'Summary of correspondence relative to the administration of the Port of Basrah and measures for the control of the shipping traffic in Mesopotamia.' [‎33r] (65/134)

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distance across the Ilammar Lake is about 15 miles more or less according to
the channel taken on the opposite side.
Under the circumstances therefore the best course to take is via Qurnah to
Cliabaish and thence across the Hammar Lake,
(10) From the entrance to the lake which is aboutS miles from Chabaish
two courses are open as a channel can be cut either to the mouth of the Mezlik or
Haquikah channels respectively.
The Political Officer at 8uk (Captain Dikson) with whom I had a long and
more interesting conference emphasized the desirability of making the Mezlik the
main channel to Nasiriyah for the following reasons :—
($) The Haquikah is comparatively speaking a new channel and any works
resulting in an increased flow of water will be at the expense of the Mezlik channel
and result in many acres of ground being thrown out of cultivation. This was
recognized by the Turks who placed a dam across the Haquikah channel but for
military purposes the dam has been removed.
(b) The country through which the Mezlik flows and irrigates with its water
is one of the richest in Mesopotamia but the people are exceedingly turbulent, pos
sessing many good rifles and abundant ammunition. It is believed that im])rov-
ing the channel whilst increasing the area under cultivation will also improve the
character of the people as there would be a constant passage of traffic in front of
their doors.
(11) I made a close inspection of the Mezlik channel from Suk to the bar at
the Hammar Lake and whilst appreciating greatly the views of the Political
Officer, I am of opinion that for military purposes the Haquikah is the best channel
to adopt.
For the last few miles, the Mezlik channel is so shallow and tortuous that a great
deal of work would be necessary to render it navigable in the low-water season
for vessels of three feet draft whereas the Haquikah, which I also inspected per
sonally, is a fine straight fairly deep channel throughout.
I also explored the Umm Nakalah channel which takes off from the Mezlik
and flows into the lakes and swamps south of the Hammar Lake.
This channel is really the Euphrates' new bed and appears to carry more
water than any of the others, but gets exceedingly tortuous and narrow 'as the
outlet is reached
(12) Having inspected all the channels I propose to make the cut from Cha
baish to the mouth of the Haquikah and one dredger of a suitable type is at present
en route from Burma, the cutting of the channel will be a tedious task and 1 fear it
will not be possible to do more than 3 miles per month at the utmost, A survey
is lequired before the exact line can be decided upon and if for military purposes
great importance is attached to the work a second dredger of similar size could
possibly be obtained from Burma but before coming to conclusion on the subject
1 should like to discuss the situation with the dredging master of the vessel which
1 hope will arrive in Basrah shortly as the entire proposition is a novel one.
Summary.
(13) To sump up I do not think that any heroic engineering works are requir
ed either on the Tigris or Euphrates to improve navigation temporarily for mili
tary purposes, but any permanent scheme of river conservancy works will require
more extensive surveys and study than it is possible to give at the present time.
If I can get men and appliances T have every hope of getting a greatly improv
ed channel between Qurnah and Amarah in the low-water season and also have
the cutting across the Hammar Lake well in hand. What is principally required
is organisation and concentration of energy in proper places, in short to use an
Indian colloquialism " a good bandobast."
(14) There is a great deal more survey work to do than I was led to expect
and I have sent a requisition to India for more surveying instruments and for
a «G8 t i e )\D UrVey0r ' 1 woul(i emphasise the fact that in hydraulic engineering.