'Reports of administration for 1918 of divisions and districts of the occupied territories in Mesopotamia. Volume I' [‎98v] (201/470)

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current belief of the local Arab, that a little over 100 years ago the Shatt al Hindiyah
was non-existent.
5. Municipalities : (a) Tuwairij .—The town is not large and there is little
scope or need for municipal activities over and above the ordinary services of
lighting, watch and ward and sanitation. The heads of receipt and expenditure
are common to most municipalities in ‘Iraq. A boat bridge was built by the
military during the year, and the tolls collected are debited to military funds. But
as this involved considerable loss to the municipality, which previously collected
ferry dues, a grant of Rs. 150/- a month has been sanctioned as compensation.
The watch and ward service costs Rs. 575/- a month, and is met from a special
tax. The watchmen are Jannabat (professional thieves) and the system works
fairly well, but there have recently been some bad robberies.
The municipality is in considerable debt to Government for loans advanced,
and, though the cash balance is now beginning to accumulate, it would appear
desirable in the new financial year to revise the scale of taxation, with a view to
repayment of loans and the provision of a fund to meet expenditure in the future.
The municipality should also be in a position to provide in part for the upkeep of
the school and hospital, to neither of which it at present contributes substantially.
(b) IG/L—Kill is no more than a small village and hardly justifies the existence
of a municipality. The inhabitants are, however, largely Jews and not rustics;
consequently, some form of municipality arrangements are desirable. The revenues
are sufficient to cope with the expenditure and no more. This municipality also
draws revenue from Khan Hammad on the Karbala-Najaf road, and in return
provides a sweeper and other elementary services for the khan.
6 . Judicial—-The following is a table showing charges on which a conviction
was obtained during the year :—
Number of Cases.
Charge.
Against Shabanah.
Against other Public
Servants.
Against Private
Persons.
Total.
Homicide
1
i
Theft -
1
1
12
14
Extortion
1
1
o
Embezzlement
—
3
o
Miscellaneous
6
1
14
o
21
8 . Civil Justice. Below is a summary of cases decided, with remarks on
procedure followed :—
Nature of Suit.
Number.
Remarks. * 7
Suits for the recovery j
370
of debts.
Land disputes -
190
Shar‘ah cases
88
Heard by the Pers. Asst, and confirmed by the A.P.O. where
necessary.
Where the case could not be compromised it was in most cases
referred to a tribal majlis.
Heard by ‘Alim and confirmed by the A.P.O.
Most cases can be settled by consent or compromise and few have to be tried out
tl Smts f or the recovery of debts more than three years old are now transferred to
the Civil Judge at Hillah.
Land disputes not involving tapu owners will all be settled by a majlis of four
AOCcH
7. Medical. Tuwairij Dispensary.—A dispensary has been established at
Tuwairij to meet the needs of the civil population. The staff consists of an Indian
sub-assistant surgeon and an Indian compounder. The building in which the
dispensary is housed is sufficiently large to provide room for in-patients and when
the grant of Rs. 500/- sanctioned by Government has been expended, the result
should be fairly satisfactory. The fees received are at present more than enough
to cover the pay of locally recruited establishment and other incidental expenses.