The horses of the Levy Force, stationed on the frontier, have been badly affected with both glanders and epizootic lymphangitis, and the customary restrictions on their movements were and are being carried out. At the end of 1923 a serious outbreak of surra took place in the Kut Liwa, down the Hai, in the neighbourhood of Muhairiqa Nahiyah. Forty-seven horses died, mostly mares. The infection arose from the well known surra belt on the Euphrates above Nasiriya. The camels of the Desert Police Force in the Ramadi area were also affected with this incurable disease.

Rabies is a constant menace. Sixty cases have been recorded and confirmed microscopically. They included two police horses at Nasiriya and seven buffaloes in the Diyala Liwa. Destruction of stray dogs has been and is being carried out by the Police at

most centres.

Anthrax exists in a sporadic form. A few cases have occurred in Hilla, 'Amara and in Baghdad. Vaccinations against the disease were carried out in 'Amara and Baghdad.

With the exception of strongylosis and piroplasmosis of sheep and goats, the other prevailing diseases call for no special comment, except that all outbreaks have been treated in accordance with modern veterinary methods. The presence of these two diseases, producing debility and emaciation, at the onset of the cold season, accompanied by a general lack of grazing, accounted for a heavy mortality. It is estimated that fully 50 per cent. of sheep and goats in the Kut, Diyala and the northern areas have succumbed during the past winter.

The total number of reported deaths from contagious diseases of animals during the period under report is approximately 29,000. Through shortage of staff there has been little time for research work in the past, but since the appointment in May, 1924, of another British officer, systematic investigation into the nature and causes of outbreaks has been undertaken.

Since April, 1923, the Director and his Officers have passed fit for service in the Army 1,524 Arab ponies. All these have been castrated with marked success prior to being put into training. Only one pony was lost as the result of accidental infection of the operation wound. The experiment in the country has fully justified itself.

At all veterinary hospitals and dispensaries the animals of the civil population have been treated and medicines supplied at a small fixed rate.

The total number of cases treated, both indoor and outdoor patients, during the period under review is 68,300, and 10,099 have been treated whilst on tour.

In view of the fact that there were only two qualified 'Iraqi Veterinary Surgeons in the country, the Government, in 1921, agreed to the proposal to send 'Iraqi youths abroad for training.

There are at present five stipendiaries attending the Bengal Veterinary College in Calcutta. It is proposed to send four boys abroad every year until the requirements of the country and Army are supplied.

As in the past, the Director, Civil Veterinary Department, has acted as Veterinary Adviser to the 'Iraq Army and been responsible for its organisation and service. All medicines and equipment have been supplied from the Civil Veterinary Stores, Baghdad.

All police horses were regularly inspected, medicines and veterinary equipment supplied.

All police remounts were passed, and private horses of sowars examined and valued, and certificates issued as to fitness before enlistment.

Meat inspection has been carried out by veterinary officers, at the request of the health authorities, in Mosul, Ba'quba, Kut, 'Amara, Nasiriya and Khanaqin.

About 2,000 cruelty cases were arrested by the police and treated in the veterinary hospitals and dispensaries.

With better methods of reporting outbreaks of disease, and with increased popularity of the department's work with the public, the main difficulty has been to meet the ever-increasing demands for veterinary assistance with the small resources at the department's disposal.

III. MINISTRY OF FINANCE.

NOTE: Whenever a financial year is referred to it implies the financial year beginning 1st April, e.g., financial year 1923 means financial year 1st April, 1923 to 31st March, 1924.

1. General.

The Finance Minister in the Sa'dun Cabinet, H. E. Sasun Effendi Haskail (now Sir Sasun Haskail, K.B.E.), was absent on leave from the middle of April to the beginning of October, 1923, and the Adviser acted for him during that period. A change of Ministry occurred some two months later, when Haji Muhsin Chalabi Shalash (a well-known Shi'ah merchant and banker of Najaf), was appointed Finance Minister, and held the appointment until August, 1924, when Sir Sasun Haskail again became Finance Minister in the Cabinet formed by Yasin Pasha.

During the first part of 1923, the financial administration was disturbed by demands for increased expenditure on the Army and Police, owing partly to the effect of the "Protocol" policy announced in April, 1923, and partly to projects for the reoccupation of the Sulaimaniya area. These demands led to the hasty voting of additional credits of nearly 20 lakhs on defence, to the consequent enhancement of customs duties in September, 1923 (of which details will be given later) and to a further project of taxation in the shape of a temporary law to impose cesses on land and other property upon whose protection from the disastrous floods of March and April the Government had spent

large sums-a measure which was vigorously and successfully opposed and contributed to the downfall of the Sa'dun Cabinet. The additional credits for defence were, in fact, never utilised, and expenditure on the Army during the year was actually below the figure recommended by the Committee convened by the High Commissioner in January, 1923.

Other salient features of general financial interest during the period under review are the transfer of the House Tax from municipalities to the State (under the title of the Property Tax, about which more will be said in a subsequent portion of this note), the revision of the Transit Trade Regulations, the negotiations for a transit trade agreement with Syria, the protracted negotiations with the representative of the Turkish Petroleum Company in connection with an oil concession in 'Iraq, and the examination of the large irrigation and agricultural project popularly known as the Asfar Concession, which resulted in the signing of a provisional convention in July, 1924.

Among matters of general interest the reforms effected in the administration of the Pensions Department and of the Accounts Department deserve fuller notice.

PENSIONS DEPARTMENT.

