IOR/L/PS/10/548

The volume comprises correspondence related to the diplomatic and consular expenditure on Special Secret Service in Persia and the Persian Gulf between 1915-1921. The papers focus on the financial adjustments to be made between the India Office and the Foreign Office. According to the statements provided, the expenditure amounted to £319.818 which covered the spending made by the Bushire Residency, as well as the British Consulates at Bandar Abbas, Kerman, Mohammerah, Khorasan, Ahwaz, Shiraz, Sistan and Tehran. The expenditure was mainly on the operation of Indian troops, the Seistan [Sistan] levies, South Persia rifles, subsidies and loans, secret service, ammunition, spies, and other political expenditure.

Other matters discussed within the volume include the following:

• The question of whether the Sistan levies raised for the purpose of maintaining internal order in Persia can be ascribed to the military operations against Persia or not
• The dual supply of Secret Service funds to the Consul at Shiraz
• The conference held at the Treasury in 1923 on the subject of the incidence of Secret Service Expenditure in Persia in the years 1915-1921.

The volume also includes the following financial papers:

• Budget estimates of the Sistan Levy Corps for the years 1917-1919
• Detailed statements (ff 18-57) showing the nature and amount of the Special Secret Service expenditure of the Sistan Consulate together with certificates of payment or contingent bills. The statements cover the period from July 1915- February 1921
• Detailed statements (ff 58-79) showing the nature and amount of the Special Secret Service expenditure spent by the rest of the Consulates in Persia. These also cover the period July 1915- February 1921
• Certificates issued by the Accountant General, Central Revenues.

The main correspondents in the volume are: the Secretary to the Government of India, the Foreign and Political Department, Delhi and Simla; the Secretary to the Financial Department and Legal Advisor, India Office; the Viceroy, Foreign and Political Department; the War Office, London; His Britannic Majesty’s Consul for Sistan and Kain; His Britannic Majesty’s Consul General and Agent to the Government of India in Khorasan, Meshed [Mashhad]; the Accountant General, Central Revenues; and the Accountant General, India Office, London.