مجموعة ١٧ / ١٠ (٤) "شؤون داخلية: الوضع السياسي؛ العلاقات مع الحكومة البريطانية" [و‎‎٤‎٩] (١٠٣١/٩٧)

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Basra and the 30,000 tons coming forward. The market has since weakened
further in view of the offerings of new barley. The suspension of purchases by
the Corporation, coupled with the substantial fall in price, is naturally causing
unfavourable comment among agricultural interests and, if serious resentment
is to be avoided, it is essential that an early decision should be reached regarding
the quantity of barley to be purchased for account of His Majesty’s Govern-
^^ment within the next twelve months and the price to be paid. While it is clear
that the opportunity should be taken to get the price of barley down to a
reasonable level in the general interest of Iraq, as well as our own, especially
as other local products tend to fall in sympathy with it, the reduction should
not be so drastic as to create undesirable political reactions. A proposal by
the United States Minister that American shipping should be employed to lift
barley to the Bed Sea/Suez area is at present under consideration in London
and Cairo.
11 . On the 1st May Parliament passed a law creating a Ministry of
Supply and thus gave sanction to a scheme advocated by Colonel Bayliss ever
since his arrival in Iraq. There is much to be said for the concentration in one
Ministry of Supply organisations hitherto dispersed among five different State
departments, who have often not seen eye to eye in dealing with supply matters.
The problem will, however, be to find adequate and suitably qualified staff for
the new Ministry, which may also experience some difficulty in securing full
co-operation from other Ministries unless the Minister of Supply is a strong
but tactful personality. Nuri Pasha did not fill the post, there being few'
aspirants to it in view of the inevitable unpopularity likely to be attached to
the incumbent.
12 . Colonel Bayliss, who holds ambitious views and whose policy is all-
embracing, is anxious that all supply questions should come under the control
of the new Ministry and even that the control of all local products should be
transferred to it from the Ministry of Interior. I understand, however, that
he has waived his insistence in this respect as regards wheat and barley. It
is largely this anxiety to get his hands on everything having any connexion with
supplies and to set himself up as “economic dictator” of Iraq that has
inevitably aroused serious opposition to him in Ministerial and British Advisory
circles and recently caused me to send you. Sir, a warning that the Iraqi
Government might ask him to go unless he showed himself more ready to seek
and accept advice and to proceed with greater caution generally. He has
continued to display commendable energy and resource, but his pace has tended
to be too fast for a country such as Iraq with a comparatively primitive economy
and a weak Administration in which, moreover, corruption has, unfortunately,
become rife in the past few years. Nevertheless, as a result of his efforts, the
general level of prices of certain imported goods has shown an appreciable drop
over the past six months.
13. The main supply problem remains the shortage of cotton piece-goods,
which is causing widespread anxiety and growing discontent, particularly in
rural areas. The latter have so far received no cloth under the rationing scheme
which, owing to the reduced supplies, has hitherto been limited to urban areas.
Releases are now beginning in the country districts, but only, for the time being,
on half the meagre scale enjoyed by towns. Coupled with the delay in
distribution and coming on top of the differentiation between town and country
rations of sugar, tea and coffee, this discrimination is causing increasing
resentment in tribal areas. I have impressed upon Colonel Bayliss the need for
making distribution as equitable as possible and have in particular emphasised
the importance of not giving any other part of the country, e.g., Basra, earlier
attention or more favourable treatment than the distressed Kurdish districts.
14. A development, which should promote ever closer co-ordination in
supply matters between the Iraqi Government, the American Legation and this
embassy, was the formation after protracted negotiations of a joint Anglo-
American-Iraqi Committee for Co-ordination of Supplies under the chairman
ship of the responsible Iraqi Minister. Both the embassy and the American
Legation (also the Foreign Economic Administration) are represented on the
committee, which held its first meeting on the 13th May. Meetings are to be
held fortnightly and judging from the first two meetings they should provide
opportunities for frank and profitable discussion of Iraq’s supply problems.
15. The parliamentary abuse unhappily directed against the Govern
ment’s settlement with Mulla Mustafa had the unfortunate effect of dissuading
the Cabinet from going steadily ahead with the plans propounded by the