§ Mr. DILLONasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether his attention has been called to the bombardment by a Russian warship of Gunnishtepe, a small Persian town on the coast of the Caspian Sea; whether ten leading merchants have been arrested and the town destroyed; and whether he can communicate any official account of these transactions?
§ Sir E. GREYHis Majesty's Chargé d'Affaires at Tehran, to whom I addressed a telegraphic inquiry respecting this incident, reports that about three weeks ago some trouble arose in connection with the Russian fisheries at Gunnishtepe, near Astrabad, in the course of which a Mullah killed a Cossack of the Russian Consular Guard at Astrabad, and dangerously wounded another. The murderer and most of the villagers having escaped, the Russian authorities sent a gunboat from Ashurada to Gunnishtepe, which fired three shots as a warning on arriving. The murderer eventually surrendered to the Russian frontier post, saying that he would rather be tried by the Russians than by the Persians. His trial will take place in Russia, and the villagers will be required to pay an indemnity. Mr. Marling adds that the incident may now be considered closed, and that it caused no excitement at Tehran.