the Khasraj refused to acknowledge Abdul Karim and the opportunity was taken to hand over to the Persian authorities the control of all tribes residing within the Persian border. Abdul Karim, who had lived himself continuously in Persia, attempted to take up a truculent attitude and was outlawed from 'Iraq. He has since subsided into obscurity.

and Baghdad

Diyala and Kirkuk Liwas, together with the Samarra Qadha of Baghdad, Tribal difficulties have suffered from inter-tribal enmities leading to petty raids and other in Diyala, Kirkuk breaches of public peace. As yet the terms of the agreement arranged in Baghdad in December have not been fully complied with. These troubles, together with such as have occurred among the Kurdish elements in the Divisions in question, were largely an aftermath of the disturbances of 1920, coupled with a conviction that the Arab Government was not in a position to maintain order. The efforts of the police are gradually dispelling this impression.

Progress in the Mosul Division has been well maintained. A promising Mosul Division. step in the direction of agricultural development was taken in May 1921, by the enterprise known as "Mosul Farms Limited", the Managing Director of which is Mr. J. M. Birch, who was formerly Agricultural Circle Officer in Mosul. The capital has been subscribed almost entirely by local people. The aim of the Company is to farm on a large scale with the aid of the most modern forms of agricultural machinery. The Company has obtained a thirty years' lease of the Sanniyah lands of Jurf and Dhibaniyah, between Nimrud, the ancient Kalah, and the mouth of the Zab, for which they are to pay, including both land tax and rent, the equivalent of one tenth of the value of their crop, assessed every five years. The terms are easy, but not unduly so, considering the value of the object-lesson in modern agricultural methods which the Company's working should provide. Apart from their cultivation of wheat and barley by 'dry farming' methods', it is their intention to grow cotton by irrigation and also to experiment with aboriculture. Pending the arrival of their big machinery, which only reached Basrah at the end of the year, the Company has been cultivating their lands with two Fordson tractors.

area of Dulaim Division.

I have already made allusion to the disturbances in the northern parts of Pacification of the long and straggling Division of Dulaim. The ancient hostility between the northern the towns of Rawah and 'Anah was embittered by the disaster under which 'Anah suffered at the hands of the Rawiyin and the 'Aqaidat in 1920. In the autumn of 1921 a party of Rawah notables, who were on their way to Baghdad via Tikrit, were attacked in the desert, a few hours east of Rawah, by Dulaim raiders who inflicted on them casualties. The party had been warned that the route was not safe and assured of protection, under the guarantee of Shaikh 'Ali Sulaiman, if they would travel by the Euphrates. Representatives of the two towns and of the Dulaim tribe were summoned to Baghdad by the Ministry of Interior for the purpose of settling up scores. 'Anah and the Dulaim readily obeyed; Rawah prevaricated and procrastinated and it was not till the end of March, 1922, that the representatives, together with several leading shaikhs from other parts of the country, chosen to adjudicate between the parties, met in Baghdad.

the frontier.

Meantime during the course of the autumn and winter of 1921, the French Consolidation Government established its authority across the frontier. The suppression and French authority pacification of the lawless 'Aqaidat, who are at feud with the tribes within beyond the 'Iraq border, was regarded by the latter with unmixed gratification. The peace of the Euphrates road within Iraq territories had been disturbed by raids and forays on the part of tribesmen higher up the river, and the Euphrates townships had suffered from the complete interruption of communications and commerce. These are now re-established and the task of the 'Iraq Government in maintaining law and order is simplified by the gradual disappearance of a disturbing element from without. The road from Mosul to Aleppo via Dair al Zor has also been opened and for the past three months continuous motor traffic has been maintained between the two places.

My relations with the High Commissioner for Syria have been of the most cordial nature. I have addressed His Excellency General Gouraud on the subject of the protection of desert traffic from attack and extortionate demands on the part of the tribesmen and have found him courteously eager to cooperate in seeking to facilitate peaceful intercourse between Syria and the 'Iraq. British and Arab local officials in Iraq have likewise found their colleagues across the border to be imbued with the same helpful spirit. I have recently taken up with the High Commissioner for Syria, at the request of the 'Iraq Government, the question of a comprehensive settlement of trans-frontier claims arising out of the disorders of the last eighteen months and I have every hope that we may reach a solution advantageous to both administrations. In these matters I have never failed to receive the hearty support of H. M. King Faisal.

of

Municipalities.

2.-ELECTIVE BODIES.

