Coll 54/1(S) 'Middle East (Official) Committee: Reconstruction' [‎303v] (610/940)

/ O > . al
In tii® aeanttme X spent thres w«eke,
coameiiQing November loth in P or Hip., mainly in an
interuslve list son campaign with Ovgreee.f? Consultant»,
With, this first group, I, lit® Sir Herbert Stewart,
found it easy to get on good relation8 and I was soon
bri terms of personal friendeblp with Messrs Lott,
Barber and Coffman, the three principal members of the
Delegation* In thie my prevloue acquaintance and work
with Mr. Thornber^ was of much value. T Invited
to accompany the gx’oup on a tour of the Caspian
Provincsa^ In which my proviou« knowledge of the
covmtry may have been of some aesietance to them and
•certainly enabled i^e to direct their attention to the
more important lines of eoonoaile development, with the
discussion of which between the Brltieh and American
Embassies X had been closely ooncornied in the Spring.
Sir Herbert and myself endeavoured to bring Mr. V.K,
Maitland’s previous ’work to the attention cf the group
and link Ms nsmo with discuesione on goi^-ooneerv&tion
and foreetry. This salesmanship appeared to be aucc®ee-
ful with the Phase I party but doac not, as Maitland
found in February, appear to hav® baen paseed on by them
to the Phaa* IX group. I gave- a complete outline of my
work to the 0,0,1. party and dleouesed frankly and fully
the recommendations made in the report, which I had
brought with me, kt the earn® time T banded thia report
to the Persian Government and distributed pergonal copi<??R
of. the appropriate sections to the principal statistical
offlcea. Action was initiated on a number of my chief
recommendations!, in particular th$ Invitation of tenders
for punched earA machinefi, A•number of advances had
been made in Persian ?afc&t3*tie* in accordance with
rbcommendationg r&ade in July,parti -ul^rly in regar^ to
th® mov^aent to key positions of some of the: better
Pereian staff, Throughout ay stay 1 kept'in very close
touch with the British and American Embassies and
believed, when I left, that the Phase I group of O.C.T,
had accepted the idea of 5.M.S.0, co-operation. From
the British point of vie%- a success had aleo been
Achieved in that Sir Alexander Gibb and Partners had
baen invited to become a member of the Overseas Consult
ants consortium,
kftdv completing the usu&I reports on this
Persian visit. I proceeded to the Lebanon and Syria where
T spent about ten days in mid-December. I found that
th* Lebanese had ^downed tools*’ on thw social insurance
statisties, embracing gladly the opportunity given by
Holloas resignation and that while they war® still
anxious that X should come an orge.nla Central Statis
tical Btireau for them, they viewed the postponement of
isy viait to the early eumuer, which was now likely,with
that equanimity in the conteixplation of delay, which le
the finest flower of the Levantine Mvilisatlon. In
Syria, a different and. pleasing eituation Was found. i
Th$ Government had accepted my recommendation that they
appoint Faiz Bey el Khoury, a foraer Palestine official,
tbf/lr Statistical Adviser and he,with much energy had
completed every one of the taaks which X had reooramerided
in my report in September. Steps were well advanced to
wards the publication of •* statistical Abstract, the
organisation of a Central Bureau, the examination for
faults of the exicting figures and the ordering of an
Installation of machines. Khoury ms very anxious to
have the Statistical Bureau set on Its feet legally and
officially and X therefora drafted & complete Law of
stice fer the of the Syrian Governmerit . I