Owing to the reduction of the capital grant many urgent works necessary to bring Railways to a more complete state have had to be postponed.

The capital grant which was sanctioned has been spent on the most urgent works-namely, the replacement of some of the unsafe timber bridges by permanent ones, the erection of staff quarters, and a beginning was made on new Central Workshops to replace the scattered and uneconomical workshops of the formerly separate divisions of the Railway.

A great deal of capital work is still necessary in order to bring these Railways up to a moderate standard of equipment and to provide access to Karbala and Najaf, without which the Railways are not in a position to take full advantage of the commercial potentialities.

It is estimated on the basis of 15 rupees to the pound that, about 41 millions sterling will be required, spread over a period of say six years.

A schedule of statistics for the period 1st April, 1921, to 1st February, Statistics. 1922, the latest period for which details are available, is attached hereto. The figures for the whole financial year will not be available until the end of April.

The year's working has resulted in a considerable deficit. This was due Cost of oil almost entirely to abnormal conditions, and to the very high cost of fuel oil.

During the first three months of the year the price charged for fuel oil at Makinah was Rs. 113 per ton for the following eight months it was Rs. 75-8-0 and for the last month of the year it was Rs. 65 per ton.

During the same periods the same fuel oil was being supplied to the G.I.P. Railway C.I.F. Bombay at Rs. 34 per ton. The price charged for fuel oil has fluctuated from Rs. 23-2-0 per ton in 1919. to Rs. 113 in 1921.

fuel

line.

During the first half of the year the Hinaidi-Kut line was in operation Closure of and this line and the river provided an alternative route for traffic to Baghdad-inaidi-Kut the line was built purely as an army measure and is not a part of the commercial system of Railways. This line has been partially dismantled and has not been in operation since 1st November, 1921.

Insistent demands to extend the railway to serve areas offering large Extensions traffics have been made, but lack of funds have prevented these demands being Required. All the branches considered would improve the transport of the country and would greatly add to the value of the Railway system as a whole.

The extensions most urgently required from the Public and administrative points of view are:

(i). A branch from main line via Musaiyib to Karbala. This would
serve a large grain producing area and carry an enormous pilgrim
traffic.

(ii). A branch from main line to Khaniqin Town. This branch of
seven miles would replace thirty miles of temporary line to the
Persian frontier at Tiaruq, which is an abnormally expensive
line to work and maintain, owing to the steep grades, weak bridges
and worn out permanent way.

(ii). A branch line from Baghdad to Dibban. This line would serve
a very large agricultural district and tap the river traffic on the
Euphrates and would meet the very great demand for transport
from Hit to Baghdad of the materials for the construction of roads
and building, i.e., bitumen, lime, stone, good brick and sand.
There are short sidings which are essential parts of these Railways,
but for the construction of which there are no funds at present-
the most important of these are: sidings to 'Ashar and Basrah
City and a siding to Nasiriyah Town.

At the beginning of the year (1st April, 1921), the staff on the Railway Staff.

Great reductions were made in staff as soon as the evacuation of the army was complete and the demands for transport of army personnel and material had been met.

The expensive imported labour necessary to meet requirements of Railways during reconstruction and when other labour was not available was eliminated as soon as possible and replaced by local labour as it became available.

!

The staff on Railways at the end of the year will be:

Imported Staff (including officers).

Prospects for 1922-23.

European and Anglo-Indian

Indian

Local

560

5,425

6,000

Uncertainty as to the future control of Railways and as to continuity of service for the staff has been and is exercising the minds of the officers and senior subordinates, and has made it impossible for the Administration to make arrangements to secure the best class of staff, whose interests would be safe guarded, and whose whole energies would be devoted to the betterment of Railway working.

The outlook for the coming year is much brighter for railways than during the one just ended. The Railways have been brought on to a more commercial basis than was formerly possible and although very considerable capital expenditure is necessary to make the system an even moderately well equipped line, it is hoped that the financial working of 1922-23 will result in meeting the expenditure, and if any of the branch lines mentioned are built a small surplus over expenditure may be expected.

The winter rains have been most favourable and great extensions of cultivation have been made, and it is confidently expected that there will be a surplus of grain for export.