After the British occupation municipal elections ceased to be held in 'Iraq: Mayors were appointed by the local Political officers, together with a sinall Municipal Council to assist them in their work. This system worked well enough during the war, but with the introduction of a settled administration it was obviously desirable that elections, which had been customary under the Turkish regime, should be resumed. The desire for elections had been made clear from time to time and in Mosul Liwa elections actually were held in the spring of 1921, the Turkish Municipal law being altered in such manner as was considered necessary to fit the altered circumstances.

The decision to hold eletions in all Municipalities was taken by the Council of Ministers in the autumn of 1921, and the Turkish Municipal Law, translated into Arabic, was sent to all Liwas to be made use of as it stood. the only important change made in it being that universal manhood suffrage was introduced as a means of solving the difficulty which arose from the fact that the voters' qualification, according to the law, was based on the wergo tax, the collection of which has been in abeyance since the British occupation. This change, while in strict conformity with the democratic professions of the new Government, would appear to have been somewhat premature, but on the whole the results have been fairly satisfactory.

The Turkish Municipal Law is not, however, a good instrument. It is burdened with much unnecessary detail while much that is important is omitted. The experience gained during the recent elections should be of value in the task of remodelling it in the future.

The policy of Government with regard to Municipalities is to free them as far as possible from official interference and control and imbue them with a sense of responsibility. To this end proposals are now on foot for delegating to the elected Municipal Councils wide financial powers and authority to improve local bye-laws, as long as only local interests are affected thereby.

The principal resources of Municipal revenues are tolls on such bridges and ferries as are maintained at the expense of municipalities, house tax levied, as a rule, at the rate of 10 per cent. of the rental of each house situated within Municipal boundaries, slaughter house fees, brokerage fees, rents of Municipal properties, building tax, landing stage tax and profits from Municipal trading concerns. With the exception of the house tax and the landing stage tax, these taxes were levied by municipalities in their present form under the Turks. The present house tax is merely a modification of the old Turkish wergo which was intensely unpopular and by no means easy to assess, but the landing stage.tax has been introduced since the British occupation. It is justified by the considerable expense to which municipalities are put in maintaining landing stages and river walls and the difficulty in many cases of raising sufficient funds for the purpose. The new imposition was intended to supply the necessary funds by imposing a small tax on all goods landed in each Municipality, and it can be claimed that it has fulfilled its purpose and been met with little or no objection.

A feature of Municipal progress during the past year is the expansion of municipal enterprise in the institution of services of public utility. Consequent on the reduction of the British troops in this country many stations hitherto containing garrisons have now been evacuated. For the benefit of the troops there had been installed in the towns electric light plants and water supplies and many municipalities have seized the opportunity afforded of taking over, at a comparatively low price, the services declared surplus by the army.

Satisfactory progress is noticeable in the larger towns. The Municipality of Basrah has maintained its former high standard of civil enterprise; special thanks are due to Rajab Effendi al Na'mah, who held the post of Mayor from March 1921, till January 1922, for the attention and ability he has shown in carrying out his duties, and to the Assistant Divisional Adviser for the Municipality, Captain R. E. Alderman, C.I.E., O.B.E. To the cleanliness of the town may be attributed the absence of any serious epidemics. Metalled roads have been extended, graded to ensure good surface drainage, and widened, the building of the Maude Memorial Hospital, of which about half the cost has been subscribed locally, put in hand, new houses and markets erected and repairs carried out under the auspices of the Municipal Engineer's Department.

In Baghdad the Ministry of Auqaf has steadily improved its property by the rebuilding of houses and bazaars, while a number of buildings along the new thoroughfares have been erected by private persons, but Municipal enterprise has been somewhat lacking. Useful projects, for the metalling of roads, the provision of a sufficient water supply, as well as for a tramway line, are now under consideration.

A scheme for supplying Mosul with water, at an estimated expenditure of about 7 lakhs was approved in the beginning of 1921, and is now well on the way towards completion. The Municipality has taken over the new bridge built by the Military authorities and completed the grading and levelling of Ninewah Street, the main thoroughfare, which bids fair to be the finest street in Iraq.

During the British occupation, Divisional Councils were appointed in all Divisional Liwas. They met at regular intervals under the presidency of the Political Councils. Officer and proved themselves of genuine value. All of these, however, with the exception of that at ‘Amarah, ceased to sit after the outbreak of disturbances in 1920, and even the 'Amarah Council has now ceased to function.

