Teheran, 25 of July 1876
 

An inquiry whether I felt disposed to undertake the task of organizing the Posts in Persia à l'européenne was addressed to me in the month of April 1874.
 

I have no hesitation in confessing that my knowledge of Persia did not then go beyond the notion that its capital was Teheran, that the Kingdom extended from the Caspian Sea to the Persian Gulf, and that the Shah Nasser-ed-Din, whom we had seen in Austria the year before covered with diamonds, was its absolute monarch.
 

As only a few days were allowed to me for coming to a decision, I accepted this mission without having a thorough knowledge of the importance and difficulties of the task I was about to undertake. A three years' engagement was signed after negotiations which lasted so long that I did not leave Vienna route for Persia till as late as the 13th of November. The information which I could obtain in my native land as to the manner of life and difficulties to be encountered in Iran was so scanty and imperfect in its character, that it was really a ‘terra incognita’ on which I set my foot when, at the end of 1874, I reached Julfa on the Aras.
 

The nearer I came to my new field of operations, the more discouraging was the intelligence. In Tiflis the Governor (one of the Grand Dukes) asked me whether I was already acquainted with Persia, and on my giving a negative answer be rejoined: "I thought so, for had you known the country, you would not have undertaken this mission."
 

In Tabriz several of the most highly respected Europeans, established in this town, impressed upon us new-comers (vis. myself, an Austrian postal clerk my assistant, a superior mining engineer, and a mechanical engineer, who were my fellow travelers), that we must not deceive ourselves, and expect to achieve more than so many of our European predecessors in various other under-takings had done. But being of a happy turn of mind, I was not dis-heartened, and reflected that in the worst case the journey to a country so entirely unknown, and the temporary release from the monotony of office life, would still be worth the trouble, and would be a sufficient compensation for disappointed expectations.
 

My journey through the North-Western part of the Kingdom, although fatiguing - being performed in winter - enabled me to gather some information respecting the existing arrangements for the conveyance of letters and passengers, before my arrival in the capital. In Teheran I found the Europeans residing in this town as hopeless as to the success of my mission, as were the people I had met in Tabriz. The Austrian Minister was the only person who did not share these feelings, and it is owing to his energetic support, and to the high esteem in which he was held by the Persians, that these predictions of failure were not realized to their full extent.
 

After we had been presented to the Grand-Vizier, and by this great functionary to the Shah, I set about the preparation of the scheme which I had been requested to drawn up. Official information respecting the state of the Persian Posts, as they then existed, being necessary for this work, I was referred to two very agreeable Ministers who had formerly been Ambassadors in Europe. But neither of them had the slightest knowledge of the subject. I put my questions, twenty-four in number, in writing, and weeks after I received two notes (in octavo) containing the answers, which were altogether defective, and as I soon convinced myself, totally incorrect.
 

Private inquiry had in the meantime shown me the existence of certain reasons for withholding the truth from me. Feeling convinced that I should get no further by putting questions, I began to draw up my scheme, which I soon submitted to the Grand-Vizier; and a few days after, a great Council of Ministers was held which I was summoned to attend.
 

At this Council, my very voluminous document, which had been translated into Persian, was read by the "Minister of petitions", a gentleman from 26 to 28 years of age, then unknown to me, but who was destined to become the ruling spirit of the Posts.

 

I felt delighted at the frequent Bali-Bali (expressions of assent) which attended the reading of my scheme, and as the Grand-Vizier eventually assured me of approval, I no longer doubted of the success of my plans. But I did not then know the grandees of this Kingdom; neither was I aware of the fact that my scheme had a radical defect which consisted in my needing money for its execution, and asking at once for the sum of 20,000 Tomans (200,000 francs). I was requested to give a detailed statement of a demand which was not, at that time, considered by any means exorbitant.
 

I supplied the required estimate, and heard nothing more about the matter for some time. One day I was summoned to the young Minister above-mentioned, and learned that the management of the Posts had been conceded to him by the King as a privilege for a certain number of years; that I must consequently refer to him before introducing innovations, and that these depended on his decision.
 

