The St. Petersburg correspondent of the Times gives an account
in Tuesday's paper of what he has learned of events in Persia. The Swedes, be says, are gaining some success in making the trade routes safer. Two large caravans have recently got through safely from Bushire to Shiraz, and the mail from Shiraz reaches Teheran a fortnight earlier than formerly. The Swedish gendarmerie, which is composed chiefly of infantry, is not, however, mobile enough for its purpose. In the view of the correspondent the worst feature of the situation is the present unwillingness of either Great Britain or Russia to follow any policy but that of granting doles to Persia. As these doles are not large enough to allow reproductive expenditure to be undertaken, the country is " at present heading for hopeless bankruptcy." It may be that a large loan will be forthcoming in conjunction with the trans-Persian railway. The Persian Government has made the granting of the concession dependent upon the obtaining of a loan. This means that the loan would be issued by the railway group. The earliest date mentioned for the issue is the spring of 1914.
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