'Administration of Mesopotamia. Fortnightly Report by the Civil Commissioner, No. 17 (1st - 15th July [1918]) [‎92r] (1/6)

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ADMINISTRATION OF MESOPOTAMIA.
Fortnightly Report by Civil Commissioner, No. 17 (Ist-lSth July).
[A brief note on administrative development is submitted this fortnight instead of
the usual detailed report.]
I.—A DM INI SIR ATI VE.
1. District Organisation. —The organisation of the Baghdad Vilayet has during
the last six months made marked progress. The province now falls into 10 divisions, 1
Tr . 7 , . each under a political officer; the divisions are
ppeiu ix att<u km . composed of a varying number of districts under
Assistant Political Officers.
" Two important modifications have been made in the administrative organisation.
Under the Turks the revenue administration was completely independent of
the executive authorities ; there was a separate revenue hierarchy extending
from the mamur of the shu'ba (sub-division) through the mudir mal of the
qadha, the muhasibaji of the sanjaq and the daftardar of the Vilayet to the
Ministry of Finance at Constantinople. Again, though the 'Young Turks '
took over all the Crown Lands from Abdul Ilamid, they maintained a separate
organisation to administer them. Political officers do not correspond exactly
to the mutassarifs, qaimmaqams or mudirs whom they have succeeded ; they
control the revenue work also through a mudir mal at the headquarters of
division or a mamur at the headquarters of sub-division (shubas). The
smallest unit is a sub-division, two or more of which—each in the charge
of a mamur—constitute a district. The mamur of a sub-division deals not
only wirli revenue work proper but also with the development of agriculture,
and that on private as well as public land. The sub-division has been
found to be a convenient administrative area, and the functions of the
mamurs are gradually being extended to cover other than revenue and
agricultural development work."
There is as yet inevitable difficulty in finding a sufficient number of competent
natives to fill these posts.
2. Revenue Board—Customs, Excise, Waqf, Education, Agriculture exclusive
of Grass and Dairy Farms, Agricultural Development Scheme and such preparations for
a Land Records Department as it was possible to make, were all at first centred in
the Revenue Board, and administered by the First Revenue Officer and iiis assistants,
working as a single office. Some such concentration was necessary in the protoplasmic
stage, as qualified Arab assistants were few, and each of these departments was largely
dependent on the other.
The secondary schools were used to turn out revenue surveyors as well as
teachers, the revenue inspectors did double duty as assistants to agricultural oiUcors,
land records officials have acted as temporary inanvurs, while a iurther saving of
staff was effected by administering the Public Debt and Waqf through the Kevenue
Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. . But this concentration was not intended to be other than a temporary
expedient; and as staff has increased and development broadened, each department
has tended to crystallize into a separate entity. Education now has two whole tune
officers, and the separation of the office into a directorate will be practicable very
soon. Land Records and Waqf are being similarly organised. Miscellaneous
Revenues and Excise are still worked directly by the Board, but an expeuenced
Excise Inspector has been added to the strength, and it will be possible to employ
him in a capacity akin to that of a Deputy Collector.
3. The Arab population is playing a large part in this organisation. The Depart
ments of Revenue Board will have each its British Director geneiallv a^^i^tec >> an
Arab Personal Assistant, and a Committee. In cases where a formal Committee does
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