I was at last informed that the sum asked for could not be granted, and that I must endeavour to organize an entirely new and modern postal system, by making every use of existing arrangements, but must go to as little expense as possible.
 

The realization of my project of transforming the Persian Posts into an institution à l'européenne, which I had so eagerly looked forward, was thus rendered impossible: and I was at the time greatly inclined to send in my resignation. But I subsequently yielded to advice received from competent quarters: "that I should first get a little persianized, create some cheap arrangement which would attract notice (Tamashah), and then wait and see whether some addition or another could not be made to it. I might feel confident that even the slightest improvement would be very useful."
 

As this counsel was based on a thorough knowledge of the state of things in Persia, I consented to the establishment of a post-office at one of the principal Caravansaries, at the expense of the Minister of Posts. This was carried out by causing a part of the Caravansary to be white-washed, to be provided with doors and windows, and to be furnished with five chairs and a table. A tower, on which a flag was to be hoisted, was built on the top of the office. I allowed my dragoman to go about in a green and red uniform, and to be followed by four Farrashes clad in similar attire.
 

Four stereotype plates, which had been made goodness knows where, were entrusted to me by the Minister, for the preparation of four different kinds of postage-stamps. He also showed me a great number of stamps that had formerly been manufactured in Teheran by means of these plates, and had been issued to the public. These stamps had, however, soon been withdrawn from circulation because experience had proved that, owing to their never having been defaced, the same stamps were used several times over for the prepayment of letters.
 

I was requested to prepare stamps by means of these plates without loss of time, to issue the same, and to promote their use among the public. Having made up my mind to try everything, and to go in for anything, I consented to this measure, and manufactured 120,000 such stamps, with colourings different from those of the former issue, and I further altered their design by causing their value to be engraved in arabic figures underneath the belly of the lion.
 

Owing to the distrust felt in this country towards every foreigner, I had not yet received a single farthing. They actually preferred seeing my first dragoman appropriate the third part of the first subsidy of 1000 francs for his own benefit, and even went so far as to pay the second subsidy of 2000 francs into the hands of his successor, my second Mirza.
 

With these small sums I by degrees bought some necessary implements and in the month of August 1875 inaugurated the first "Tamashah” the postal service between Teheran and the villages in the Shemiran. Although I was obliged to fix de rate of postage on letters convey by this Country-Post at 5 Shahis = 25 Centimes per letter, this service was on very well. The Europeans make use of the Post for novelty's sake, and the Persians overwhelmed the Shah with letters, because they had been led to believe that each petition forwarded by the new post would be put into the Sovereign's own hand, coupled with a demand for an immediate answer.
 

I made the most of this success and at once asked for money, requesting that it might be paid into my own hands, and promising in return the establishment of regular postal communication with Tabriz, Julfa, and Resht.
 

A sum of 8000 francs was promised to me, and I set to work in earnest with the preparations for this service, by causing some Persians who had applied for postal appointments to be taught by my European assistant the new postal regulations which I had drawn up and published.
 

I felt confident of being in a position to begin the postal service on the above-mentioned routes towards the end of the autumn, but was once more disappointed in my expectations as the promised sum was not forth coming till the end of November, and even then did not consist entirely of ready money, almost half of it being in promissory notes which could not be realized till later on and then with great difficulty. The opening of my postal service had therefore to be postponed until the beginning of February.
 

After having realized part of my money, I sent my European assistant to Resht, and thence to Tabriz, in which places, as well as at Kazvin and Zenjan, he established post-offices, and initiated the chief officials into the duties of the service. The postmaster at Resht, an agent of the firm Ziegler, is the only European among them; the other officials and subordinate officials are all Persians, three of whom write and speak French, while the remainder are only just beginning to decipher the French characters.
 

The first courier started from Tabriz on the 10th, and the one from Teheran on the 12th of the month of February. The post-offices in all these five towns had begun their work; and from the first moment the couriers arrived at the appointed places with the greatest punctuality.
 