Arrangements have been made to cater for a large pilgrim traffic. Some new and up to date coaching stock is due to arrive in the early months of the year which when put into service will add greatly to the comfort of the travelling public.

General
Review.

THE ADMINISTRATION OF AUQAF.

The Administration of Auqaf in the financial year 1921-22 has proceeded generally on the lines laid down in the period 1918-20 when Auqaf were administered entirely by the British Officer-in-charge: the conversion at the end. of 1920 of the Administration into a Ministry with a Minister responsible to the Council of Ministers has led to some restraint of the former freedom of action of the administration, and to a considerable increase in the clerical work and in the cost of administration: but the ready co-operation of the Minister, His Excellency Muhammad Ali Fadhil Effendi, has made it possible for us to adhere closely to the policy of previous years, particularly in the development of the revenue-producing properties.

As the period on which the report is written is that of transition from the British Administration to that of the newly-created 'Iraq Government, the whole period of British Administration may be reviewed. In June, 1918, when first a whole-time British Officer became available for Auqaf, the condition of the Auqaf properties was such that any ruinous building or barren land was unhesitatingly labelled "Waqf"; to-day every new building, whether completed or in course of erection, is assumed to be "Waqf".

The financial progress of Auqaf during the period is shown in the following table :

The serious check sustained in the year of the disturbances, 1920-21, will be noticed during that time, building came to a standstill, the collection of revenues was exceedingly difficult, and the leasing of agricultural properties impossible.

It will be seen from the table also that, in the years 1917-18 and 1918-19, the revenues barely sufficed for the expenditure, despite the fact that very little indeed was expended on property development and mosque repairs: the problem in 1918 was therefore to increase revenues and keep down expenses: expenditure was scrutinized and cut down ruthlessly and a large amount of bare-faced fraud and peculation discovered. But, as a great number of the mosque employees in Baghdad were implicated and it was recognized that standards of administrative honesty were not high under the former regime, it was decided that action should not be taken against the persons involved, but that Auqaf should content itself with stopping further peculations.

As regards revenues, the leasing of the properties was supervised, the returns jumped up, a little working capital became available, and the development of the properties began: the expenditure on this head during the period

A careful consideration of all building projects on the basis of the probable returns on the capital expended led to very profitable results, the cost in many cases having been covered by the first year's returns.

It is evident that Baghdad, as a field for investment on building schemes, is of exceptional promise. With a view to fostering a corporate spirit amongst the wealthier of the townsmen, the results achieved by the Auqaf have been shown to them and they have been urged to form a company for the prosecution of building schemes, but as yet they have taken no action.

Unfortunately the former regime also left a legacy of ruined and dilapidated religious establishments. the repair and reconstruction of which had to go on together with the development of the properties: this expenditure is entirely unproductive but inevitable. The following table shews the expenditure during the years under review::

Personnei.

The results attained at Baghdad and elsewhere are due to the carefully selected staff which has been collected and the efficiency and co-operative spirit which have been displayed. The composition and numbers of the staff during the period

The numbers include personnel engaged in the supervision of the constructional work, the whole of which has been carried out by the Auqaf Administration itself which employs its own masons, carpenters, tile-makers, and the like on daily rates of pay; these daily-paid employees are not included in the above table.

As regards the year 1921-22, the heads of revenue and expenditure are as set forth in the attached table: the revenues shew increases which are due to the development and the better leasing of the properties. The following items on the expenditure side require explanation:

As has been mentioned earlier in this report, administrative expenses are high they amount to twelve per cent. of the total expenditure whilst the percentage in the 1920-21 budget was ten. It is of interest to note in this connection that the percentage in the Egyptian Ministry of Waqf for 1920-21 was sixteen and a half. In the case of the 'Iraq Auqaf, the Minister's salary alone accounts for 11 per cent. of the total expenditure, and the building constructional staff, the expenses of which might be charged reasonably to Property Development, account for nearly a further per cent.

The steady improvement in the payment of the Mosque officials is shewn by the following table:

Colleges and

Schools.

(Estimates)

A good deal of educational work is done by Auqaf: for example, in Baghdad alone, the teaching of religion which comprises theology, Arabic language and literature, mathematics and history, is carried on by thirty-two teachers in mosques where such appointments exist. This type of teaching is very casual and control is difficult to establish; the students are usually adults who desire to become mosque officials.