In Mosul, the Political Officer instituted Liwa and Qadha Councils in May 1921, appointed ad hoc.

In the autumn of 1921, the Council of Ministers issued orders for the reintroduction of elective Majlis Idarah in all Liwas and Qadhas on the lines of the old Turkish Councils. These Councils have not yet come into being in Baghdad, Basrah, Amarah and Dulaim, and the Turkish administrative law needs extensive alterations. A Committee has been appointed to prepare a revised draft of the law for submission to the Council of Ministers.

3.-GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS.

Publications.

There remain now no Government publications in English. The English Government daily papers in Basrah and in Baghdad have both been sold to private companies, as also have the Arabic daily papers of Basrah and Baghdad.

The Arabic newspaper Al Mosul is still published as a Government paper in Mosul together with a Turkish paper, Najmah, in Kirkuk and a Kurdish paper in Sulaimani.

Certain members of the Government are anxious to have an official daily gazette, published in Arabic only, which shall contain the official notifications of all Government departments. There are, however, difficulties in the way of this proposal and much doubt is entertained as to whether it will be possible to issue it in the near future. The matter is still under discussion.

4.-LITERARY, SCIENTIFIC AND CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS.

The most important institutions of this nature are:

(i). Jama'iyat al Khairiyah al Islamiyah. This is a charitable institution 'founded in Baghdad in November 1921, its declared objects being to rescue from the streets the blind, and the infirm, widows and orphans, and to institute a home where such persons can be attended to and where orphans can be brought up as useful citizens. Its resources are obtained from monthly contributions and from bequests. Its books are to be open to inspection at any time and statements of the accounts are to be published periodically in the press.

(ii). The Ma'had al 'Ilmi, a scientific and literary club was opened in Baghdad in January 1922, the opening ceremony being performed by the King himself. Its objects are to spread education, provide lectures and a reading room where local and foreign publications can be seen, and to translate and publish works in foreign languages. The first of these to be taken in hand is Sir W. Willcocks's report on irrigation.

(iii). The Nadi al 'Adabi of Mosul.

(iv). The Nadi al 'Adabi of Hillah.

These two clubs are copies of the Ma'had al 'Ilmi of Baghdad.

(v). The Saff al 'Adabi is a Jewish Club, the object of which is to

arrange lectures and evening classes for its members.

5.-POLICE.

The year 1921 has seen the formation of regular police throughout 'Iraq Formation of under the central control of the Inspector General of Police, with headquarters Regular Police. at Baghdad. An Inspectors' Training School has also been organized and during the year Inspectors were trained and passed out for the whole country. In October 1921, the Mosul District Gendarmerie were taken over. The work of re-organization into regular police is still proceeding.

Nuri Pasha Sa'id was appointed Director-General of Police with effect from January 1, 1922, and during the coming year it is proposed to appoint Arab Commandants and Assistant Commandants of Police in every Liwa and Qadha and to transform the present British staff into an Inspectorate. British Gazetted Officers have been reduced from 32 to 25 and Non-Gazetted officers from 52 to 32. The end of the financial year finds 22 'Iraqi Gazetted Officers employed; during the course of the year 1922, it is hoped to increase this number to 56. Arabic numbers and cap badges have been introduced and Arabic words of command are used.

Arms.

C.I.D.

Railway Police.

Crime.
Strength.

Duties.

Camel Corps.

The Police are at present armed with the 1914, .303 British rifle, with Meantinis and Sniders for town patrol work, but it is hoped very shortly to arm the entire force with the short Lee Enfield.

A Central Finger Print Bureau was formed at Baghdad in May 1921.

The Baghdad Passport Office was transferred in March 1921 to the Commandant of Police and at the end of July a Passport Examining Post was organized at Qizil Robat with a view to establishing surveillance over movements to and from Persia. Since December it has been in charge of an Arab Officer. Much progress has been made in the Railway Police during the year. Armed police posts are being established at all the bigger stations and pilfering from goods trains has almost ceased.

A table showing the incidence of crime is given in Appendix 8.

No difficulty has been experienced in recruiting for the Police and the cadres given in Appendix 9, are almost all up to strength.