And now, after the lapse of six months, these Posts continue to work so regularly, that the idea of any further difficulty coming in the way of their progress is no longer entertained; and the Bazaars, perhaps the greatest power in Teheran and Tabriz, already value the advantages derived from the order and security with which the conveyance of their correspondence is effected, so highly, that it will be no easy matter to destroy this work, although a certain faction, whose interests have been affected by these innovations, still continue secret machinations having this end in view. I look upon the favourable opinion of the Bazaars as the only bulwark of the new institution, and also as a guarantee for the ultimate payment of the money necessary for the establishment of the remaining postal lines.
 

It was intended that my European assistant should reside at Tabriz, the junction of the future postal routes to Turkey and Russia, and from thence manage the practical postal service. But as this plan did not meet his views, and he had taken at strong dislike to the country, he tendered his resignation. As nature has not endowed everyone of her children with a stock of patience sufficient to enable him to stand the life in Persia, and as the privatives have not been able to obtain the consent imposed upon a young man, who is accustomed to the pleasures of society, are very great, I complied with his request, although I was put to some inconvenience by the departure of the only one of my employés who was acquainted with the postal service.
 

The handling of the mails, and the system of accounts being however very primitive, I confidently hoped (and in this respect I was not disappointed) that the successor whom I had engaged would soon be of very great assistance to me. This gentleman, a German subject, speaking several languages besides his own, had just left the English Telegraph service.
 

I took for granted that, as soon as my postal lines should extend as far as the Russian frontier, nothing would hinder the establishment of a simple exchange of letters with this neighbouring country; especially as on my journey through Tiflis I had been assured that no difficulty would be put in my way, and had actually been requested by the Grand Duke to establish this service. It seemed to me that the simplest and surest way of effecting the exchange with Europe was to organize regular postal communication between Tabriz and Julfa, and then to negotiate the necessary treaties, and quietly await their conclusion.
 

But in Persia one is always deceived in one's reckonings. After having settled the conditions concerning this exchange, with the postal Direction at Tiflis, my plans were unexpectedly crossed by diplomatic difficulties, and I was informed that I had no authority to conclude such international arrangements, and that letters directed from Russia to Persia would not be handed over to my officers, unless a convention had been come to between Russia and Persia.
 

Until then the letters would be conveyed from Julfa to Tabriz and Teheran by the courier of the Russian Legation alone. Up to the present moment, and in spite of my remonstrances, I have not been able to obtain the consent to Persia's demand to effect the conveyance of private letters from Russia by means of her own post-riders, as soon as they have crossed her frontier; and have not, therefore, been in a position to make known in Europe that letters could be sent by post to Persia, and how this was to be done.
 

Letters to Europe are prepaid at my offices by means of Persian and Russian postage stamps, and are regularly forwarded via Julfa. Although every possible difficulty is thrown in the way of my officers, I have hitherto always succeeded in getting the Persian letter-bags across the Aras, where they are then accepted without any objection by the Russian post-office. I must even do the Russian Posts the justice to say that, up to the present, all the letters sent via Julfa have reached their destination without delay.
 

In the course of last year, I opened negotiations for the conclusion of treaties with Turkey, Russia, and Austria. In the case of Turkey, 1 agreed to all the conditions relative to the establishment of a postal service between Tabriz and Trebizond, and the convention was to be signed in Constantinople in the month of May. This matter was unfortunately interfered with by the war, which seems to have paralyzed every branch of the Administration, as I have not as yet heard anything more of the fate of the arrangement.
 

Russia and Austria have already officially notified to the Persian Government their readiness to conclude postal treaties, and I now confidently hope that the junction between the European and Persian postal lines will one day take place. In the meantime, through the mediation of the Austrian Foreign Office, permission has been granted that I should be furnished with modern postage stamps and stamped envelopes, by the Austrian State Printing Office, and I am very anxiously awaiting their arrival.
 

These new postage labels are extremely necessary, as the ones at present is use are of so primitive a nature that, if I cause a new issue of them to be made, I must run the risk of soon having more counterfeit than genuine stamps in circulation.
 

