles, lies between 25° and 40° north latitude and between 44° and 63°30' east longitude, and measures 1,385 miles in length and 863 miles in breadth. A vast portion id' this area is an absolute desert, and the population is everywhere so scanty as not to exceed, on the average, fifteen inhabitants to the square mile.

The population is estimated at between 8 and 10 millions, but all figures are largely conjectural. It is estimated that the country contains some