'Reports of administration for 1918 of divisions and districts of the occupied territories in Mesopotamia. Volume I' [‎185r] (374/470)

(i) Headquarters of the P.0, of the Division are at Nasiriyah.
The Division is divided into four subdivisions or Qadhas
/ Suq al Shuyukh - - _ _ Captain Ditchburn.
_) Masinyah - - - - _ Lieutenant Orgill.
- Captain Haysom.
- Captain Barrett.
also Nasiriyah town - - _ . Rushdi Effendi.
I Shatrah
CQakat Sikar
Nasiriyah Town
Each Qadha is run by an A.P.O. directly responsible to the Political Officer
of the Division. Each A.P.O., in addition to his other duties, is responsible for
the proper management of the municipality at his headquarters, and of any other
town he may have in his Qadha. The municipality of Nasiriyah is an exception.
It is run directly by a D.A.P.O., who, for the present, is responsible direct to the
P.0, for his charge. The following nahiyahs now also exist, each controlled by
a Mudir :—
Suq al Shuyukh
Nasiriyah
Shatrah
QaTat Sikar
Mudir s.
Shaikh Hamad al Khamis.
Shaikh Farhud al Mughashghash.
Saiyid Yusuf al Ba‘aj.
Sulaiman al Nasrullah.
Shaikh Hammudah.
Khamisiyah
Bani Khaiqan and
Hammar.
'i Bani Sa‘id (Sorah)
| Albu Salih
Al Hasan -
Bat-hah Nahiyah Shaikh Manshad al Habaiyib.
( Suwaij Nahiyah -
( Duwaiyah Nahiyah
Taha al Ziyarah.
Saiyid Ibrahim al Ba‘aj.
Karradi Nahiyah - Hamid al Soz.
The policy in the Muntafiq has been tried—and so far with conspicuous success—
of appointing the Shaikh of the tribe to be also the local Mudir. Hence all the
Mudirs above mentioned, with one or two exceptions, are the natural tribal leaders.
This is in direct opposition to the Turkish policy. The next link in the chain of
responsibility is the Shaikh of the tribe. It has been my endeavour during my
last 31 years in the Muntafiq to get the power in each tribe in to the hands of
one man. This person is the Shaikh, and he is selected by Government in each
case. This policy has surpassed all expectations, and whereas one found six or
seven Shaikhs in each tribe all of equal standing (to say nothing of a host of pretenders)
when we first occupied Nasiriyah and Suq, now we find one strong man, who, as a
general rule, gets a subsidy from Government and knows it is worth his while to
play straight. The responsibilities of the Shaikh are :—
(1) Collection of Revenue after the demand has been put on the tribe
by the A.P.O.
(2) The maintenance of law and order in the tribe.
(3) Settling the smaller disputes among his tribesmen, and the larger
• ones that may be referred to him by his A.P.O.
(4) Providing labour (not casual but by tribe) when a demand is
made on him.
(5) The collection and handing over to the landlord of the annual rental,
where such is possible.
To assist the Shaikh there is the Mukhtar or—as he is better known, the Rais
al Hamulah. Each tribe has usually four or five such, also selected and formally
appointed by Government.
The above system has more or less been introduced since the British occupation,
and with careful handling will turn out as useful a system as one could want. The
point to guard against is the abuse of his powers by the Shaikh. This does not
often happen, as the Shaikh knows that he stands or falls largely by the way he
treats his people, and is liked or otherwise by his tribesmen. Add to this the subsidy
he draws from’ Government (usually Rs. 200/- per month). He values this
out of all proportion to its worth and will obey any order rather than risk losing it.
In my opinion the “ subsidy idea ” is chiefly responsible for the remarkable state of
law and order which now exists throughout the whole Muntafiq confederation.
The total cost of such subsidies is insignificant, and what cost there is is far outweighed
by the splendid results this policy is obtaining.