'Reports of administration for 1918 of divisions and districts of the occupied territories in Mesopotamia. Volume I' [‎5r] (14/470)

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Corps, their Field Engineer is now making a preliminary survey, and on its completion
the scheme will be submitted.
( 6 ) The golden dome of the mosque containing shrines of ‘Ali al Hadi has been
repaired, and the beautifully-tiled mosque of Muhd. al Mahdi is in course of repair.
Samerlis aver that various Turkish Qaimmaqams have taken money for these
repairs and not carried out the work; whilst the British have already repaired one,
and are repairing the other, out of the Waqf—another good point for the present
rulers of the country.
The clock of the golden-domed mosque has been repaired on two occasions,
once by a British sergeant and once by a private.
(7) The Kiliddar, Saiyid Hasan, is a Sunni, although the mosques are Shi‘ah.
He is disliked by the great majority of Samerlis, and is said to be dishonest. It is
a good thing that his influence is small.
( 8 ) Daur, which is administered from Samarra,is a small town of 1,028 inhabit
ants, situated on the left bank of the Tigris almost half-way between Samarra and
Tikrit. It has nothing of interest.
(9) Balad and Sumaichah number respectively about 5,000 and 3,000 inhabit
ants. The former is some 20 miles below Samarra, and the latter 28 miles.
Both towns are on the right bank of the Tigris; both cover a small site; in
both the streets are very narrow, and the inhabitants of both are purely agriculturists.
(10) Tikrit was finally occupied by our troops in July 1918. It stands on the
right bank of the Tigris, about 30 miles above Samarra.
The river bank at this point is some 50 feet high, and the town stands on the
slope of a ravine running down to the river’s edge, with its narrow streets at all
angles.
Before July there were few people about, nothing being bought or sold, and
nothing but dirt and filth on every side. The town now is a busy scene at all times.
The bazaar is well stocked, and a fair amount of local purchase work is going on.
The writer The lowest of the four classes into which East India Company civil servants were divided. A Writer’s duties originally consisted mostly of copying documents and book-keeping. saw it on several occasions before our final occupation, and the
contrast is inconceivable.
6. Judicial. —The cases dealt with during the year under review include few
of importance, and include convictions as follows :—
Theft.
Rifle Theft.
Blockade Offence.
Obtaining Money under False Pretences.
Assault.
3 months.
6 months.
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6 months.
6 months.
3 months.
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The convicts, with one exception, were males. The theft of three rifles from
an Indian regiment camp near Samarra was punished by a fine of Rs. 3,000/-
(1,000 for each rifle). This admittedly was not an ideal arrangement; but, as
neither the thieves nor their tribe could be ascertained, this fine appeared to be the
only punishment possible. It was distributed over the tribes in the immediate
neighbourhood of the camp.
A fine of Rs. 1,000/- was ordered on a tribe for having purchased a British rifle,
knowing it to be such.
Two tribes were each fined Rs. 1,000/- for blockade offences. A raid made by
the writer The lowest of the four classes into which East India Company civil servants were divided. A Writer’s duties originally consisted mostly of copying documents and book-keeping. in April last resulted in the capture of some blockade-runners, the con
fiscation of six camels, fourteen donkeys, and a quantity of foodstuffs and cloth.
Two tribes were fined Rs. 3,000/- for harbouring this caravan, two-thirds in cash
and one-third in sheep.
On information sent from the Samarra Office to the Director of Blockade in
October, sentences were passed on blockade-runners as follows :—
3 men to one year each, and a fine of Rs. 1,000/— each,
1 man to six months and a fine of Rs. 500/-,
3 men to three months,
1 man to one month,
—all rigorous imprisonment.
7. Education. —At the beginning of 1918 very few educational facilities were
available, beyond one or two poor attempts by unpaid Mullas.