'Reports of administration for 1918 of divisions and districts of the occupied territories in Mesopotamia. Volume I' [‎81r] (166/470)

vision is essential to Police work, and though there would not be enough work for
a British officer in the Hillah district, one might be appointed for the Hillah
Division. It would then be possible to extend the activities of the Police, and
make over to them the protection of the property in the city and the control of
traffic, duties at present performed respectively by a contractor for night watchmen
and the Military Police.
10. Shabanah. In the following remarks I assume that the Shabanah are
to be regarded simply as a Police force, and I treat the subject entirely from the
point of view of a district officer. From that point of view the Shabanah do not
show results commensurate with the trouble and money expended on them. Their
training has been conducted entirely on military lines, and attention has been paid
only to the military side of Police duties. A force of this nature is of little use to
the district administration. Drill and manoeuvre, should, I think, be only sufficient
to give smartness and discipline to the force, and to enable it to execute such simple
operations as the surrounding of a village, and military training should be sub
ordinated to training in the work of a civil Police force. At present, after a year’s
hard work, the Shabanah have reached a state of Military efficiency which I am
not capable of gauging, but their practical utility to the civil power is of the slightest.
There is nothing the Shabanah do that could not be as well done by Police, and
Police would carry out many other duties which are not attempted by the Shabanah.
I fully recognise that the Shabanah have rendered good service on various occasions.
I do consider, however, that for employment in this district, their sphere is too
narrow and that a Police force, armed and civil, would be of much greater utility.
The Shabanah are a divisional force, and supply men from all five districts, so that
it is difficult for an A.P.O. to gauge the strength required, but I think an inquiry
would show that the present numbers are excessive, and that reductions could be
made.
I have pointed out the necessity for placing the Police under a British officer
appointed for that purpose, and I think no useful purpose would be served by
maintaining two district bodies. I suggest that the existing civil Police be absorbed
in the Shabanah, who would thenceforward be treated as Police and employed
in the repression of crime, and the protection of property, and as an armed reserve
in the hands of the local executive to be used in case of disturbance. It would
be desirable to secure the services of an officer of the Indian Police in the Division
in an advisory capacity if not in command of the force. The danger that a Shabanah
or Police force will degenerate into an instrument of tyranny and oppression, though
not always rqcognised, is a very real one, and can be best met by officers who know
from experience the difficulties that may be anticipated, and the methods of dealing
with them.
It has been suggested that pressure should be brought to bear on the Arabs
to enlist, and on the Shaikhs to provide recruits. In view of the people’s notorious
hatred of conscription, I consider that any form of compulsion would be most
injurious, not only to the administration as a whole, but to the prospects of the
Shabanah. In the year under review there was a most unfortunate occurrence at
Jarbuhyah, when a number of men were taken away from their village and forcibly
enlisted. They were subsequently released, but the incident had a most unhappy
effect in the district, and was a serious set-back to the popularity of the Shabanah.
It would be far better to let the force stand on its own merits and attract recruits
by favourable conditions of service.
11. Labour. —The supply of labour has been chronically insufficient, despite
the presence of imported labour corps. This fact is due mainly to the presence of
the Army, which has made large demands notably for roads and the harvest, while
the construction of three different railways necessitated the provision of yet more
labourers. The supply of skilled labour was sufficient in times of peace, but nearly
all the artizans were required for Military purposes, and those that were not taken
were not enough for the civil population.
The provision and control of labour was vested in an A.D.L., but that officer
was unable to produce labour for the various granaries outside the town, and this
duty was undertaken by the A.P.O.
The majority of the labourers employed on Government work are small boys
and old men, as the able-bodied men are needed for cultivation, and the release
of Government labour will not set free a large number for agriculture. As I have
observed, in my remarks on irrigation, the supply of labour is likely to be scanty