'Reports of administration for 1918 of divisions and districts of the occupied territories in Mesopotamia. Volume I' [‎68v] (141/470)

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order to "meet the requirements of the army, from a people who had been
accustomed to pay little or nothing to the predecessors of the British Government.
The task was one of real difficulty; information as to tenures, tribal customs, &c.,
was extremely meagre, the revenue staff was generally corrupt and inefficient, and
in effect each Assistant Political Officer was left to work out his own salvation as
best he could.
Assessment. —The great difficulty was the assessment of the Government dues.
It had been hoped to base this on measurements of crops made by the Irrigation
Department, but only one Assistant Political Officer, Hindiyah, found himself able
to accept the Irrigation figures. Hindiyah is a small and compact district and the
Assistant Political Officer was able to devote most of his time to revenue questions
and inspections, and with the hearty co-operation of the District Irrigation Officers
and Assistant Irrigation Officers concerned, a beginning was made of the only
possible system under which reliable results can be expected.
It is "to be hoped that in the coming season a further advance will be made,
and that it will be possible to introduce fixed assessment based on measurements.
This is the most urgent problem which awaits settlement; until fixed assessment
based on measurement is introduced, it will be impossible to eliminate some form
of crop estimation with all its attendant evils.
Collections. —The Government Revenue from winter crops in the Hillah
Division amounted to 21,107 tons barley and 6,442 tons wheat, and it is a matter
for no small congratulation that it has been possible to collect this amount.
Twelve months ago there were few Political Officers who did not contemplate
the necessity for the use of military force to get in the revenue, and the manner in
which the Arab has paid his dues is eloquent testimony to their acceptance of
British rule. Needless to say, no attempt was made to collect the full pound of
flesh.
In Diwaniyah the Government demand was reduced from 40 per cent, to 25 per
cent.; in Hindiyah, rates of yield per masharah were calculated so as to leave a
margin of safety against the possibility of overassessment; in Hillah the estimation
of the gross crop is known to have been light, and, in addition, handsome bonuses
were paid to the Shaikhs for their efforts in getting in the revenue.
For the present it will probably be advisable to continue the payment of a
percentage to Shaikhs for their services in getting in the revenue.
Summer Crops. —The assessment of summer crops was made in all districts
on a combination of estimation, classification and measurement.
No attempt was made to make use of figures of measurement by the Irrigation
Department, as with ploughing, sowing and harvesting proceeding simultaneously,
and six or eight different kinds of crop in the ground side by side, it would have been
almost impossible with the available staff to obtain results which could have been
acted upon.
The collection of Government share on summer crops has been greatly simplified
by the fact that it is paid in cash and not in kind.
Charads. —Charads are numerous in.all parts of the Division save Hindiyah;
the collection of revenue on charad lands was simplified by taking a fixed sum per
bucket, and calls for no special remarks.
Fruit and Vegetable Tax. —The fruit and vegetable tax has been the cause of
considerable discontent. Two methods of collection were followed: in Diwaniyah and
Musaiyib a fixed sum of Rs. 1/- per juwah or barrow was collected, while in the rest
of the Division the tax was farmed. The two methods are equally objectionable—
vegetable cultivation is continuous throughout the . year, and it is impossible
efficiently to check the count of juwahs. The farmer, besides collecting one-fifth
on all sales in recognised markets, had the right to one-fifth of the value of all
vegetables consumed at home, a right which gave rise to a considerable amount of
dissatisfaction.
As the lesser evil and pending the inclusion of the vegetable tax in a consolidated
land tax it would be better to collect the vegetable and "fruit tax only in the market
place, leaving home consumption free; it will be the wisest policy to reduce all
vexatious imposts to a minimum, while concentrating attention on the really
important source of revenue—winter and summer grains.
Kodak. Kodah was collected in a variety of ways ; in one district through the
Shaikhs, in another by the appointment of' special mamurs, and in yet another