Several changes were made in the former, the most important of which illustrated the transition from the period of British occupation to the era of self-government. During the former period the provisional administration had found it necessary, owing to war conditions, to pay pensions and other allowances to classes not ordinarily eligible, in addition to the pensions admissible under the law of the country, so far as that law could at that time be ascertained. In July, 1922, however, the Turkish Civil and Military Pensions Law was re-introduced by a resolution of the Council of Ministers, and from that date the intention was to supersede and abolish all extra-legal allowances. Thus, not only were the allowances paid under the British administration cancelled (in so far as they were not admissible under the ordinary law), but the special temporary arrangements for "maʼzuliyah (a kind of unemployment allowance) made by the provisional national Government in February, 1921, to meet the case of the numerous ex-Turkish officials (particularly Army officers), who had returned to the country and found themselves unemployed, were gradually withdrawn, every case being in future intended for treatment under the Turkish laws relating to pensions and ma'zuliyah," or to special allowances for the needy.

The resolution of July, 1922, was, in fact, not put into execution until late in 1923. At the same time other desirable reforms were introduced, e.g., the adoption of the date of application as the date under which the allowances admissible under the new regulations should take effect, retrospective force being admitted

in no instance, and a further administrative improvement then introduced was the transfer of the disbursement of pensions from the Pensions Office to the Baghdad Treasury.

According to the Ottoman Pensions Law (Civil), the retiring age was 65, or after 45 years' service.

In December, 1923, an amendment law was passed giving discretion to Ministers to retire on pension any official who had reached the age of 55 years, or had completed 30 years' service. The object of this amendment was to pension off officials whose further employment was not considered desirable and whose retention on "maʼzuliyah" pay involved an eventual grant of higher pensions without any additional active service being rendered by them.

Other points of interest in the administration of the Pensions Department are the fixing of the date of the accession of King Faisal (August, 1921) as the date up to which service under the Turkish Government is held to count for pension from 'Iraq revenues, the decision that military service in the late war should count double for pension and the decision that service in the Hejaz and Syria is to count as war service. The cost of pensions, mazuliyah," and similar allowances at present is about 7 per cent. of the total salaries of establishment.

CADRE COMMISSION.

In the preceding paragraph reference was made to the work of the Cadre Commission. Though this body has not yet completed its labours, or in fact put forward any proposals on which action can at present be taken, its work merits some notice in this memorandum. It was formed by a resolution of the Council in April, 1923, with the Finance Minister as President, to examine and report on the conditions of entrance into the public service, of promotion therein, and of suspension or removal therefrom, and to devise grades and rates of pay suitable for the various classes of the service; in fact, to draw up a body of " Civil Service Regulations." The work of the Commission was distributed among three sub-committees, of which the second and third have prepared reports on the subject of entrance and disciplinary regulations, but the sub-committee to which was assigned the task of settling the grading of appointments and rates of pay has not yet found it possible to submit a report. Not only is the subject in itself one of great difficulty, but the indefinite state of the administrative system in 'Iraq and unsettled economic conditions make it doubtful whether any recommendations based on present data would be of more than ephemeral value; and even for the preparation of a purely provisional report on a question of such magnitude the existing staff of the Finance Ministry (on which, in fact, the task has devolved), has neither the time nor the means at its disposal. The importance of the work is, however, undeniable, and as soon as it is possible to place an officer on special duty for the purpose the enquiry should be pursued.

ACCOUNTS AND AUDIT.

The accounting system is still incomplete and the practice of publishing public accounts has not yet been introduced. In fact, a theory of accountability has not yet been satisfactorily established, and the various departments of Government acknowledge in different degrees their financial responsibility towards the Ministry of Finance and the right of the Accountant-General, on behalf of that Ministry, to exercise control over their accounts. Consequently, no proper system of audit has yet been established. During the two years, 1923 and 1924, however, important steps were taken to remedy this unsatisfactory state of affairs. In the first place, a set of Accounting Regulations was drawn up by the Accountant-General and approved by the Finance Ministry, with a preamble affirming the right of this Ministry, on behalf of the Government, to issue regulations governing all financial transactions of the various Ministries and Departments. This preamble was approved by the Council of Ministers after considerable time and discussion, and the financial control of public administration is now by law vested in the Finance Ministry. The AccountantGeneral is the Ministry's agent for the control of all public accounts, but in practice he still exercises much closer control over the accounts of the Divisional (general and revenue) establishments than over the so-called centralised" departments which prepare their own classified accounts to headquarters.

A further change of great importance, which was agreed to in principle during 1923 and came into operation in the present year, was the establishment of a regular department of audit, under an Auditor-General independent of the Finance Ministry, and responsible only to the legislative body (at present the Council of Ministers, and, in due course, Parliament).

For the present, it is not intended to introduce more than a percentage audit against sanctions and appropriations. With the machinery now instituted, however, it should be possible to present a statement of public accounts with the Auditor-General's report to the legislative body at the end of this financial year.

For the sake of economy, the Auditor-General performs also the functions of Inspector-General of Accounts, in which capacity he works as a member of the Accountant-General's Department under the general control of the Finance Ministry. The inspection staff is still inadequate and has confined its activities almost entirely to the inspection of Divisional accounts, leaving untouched the accounts of the centralized departments. Their work has, however, been of considerable utility in bringing to light defects in financial arrangements in the Liwas.

A further change of some importance in the work of the Accountant-General's Department was its assumption of responsibility for procuring, keeping and issuing stamps-a duty transferred from the Controller of the Government Press in April, 1923.