"كتيّب سوريا (بما في ذلك فلسطين). لندن: إدارة استخبارات الأركان البحرية، يونيو ١٩١٩" [ظ‎‎١‎٢‎٤] (٧٣٨/٢٥٣)

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TURKISH ADMINISTRATION
was mixed the rule was at first that half the council should
be Moslem and half non-Moslem (law of 1877). Afterwards
a more exact system of proportional representation was intro
duced (1895). The mudir might not be an imam, nor a priest,
nor a government official. His appointment was for two
years and required confirmation from the vali. Members of
council held office for two years, half retiring each year.
According to the law of 1877 a council consisted of four to
eight members, in 1895 the number was fixed at four. An
important duty of the council was to apportion amongst the
villages their shares of the taxation of the district.
In supplement to this organization each village possessed
an elected council of elders, presided over by a mukhtdr.
Under this arrangement the Jewish colonies enjoyed a large
measure of self-government. Villages inhabited by adherents
of more than one religious confession had a council and
mukhtar for each. The taxation of the village was equitably
apportioned amongst its families by these councils.
In the vilayet of Beirut the names mukhtar and elders were
designations for the heads of the nahiyehs and their councils.
The constitution of municipal councils was governed by
a law which dated from 1877. Large cities (Turkish shehir)
were divided into quarters (mahalleh), each of which had
a municipal council. In smaller towns (qassaba) there was
only one council. They were entrusted with the usual duties
of city councils (water supply, lighting, streets, sanitation,
control of bakehouses and slaughter-houses, city hospitals,
&c.). From six to twelve members were elected for four years,
half retiring every two years. The president of the council
was nominated by the government and was a paid official.
The city engineer, medical officer, and veterinary surgeon
were consulting members. Qualified electors were all resident
Ottoman subjects, males, 25 years of age, paying taxes to
the amount of at least 50 piastres annually.
Lebanon and the Haurdn .—From 1864 to 1914 the sanjaq
of Lebanon had a special constitution guaranteed by the
European powers (Austria, France, England, Russia, and