I have lately been in Isphahan for the purpose of extending my postal system, and have drawn up the project of a postal service to the Persian Gulf as far as Bushire, and am now only waiting for the money which is necessary for beginning the preparations. But as all the dignitaries are out of town, and as almost every business is closed, the moment is altogether unpropitious for making the necessary application; and the autumn will very likely set in before the golden fountain again begins to flow.
 

This delay does not, however, cause me great annoyance, as I myself am in need of rest. In this country the summer is everybody's enemy, and when I ride into town in order to control the arrival and departure of the mails, I make all possible haste to leave the burning streets, and the by no means sweet smelling Bazaars behind me, and to reach the beautiful country-seat where I am this year residing. Here I am redactor, copyist, and cashier of the General Direction of Posts all in one, and pass my time pleasantly enough in writing the letters, and keeping the accounts As soon as autumn begins, it will be quite easy to get into harness again.
 

I must add that this year I set the Country-Post going in the neighbourhood of Teheran as early as the beginning of June, and also lowered the rate of postage on letters conveyed through its agency to two Shahis per letter. This service has already become so great a necessity to the public that they are discontented if I do not dispatch a courier from Teheran to the Shamiran on the day on which the mail comes in from Tabriz. A circumstance which is of still greater importance, is the fact that the English Director of Telegraphs forwards the telegraphic messages from Europe to the Ambassadors and other important persons, by means of this institution.
 

The receipts of my postal service to Tabriz have increased with every month, and with them I am able to cover not only the whole of the expenses arising from my offices, and from the conveyance of the mails, but also those caused by the Government Goulams, who are dispatched twice a month from my office in Teheran to every part of the country.
 

This proves to me that, as soon as the Posts are organized in the same manner on several great routes, this institution will easily yield the means sufficient for its further improvement. I constantly impress this fact on the competent authorities, and am disposed to believe that I have overcome the worst part of the distrust felt towards my innovations, as a much more favourable position, than that I formerly occupied, and a proportionately larger field of action were conceded to me four months ago.
 

As I already mentioned at the beginning of this letter, no information respecting the existing postal system had been given to me at the time I undertook its reorganization; on the contrary, false and misleading statements were actually made to me.
 

In the course of the first year I however succeeded, by means of observation and inquiry, and later on, through my present dragoman and secretary an exceptionally active and honest Persian in ascertaining all that was necessary for me to know. Having given a detailed description of the innovations I have been able to introduce, I will in conclusion relate how the Posts were organized at the time of my arrival, and point out what modifications I have made in them.
 

The Post in Persia, like most other branches of the Administration, was from the beginning as institution, the management of which used to be conceded by the Shah to one of the great nobles of the Kingdom for his own benefit. As a matter of course the holder of the privilege was at liberty to get as much as he possibly could out of it.
 

I thus found a Persian Prince Taxis in the incontestable enjoyment of this privilege, from which he was intent upon extracting the greatest possible benefit, without dreaming of going to any expense in the introduction of new arrangements.
 

Up to my arrival the possessor of the privilege had farmed out his rights to a second person for some thousand Tomans. At the time I came to Teheran a Khan occupied this charge of General Farmer of Posts. He was at the same time commander of a brigade of the Royal Horse-Guards, and proprietor of the horses employed in the Tshaparchance in Teheran.
 

The postal service was performed by couriers who were dispatched twice a month to every part of the country, and the Khan received not only the subsidy for this service, which was paid by the Government in ready money, but also a great part of the forage, which was furnished “in natura” by the Governors of the provinces for the keep of a certain number of horses.
 

He again let out the different postal routes to Najebs, who once more sub-let them to others, and these received the remaining part of the forage. With such a system of letting, and sub-letting under which the General Farmer had to give the lion's share to the Minister, and a corresponding percentage to his Mirzas, and the sundry other lessees and sub-lessees had to pay their rent to their immediate employers, it may easily be imagined how little remained for the residuary lessee, and how small a part of the forage was actually given to the horses.
 

The natural consequence was that the horses were insufficient in number, that their condition was unsatisfactory, and that the men employed in the Tshaparchances went hungry like their animals, and begged every traveller for a gratuity.
 

