The Times of last Saturday published from its special corre-
spondent at Teheran an account of an interview with the Shah. The correspondent says that the Shah " possesses a sensible and logical view of the situation according to his lights." The Shah evidently "associates a representative body.with anarchy of the worst kind." No doubt the Mejliss deserved someS'of the charges of corruption and incompetence brought against it; indeed, they were confirmed by the more enlightened Nationalists. At the same time, it seems to us dangerous to encourage the Shall to think, as the Times correspondent in effect does, that he is the victim of misfortune rather than of his own errors. Little excuse can be found for the duplicity and violence with which he treated the Nationalists in the coup cractt. The correspondent remarks that the Shah was "cheerful and full of humour, and possessed of an intelligent, though possibly erroneous, understanding of the elements around him." The correspondent gained the impression that there is not much hope for the success of the forthcoming representations by Great Britain and Russia. The Shah is not likely to grant concessions to the Nationalists so long as he can scrape together the funds for a hand-to- mouth existenbe, Nevertheless, the correspondent Eltatea that the Shah will concede a limited form of Constitution when order is restored. We see no immediate chance of that, however, as the situation at Tabriz is a pure deadlock, the Nationalists being completely hemmed in, but the Royalists being unable) to assault the tows.
