Sykes' History of Persia Vol 2 (pdf) - Heritage Institute

THE PERSO-AFGHAN QUESTION 451
.1 that Mirza Hashim might be sent to
British Agent ; but when this appointment ..illy
made he declared that, inasmuch as the man had \.
obtained a formal discharge from the service of the PC:
Government, he was ineligible to hold any post i,
the British, and that his acceptance of tl; .ould
not be permitted. This objection was frivolous, for it is
well known that in Persia formal discharges are unheard
of, and the Sadr-i-Aazam added insult by arresting and
detaining Mirza Hashim's wife. Mr. Murray, the newlyarrived
Minister, agreed in the interests of peace that, if
the Mirza were granted a slightly better paid post by the
Persian Government, and if his safety were guaranteed
and his wife restored to him, he would be discharged
from the British service. Not only was this most rca
able proposal refused, but the unscrupulous Minister stated
openly that the British representative had retained the
Mirza simply on account of his wife. An offensive letter
followed, in which a threat was made that,
if the British
flag were struck, there would be certain unpleasant revelations.
The Minister finally
broke ofF relations, and at
the end of 1855 quitted Teheran. Weeks, and then
months, passed without any communication from England.
The Sadr-i-Aazam consequently began to think that he
had triumphed over Mr. Murray, and in his somewhat
premature exultation he resolved to gratify the national
wish to obtain possession of Herat.
The Anglo -Afghan Alliance, 1855. The threatening
attitude of Persia towards Afghanistan caused Dost
Mohamed to embrace cordially
the idea of an alliance
with Great Britain. Early in 1855 Sir John Laur
]
concluded a treaty of perpetual peace and friendship
with the representative of our erstwhile enemy, thereby
ending the twelve years of hostility and suspicion which
the First Afghan War had bequeathed as a legacy.
The Change of Rulers at Herat, 1855. Almost simultaneously
with the conclusion of this treaty,
the situation
in the Herat province underwent a radical change. Said
Mohamed, who was totally
unfitted to rule, was deposed
1
The text is given in Rawlinson's work, App. II.