The receipts derived from the conveyance of private postal covers by Government couriers were divided in various manners. On the most important route, that from Tabriz to Teheran, the fees were equally divided between the Tshapar-Bashi in Teheran and his fellow-officer in Tabriz; and as the Khan in Teheran was a great personage who had no fancy for passing his life in an office, he sold his share of the fees levied on every mail to one of his Mirzas for twenty Tomans per mail-day.
 

The postage collected during the Journey of the mail was divided between the Najebs, and the Goulams who formed its escort. A different mode was adopted on the less important routes. The Tshapar-Bashi of Teheran had all the Goulams in his pay, and received the money accruing from the conveyance of travellers. The Goulams on the other hand had the right of collecting the letters and parcels intended for their respective routes, and of effecting their conveyance; for this they had, of course, to pay a considerable sum to the Khan.
 

It may easily be imagined how it fared with the senders of letters under such a system. I was told, certainly, that a fixed rate of postage, determined according to distance and weight, had been charged on postal articles, but I soon found out the incorrectness of this assertion. It was, for instance, a well-known practice among the Goulams to levy the charges for the conveyance of covers, when these were handed over to them, but only to deliver them to the addressees on receiving the postage a second time.
 

Complaints were even made to me that the Tshapar-Bashi, after having received covers containing money, for conveyance, simply refused to hand them over to the addressees. At the same time I was informed by thoroughly credible persons that this rich but avaricious man, who lent his money out to the Bazaars at interest the rate of which is here sometimes as high as 30 percent, had paid his household and other expenses with money that had been entrusted to him for conveyance to or from other places; and that the addressees had become accustomed only to receive from him the money that had been sent to them, little by little.
 

The Minister of Posts was aware of this state of things, and I must do him the justice to say that he was earnestly desirous to assist me in putting a stop to these abuses. He belongs to the party of progress, but is still too much of an Oriental to be able to get over his distrust towards the Frengi.
 

All the other parties interested are naturally my opponents, of whom I have unfortunately not been able to get rid entirely during the short time the direction of Posts has practically been in my hands (viz. since the Persian new-year, the 21st of March of this year). They even frightened the poorest Najebs who, as I said before, went hungry like their horses, into the belief that the impossible would happen, and that they would be even worse off under our direction than they were before.
 

But intrigue is the chief feature of the Persian character, which is lacking in courage for open resistance. This accounts for the fact that the service of couriers I had organized could be carried on without any interruption, in spite of the opposition it had to encounter. Since then I have gained much ground among a certain class of people, because they see that I pay punctually, and that I favour the poor as much as is in my power. The Tshapar-Shagerds receive a gratuity of 50 centime per station, and the Goulams are paid a sum of 6 Francs after every trip, in addition to their relatively high wages of 50 francs per month. All this attracts attention.
 

At Nowruz I took out of the hands of the great Tshapar-Bashi of Teheran the management of all the postal routes, with the exception of that to Tabriz, and checked as much as possible the practice of sub-letting, by means of direct contracts with the Najebs. Before next Nowruz I hope to succeed in doing the same with regard to the route to Tabriz, on which this modification could not be introduced at once, as all the Najebs were pecuniarily dependent on the Tshaper-Bashi of Teheran, and none was bold enough to declare that he was in a position to undertake the management of his station on his own account.
 

I have no difficulty with the small Najebs. They are extremely humble, and all they want, is to be able to earn their living. It only remains for me to dispose of the few grandees of the old system. By Allah! I shall succeed in this also, and I confidently expect that by next summer I shall have achieved the establishment of a complete and regular postal system extending over the whole country.
 

As soon as this is accomplished, I shall strive to obtain the admission of Persia into the General Postal Union, and thus put the fitting crown to a work undertaken under such unfavourable auspices. The further development of this institution will, however, be the task of the European who consents to be my successor, as three whole years of patient endurance, and privation of every social pleasure, must surely be a sufficient expiation for the sins one may have committed in one's youth. Neither the high position I now occupy, nor the most brilliant pecuniary prospects will prevail upon me to remain any longer far from my dear mother-country.