Papers on British policy and the Arab movement [‎143v] (290/380)

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their boys. The law which was administered was Sunni law, and the Shiahs had to
make the best of it. Even the mosques were allowed to fall into decay. The nomad
tribes were ridden—as such tribes must be ridden—on a very loose rein ; but the
policy of the Turks was to divide and rule, and they saved themselves trouble by
setting the tribes upon one another.
5. In the four years of British occupation great changes have been effected.
The first purpose of the administration has necessarily been to suppl}^ the army
in the held. That this has been successfully done is in itself no small achieve
ment. But a great deal more has been done. Irrigation and drainage works
have been undertaken or restored. New land has been brought under cultivation.
At the beginning of this year the cultivated area in the Baghdad Vilayet alone
was estimated to be 620,000 acres, and in a single tract on the Euphrates the
sown area was calculated by the inhabitants to be three or four times greater
than the largest area ever known to have been cultivated under the Turkish
Government. Successful experiments have been made with Indian and Egyptian
wheat and cotton, and the potato has been introduced. Railways have
been built—not all of them strategic—and other means of transport im
proved. Every effort has been made to meet the growing demand for
education, and the religious instruction required by the people has been
provided. Sunni and Shiah Courts have been separated, and a judicial system lias
been established, based on the existing law of the land, and permitting the fullest
use to be made of native personnel. Order is maintained in towns by native police
and in the country by native levies, under British officers. The central departments
are carried on under the supervision of British directors assisted by Arab advisers
and committees. In towns and country districts municipal and divisional councils have
been formed under the presidency The name given to each of the three divisions of the territory of the East India Company, and later the British Raj, on the Indian subcontinent. of British officers ; and the inhabitants have begun
to appreciate some of the advantages of light, water, and sanitation. In his
proclamation of 19th March 1917 Sir Stanley Maude invited the people of the country
through their elders and representatives to participate in the management of their
civil affairs in collaboration with the political representatives of Great Britain. The
pledge implied in this invitation has been fulfilled, and it is officers of the Indian
Political Department, and the Indian Army, and the Indian Civil Service under whose
direction this great work has been mainly done. .
6.. The. primary requirement of the country now is the continuance of stable
administration, without which neither material development nor moral prom-ess is
possible. The maintenance of such an administration must depend, for some time
to come, on effective European guidance and control. On that point there is no
room for illusion. Our political authorities have frequently commented on the
difficulty of finding qualified local candidates even for subordinate posts under the
British administration. The material for filling the higher offices of Government
does not exist. An indigenous administration, standing alone, could not inspire the
requisite confidence either at home or abroad.
7. On the economic side, the lesult of abandoning the country to its own devices
would inevitably be a relapse into the old sterile conditions : for capital could not be
obtained for its development unless investors felt that their interests were properly
safeguarded. Politically, there would be no security for equitable government, or
for the protection of minorities against injustice and oppression. The population of
Mesopotamia is not a homogeneous one. The* predominating element is Arab; but
theie aie many Jews and Christians also, particularly in Baghdad city, where they
constitute the most progressive and enlightened section of the whole community
Even the Arabs are divided, as between townsmen and Beduin. The Baghdad Jews
ha\e already taken flight at the prospect of an uncontrolled Arab government, which
they declare “ would be far worse than the old Turkish despotism, as the Turks are
more enlightened and tolerant than the Arabs.” Failing a British protectorate they
have declared their wish to become British subjects, “so as to be assured of protec
tion against Arab tyranny.” The Civil Commissioner tells us that their fears are not
without ground.
6. It is quite clear that some supervisory authority will be required, for the
present at all events, to hold the balance between these diverse elements and interests
and to work for the common benefit of all. Who is that authority to be ? There can