‘Report for the Army Council on Mesopotamia. By Sir John P Hewett, GCSI, KBE’ [‎22r] (48/119)

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they needed. It is equitable that the civil administration should bear the whole cost of transport used
by the Irrigation Directorate. One general consideration, which has a bearing on the distribution of
charges for superior establishment, maintenance and transport alike, is that, owing to these irrigation
works having been completed under the control of the military authorities, the civil administration will
derive benefit from them much earlier than would have been possible had they been left over for con
struction in peace time. Labour being, as the Civil Commissioner himself contends, very scarce, it is
impossible to conceive that these works would have been brought to completion for a considerable number
of years. . --
The share of the estimated expenditure by the Irrigation Directorate to be debited to the Civil
Administration in 1918-19 would thus be :—
Government canals and embankments
Rs.
27,74,847
£
(184.990)
Tapu (private) canals
15,539
(1,036)
Communications
2,14,798
(14,320)
Buildings
84.000
(5,600)
Maintenance
2,95,386
(19,692)
General charges (Direction, superintendence, and Executive
Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. )
14,57,209
(97,147)
Transport
3,00,000
(20,000)
Rs. 51,41,779
£342,785)
This distribution will still leave army funds responsible for a share of the charges in the irrigation
accounts which is expected to be Rs. 50,77,221 (£338,482). But of this amount the whole of the cost
of roads and bridges (Rs. 2,18,799 (£14,587)) and part of that of protective works and buildings has not
really arisen out of the scheme for the development of irrigation and agriculture. Had war conditions
continued till the grain produced in the summer harvest became available the army would have reaped
the full advantage of the expenditure on irrigation works.
Advances.
45. The Civil Commissioner is willing to be responsible for the advances made in cash (Rs. 6,00,000
(£40,000)), on seed (Rs. 13,50,000 (£90,000)), for the supply of cattle (Rs. 1,92,600 (£12,840)) and ploughs
(Rs. 9,000 (£600)). The civil administration should then in due course refund these amounts aggregating
(Rs. 21,57,600 (£143,440)) to army funds. The Audit Officer has included in this statement Rs. 36,20,000
(£241,333) as the cost, including freight, of the 200 pumping sets ordered. This estimate is based on the
average cost of the few sets already received. It is impossible to estimate the loss that will occur on the
sale of these pumping sets, or to hazard an opinion as to when they will be disposed of. All that is
certain is that the transactions resulting in their purchase in India will ultimately involve a very con
siderable, if not a very large loss. The opinion has already (paragraph 41) been expressed that none of
this ought to fall on either army funds or the civil administration in Mesopotamia.
There is one item of expenditure which, as has already been remarked (paragraph 39), is not included
in the estimate. The Directorate of Agriculture—a very necessary part of the scheme for 1919—was not
created till some time after the sanction of the War Office had been received to the scheme. The Director
and his staff have been employed partly on military, and partly on civil duties connected with the improve
ment of cultivation and cattle. The Directorate has now been transferred to the control of the Civil
Commissioner. It would seem to be a fair arrangement to charge the cost of the Directorate (the round
figure estimate is Rs. 4,00,000 (£26,667)) equally between civil and military. To recapitulate, the total
amount then to be refunded by the civil administration to army funds in respect of the scheme for 1919
would be :—
Rs. £
(1) Irrigation Directorate .. .. .. .. 51,41,779 (342,785)
(2) Agricultural Directorate .. .. .. •• 2,00,000 (13,333)
(3) Advances of all kinds .. .. .. •. 21,51,600 (143,440)
74,93,379 (499,558)
46. The estimate of expenditure to be incurred by the Director of Local Resources on the collection
of the harvest of 1919 was as follows :—
Rs. £
Machinery . • • • • • • • • • • • 8,00,000 (53,333)
Hired transport .. .. .. • • • • • • 20,00,000 (133,333)
Salaries and labour 40,00,000 (266,667)
Baling and bagging 59,00,000 (393,333)
The conclusion of the armistice has rendered the immediate reduction of the force in the country
feasible, and, though it must be some time before it falls to the strength of the army of occupation, it
was found possible to abolish the Directorate of Local Resources on the 1st March. The expenditure
estimated above will thus not be incurred. The purchase of grain required for the army will be in future
undertaken by the Director of Supply and Transport whom the civil authorities vail assist m making
his purchases" The Civil Commissioner has also guaranteed to deliver from Government stocks such
additional supplies as may be required in special cases to supplement contract supply. [Extract from