'Reports of administration for 1918 of divisions and districts of the occupied territories in Mesopotamia. Volume I' [‎101r] (206/470)

Brought forward
(fi) Government tax on date-trees up to Rs. Rs.
10 th December 1918 - - - . 44,657/11/- 44,657/11/-
(/) Sale of Government dates - - - 10,130/13/6 10,130/13/6
{g) Opium, one-fifth share - - . — 1,438/3/-
(h) Kodah tax, collected direct:
Sheep, 40,483 head at 8 as. per head- -— 20,241/8/-
Buffaloes and camels at Rs. 1 /- per head — 4,099/-/-
0) Wood at 1 / 10 ; Charcoal at 4 as per load — 1,909/2/6
(j) Half slaughter-house tax - . _ — 4,982/8/6
(k) Confiscated estates and miscellaneous — . 7,701/2/-
revenues
( l ) Fines for trespass of animals on crops, &c. — 106/-/-
Total Rs. 293,427/2/9
Miscellaneous and Special Revenues are shown under para. 4 of Land Revenue.
They consist of the following :—
Fish tax.
Tobacco excise.
Slaughter-house tax.
Tax on wood and charcoal.
Confiscated estates and miscellaneous.
Revenues.
(5) Customs .—There is no Customs establishment as such, though Karbala,
being one of the chief points of entry into ‘Iraq, is still a blockade post to prevent
the entry or exit of forbidden articles.
( 6 ) During 1918 contraband to the value of some 10,000 Rs. was intercepted
entering or leaving Karbala.
(7) Karbala, as before-mentioned, being an outlying town, any dutiable articles
are forwarded to the Collector of Customs, Baghdad, for collection of necessary duty.
Compensation .—Owing to the fact that troops have not hitherto been quartered
in Karbala, and no military operations have taken place in the vicinity, the question
of compensation has not arisen.
( 8 ) Waqf: Shiah Waqf .—Practically none of the land in Karbala district is
waqf; a small income is, however, derived from properties, khans, and shops in
the town, and in addition a certain sum is obtained from burial fees.
The annual expenditure exceeds the receipts by some thousands of rupees Indian silver coin also widely used in the Persian Gulf. ,
which is an unsatisfactory state of affairs showing no immediate signs of alteration
under present arrangements. In Turkish times the Karbala Waqf establishment
was self-supporting; in fact, it was a paying concern. All the waqf receipts for
Karbala, Najaf, Musaiyib and Shifathah were sent to Karbala, where the Mudir
Auqaf resided. He toured Musaiyib, Shifathah and Najaf supervising the mamurs
in these places. In Turkish times also a very much larger sum than at present
was obtained from burial fees; the average being £T7,500/- per annum. This
question is being gone into with the Director of Auqaf.
The old Turkish hospital in Karbala, now falling into ruin, was built from funds
obtained over a period of six years by increasing the Karbala burial fees by about
Re. 1 /- per head.
The Sunni waqf in Karbala was paid from the general funds mentioned in the
preceding paragraph and was not separate to the Shkah waqf. A small income is
now derived from shops and khans in the town, but as in the case of Shi ah waqf
the expenditure is greatly in excess of the income.
(9) A statement showing receipts and expenditure of both Sunni and Shi ah
Waqf is attached as Appendix B.
3. Irrigation. —(1) As the cultivation of the Karbala district depends almost
entirely on the Husainiyah Canal, a description of that waterway would not be
out of place. The Husainiyah Canal is on the right bank of the Euphrates, which
river it leaves 9 miles downstream of Musaiyib. From its head it runs in a South-
Westerly direction for 7 miles, when it turns W .S.W., reaching Karbala some 18 miles
after leaving the Euphrates.