, and therefore quite reliable,
and so it is, but not so the company of transportation, which is in the
hands of natives, the firm of Messrs. Bagheroff Brothers, which is merely
subsidized by the Russian Road Company.

As every one knows, in 1893 the Russians obtained a concession to
construct a carriage-road from Piri-Bazaar _via_ Resht to Kasvin, an
extension to Hamadan, and the purchase of the road from Kasvin to
Teheran, which was already in existence. Nominally the concession was not
granted to the Russian Government itself--as is generally believed in
England--but to a private company--the "Compagnie d'Assurance et de
Transport en Perse," which, nevertheless, is a mere off-shoot of
Government enterprise and is backed by the Russian Government to no mean
degree. The Company's headquarters are in Moscow, and in Persia the chief
office is at Kasvin.

Here it may be well to add that if this important concession slipped out
of our hands we have only ourselves to blame. We can in no way accuse the
Russians of taking advantage of us, but can only admire them for knowing
how to take advantage of a good opportunity. We had the opportunity
first; it was offered us in the first instance by Persia which needed a
loan of a paltry sixty million francs, or a little over two million
pounds sterling. The concession was offered as a guarantee for the loan,
but we, as usual, temporised and thought it over and argued--especially
the people who did not know what they were arguing about--and eventually
absolutely refused to have anything to do with the scheme. The Russians
had the next offer and jumped at it, as was natural in people well versed
in Persian affairs, and well able to foresee the enormous possibilities
of such an undertaking.

It was, beyond doubt, from the very beginning--except to people
absolutely ignorant and mentally blind--that the concession, apart from
its political importance, was a most excellent financial investment. Not
only would the road be most useful for the transit of Russian goods to
the capital of Persia, and from there all over the country, but for
military purposes it would prove invaluable. Maybe its use in the latter
capacity will be shown sooner than we in England think.

Of course, to complete the scheme the landing at Enzeli must still be
improved, so that small ships may enter in safety and land passengers and
goods each journey without the unpleasant alternative, which we have
seen, of havi