A History of Protestant missions in the near East

334 History of Protestant Missions in the Near East
seventh year as an ordinary missionary. In this he was following
the example of his departed friend, Bishop French,
who, as we have seen, gave up his work in India at an advanced
age to go to Muscat. He is still labouring in this
difficult Persian Mission, cheerfully bearing its hardships in
his old age. Under his leadership, the work of the mission in
Julfa has, in the last five years, been transferred from the
quiet Armenian suburb to the busy city of Ispahan. Thus
the hospitals and the schools of the mission were brought into
the centre of public interest.
It is unfortunate that in late years there has been so much
disturbance in connection with the political development. In
the autumn of 1906 the Shah Muzaffar-ed-Din (1896-1907),
under pressure from the people, granted a constitution. He
died on the 8th of January, 1907. His son, Muhammad AH
Mirza, succeeded him.
It was incumbent on the new Shah to
fulfill the promises of his father, and to call a parliament.
This was, to be sure, rendered difficult by the condition of
Persia at that time ; ^a revolt led by his brother in the western
provinces of Luristan and Arabistan had to be forcibly
suppressed commerce was at a low ebb
;
throughout the country
; and, in 1904 and 1905, there had occurred a fearful epidemic
of cholera in Persia, raging especially in the two chief
towns of Teheran and Shiraz. Yet, apart from this, Muhammad
Ali had no intention of letting himself be hampered by a
parliamentary form of government. Persia had ever been
the most autocratically governed country of the Near East.
Suddenly to grant self-government seemed even to European
statesmen a leap in the dark, if not an utter impossibility.
The Shah, though he called a parliament according to the
constitution, listened willingly to such advisers. He attempted
a coup d'etat, ordering the parliament to dissolve,
and abrogating the constitution. But he had miscalculated.
His rash step only strengthened the determination of the
Persians to put an end to arbitrary government. In the conflict
which arose between the Shah and the parliament, the
latter
cleverly made use of the excitement to extend its
pow-