More hopeful are the children's schools which have been established in the year 1921.

These schools have been inspected and reported upon favourably by the officials of the Ministry of Education and co-operation with this Ministry has been secured. The policy is to supplant gradually the Mulla's schools by children's schools, accommodated and maintained by Auqaf and inspected by the Ministry of Education on the lines of five schools already mentioned. Only reading, writing, and reckoning are taught in these schools, the object being to make the pupils literate and so supply them with the minimum mental equipment necessary to enable them to occupy intelligently their places as citizens of 'Iraq, and, should their lot in life allow, to fit them for the primary education course in the Government schools.

There are also two higher schools, termed "Kulliyat" (colleges), one in the Jama' al Imam al A'dham at A'dhamiyah, and the other at Samarra, with a comprehensive scheme of studies, comprising theology, Arabic language and literature, mathematies (geometry, algebra, and trigonometry), history, geography, physics, chemistry, natural history, cosmography and logic. The course of study has been fixed at six years, the limits of age of the students at 13 to 30, and entrance is only allowed to holders of the primary education certificate or its equivalent. Favourable reports from all inspections and visits have been received.

Towards the end of the year 1921, His Majesty King Faisal called for a report from the Ministry of Auqaf on the administration of Auqaf since the occupation. On His Majesty's perusal of this report, a project, which had been set on foot in the winter of 1918, for the re-construction of the Mustansariyah, or a school to be called by that name, was enlarged by His Majesty's desire into a project for a University for 'Iraq to be called "Al Kulliyat Al al Bait" and to comprise all the faculties of a modern university: a site was selected, the Talumbah garden, near A dhamiyah, and plans and drawings were prepared by Major J. M. Wilson, the Director of Public Works, for a scheme comprising (1) six large colleges, each capable of accommodating 400 to 600 students, (2) four smaller colleges; (3) a central block containing the University library, general Assembly Hall, Museum, and the Pricipal's Offices; (4) two residential blocks providing living and study accommodation for professors and students; (5) residences for the principals of the colleges; (6) a mosque and (7), the usual appurtenances of a University, such as a restaurant for non-residents, servants' quarters, and the like. The plans were approved by His Majesty and it was decided to begin with the construction of the college for the faculty of theology, the central block, one residential block, and the mosque. Proposals for the appropriation of Auqaf funds for this part of the general scheme were submitted to the Council of Ministers who passed the project and a start was made. On the 7th of April 1922, His Majesty King Faisal laid the foundation stone of the theological college, the walls of which are rising steadily. The appropriations for this project will appear in the 1922-23 budget.

BUILDINGS AND REPAIRS (MOSQUE ESTABLISHMENTS).

The amounts set aside under this head shew that progress in the upkeep and reconstruction of the mosques and other religious establishments is maintained.

The appropriations under this head are the most justifiable in the budget: Property the programme for building has been prosecuted steadily throughout the year: Development. in particular, a special effort to develop the Basrah properties is being made, the Chief Inspector of Properties having been delegated to Basrah for a year for this purpose.

The development of agricultural land was taken up in 1921: pumpingplant was installed on the Furaijat Tha'albah and Saiyafiyah lands and the whole area put under cultivation by Auqaf in partnership with the cultivators: this departure promises well for the annual cereal crop, but the principal object in view is the future for which the planting of 20,000 date-palms and many other fruit trees is proceeding.

The sum of Rs. 1,87,000 under Purchase of Properties was appropriated in order to buy out the partners of Auqaf, where a property, the Khan Daftardar, at the river end of Bank Street, was held in shares. The site is very valuable, but the present buildings are practically ruins and the partners would not contribute their share of the cost of the new buildings projected. The only solution was to buy them out and this has been done.

TAPU FEES.

The registration in Tapu of the title to all Auqaf properties having been decided upon in 1920, the appropriation for the registration fees was necessary.

RAMADHAN BONUS.

A bonus of an extra month's salary was given to the Mosque officials in the years 1919-21 at the close of the month of Ramadhan, but the Council of Ministers have decided that shall not be given in future.