PERSIA.
PARLiAMENTVAND SHAH, or TKr.EGitArn—niEss absociation—corrniotiT. Teheran, January-16. •The'.Persian Parliament, in return for certain concessions, has Agreed: to 'suppressseveral newspapers, The concessions will increase the Shali's civil list. by . £'30,000. THE CONSTITUTION. Tho Constitution issued by the lato Sliab, and confirmed by. Ilia succcssor, has been in operation a whole year. Consisting of a preamble of fifty-on® articles, it was issued onJanuary. 1, 1007. It'.dealt with the constitution of the National Council, fixing the number of members- provisionally at IG*2 —to :be raised Inter on to liOQ—and establishing two years'as (ho . limit of its life, it' is to'meet evory year on October S, and' can sit' as it likes. . ■'.' In the hands of the National -Council aro placed, inter alia, all questions of financial control, and the granting of monopolies, concessions, etc. Under this claustj tho .Council has. been ; discussing banking questions, and by it a financial'arrangement'has been, coino to •witli a German firm—tho Orient Bank of Berlin—for establishing a bank in Persia. ', Tho Council,'.writes pno of tho latest authorities,/ has. Irebn hitherto -purely ' 'a, . debating society. . It has produced no men of note; it'has accomplished little) legislation, worthy tlio name. This is due to lack; of expcrienco .iii political matters. There is'also a partly nominated, partly elected, Senate of sixty members. Parties are divided into those, favouring reform and those regarded as reactionaries; Outside tho Assembly all is chaos.; The trade of the country cannot expand, as many routes—notably tho southern,from tho Gulfare, unsafe owing to extensive marauding. .There are often local troubles, in tho large towns,, duo..to the incapacity, as a rule, of Government officials. Thcro is! chaos in the Government departments. No soldiers could be found to send, against the invadihg .Turks at Urumia, yet "a' youth could bo hired to throw a bomb, at the Premier, killing him almost on tho srfot. The Sultan, Mohammed Ali, is weak. Ho has no soldiers and no money, in which respect tho disaffected members.. of tlio community aro similarly lacking. Given funds, Jie would probably at once strengthen his position by arms.
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Bibliographic details
Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 98, 18 January 1908, Page 5
Word Count
343PERSIA. Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 98, 18 January 1908, Page 5
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