The Police have been frequently engaged in combination with aeroplanes or Levies, or both together, in operations of a military nature against the tribes. Inter-tribal disturbance in the Baghdad, Diyala and Kirkuk Divisions called for action on a comparatively large scale in November, 1921, in which the Police acquitted themselves with success. Work of this kind has been specially heavy in the Nasiriyah Division where also the Police have been occupied with preventing the importation of arms. In the Arbil Sub-Division the Police Force has co-operated with the Levies and R. A. F., in measures against the insurgent tribes and the Turks. When the small post at Batas was surprised by the Turks in July, Inspector Kamal was brutally murdered after he had been forced to surrender. In the rear guard action which followed on the ambush at Babachichik in December the Police held up the enemy and did much to stabilize the situation. On this occasion, the Commandant, Captain Littledale, received the special thanks of the Inspector General, Levies, on the steady behaviour of his men under fire.

In March 1921, Captain Williams, Commandant of Police at Nasiriyah, was charged with the organization of a camel corps. under the standard of the Dulaim, to patrol the desert frontier and preserve peace on the Euphrates road. It consists of 250 men, 150 riding camels, 20 baggage camels and 90 horses (included in Appendix 9, in the mounted strength of Dulaim Division,) and is under the British District Commandant. The Dulaim camel corps proved so conspicuous a success that in the early part of 1922 the formation of two others, each 200 men strong, was ordered. One of these, on the southern desert border. was placed under the command of Yusuf Beg al Sa'dun, with Captain Corry as adviser, but it had scarcely come into existence before in March it met with disaster at the hands of an overwhelming force of Ikhwan It is intended to reach the same strength as the Dulaim corps. The other, under 'Ajil Beg al Yawar of the Shammar, for the purpose of preserving order in the Jazirah desert on the frontier west of Mosul, is based on Tall 'Afar. It is at present in course of formation. The force is entirely under the command of Shaikh 'Ajil, who receives a monthly allowance to cover ail expenses. It is understood that the corps will be of the same strength as the thers. The men are not regarded as Police personnel although under the supervision of the Director General of Police, who is responsible to the King.

6.-PRISONS.

No prison is on a separate system; all are in association wards.

A convict warder is in supervision in each ward.

Each prison contains 6 wards, including a hospital ward, and 4 cells usually occupied by lunatics.

Taking the average number of prisoners in gaol, 350 cubic feet of space are allowed for each prisoner during the hours of sleep, together with a superficial area of 35 square feet.

Prisoners are classified as follows:

Habituals

Casuals

Rigorous imprisonment

Simple imprisonment

Civil debtors

Under trial.

A statistical return for 'Iraq prisons during 1921, is given in Appendix.

10.

There is no penal labour. Other kinds of labour in use are road repairing, brick-making and coolie labour. A small number of prisoners are engaged in trades, such as tailors, carpenters, smiths, bakers, cooks, etc.

The majority of prisoners are employed beyond the walls of the gaols on road repairs, brick-making, or coolie labour on British military dumps, and are supervised by a British warder guard with a British warder in charge. Escapes of prisoners so employed have been as follows:

The profits of prison labour are paid to Superintendents of gaols, who pay the sums into the Treasury.

The cost of prisons during the year 1920, was Rs. 6,35,978, while prisoners' earnings amounted to Rs. 92,445.

Ten hours are allotted for sleep. Wards are lighted with electric light where it is available. There is no patrolling.

In 1921, 1,554 prisoners were punished for offences against gaol discipline, with an average daily population of 1181.29.

If any European happens to be in gaol, arrangements are made for the attendance of a Chaplain. Prisoners are allowed their religious books.

As regards remissions of imprisonment, 3 days monthly are awarded for good work and good conduct.

All who have died in prison have been attended by the Medical Officer, who gave the necessary death certificate. The sanitary state of the gaols is on the whole good. Prevailing diseases are fevers, dysentery, abscesses, ulcers, venereal ailments, etc.

Three meals are given per diem, morning, noon and evening. The scale of diet is as below:

Note.-Europeans. Two ozs. of dhall on Tuesdays and Saturdays in lieu of 4 ozs. of vegetables, 4 ozs. of rice may be issued twice weekly in lieu of 4 ozs. vegetables. Saltoz. daily.

Porridge. To every pint, 2 ozs. of coarse Scotch oatmeal and salt.

There is at present no lunatic asylum in 'Iraq. During the war lunatics from this country were sent to India for detention, but this practice has now ceased, and as a temporary measure lunatics are detained in the jail. Plans are however being made for the construction in the near future of a lunatic asylum for men. The number of lunatics who reach an asylum is, however, very small, as the Arab still prefers to take his lunatics to one or more of the tombs where cures are said to be both sudden and painless.