summoned to meet him. He found that many of the Persian Assyrians had returned to Persia and that most of the remaining Persian subjects were ready to go. He explained the situation and the intentions of His Majesty's Government to Surma Khanum and to the headmen of the tribes, and he represented to the 'Iraq Government, on his return, that care should be taken to give the Assyrian community that freedom in the management of their own affairs which they had enjoyed under the Ottoman Government before the war, in such matters as the appointment of headmen and the responsibility of the latter for the collection of taxes. It is to the credit of Ja'far Pasha that, during his brief term of office as Mutasarrif of Mosul, he helped to ameliorate the situation by showing great consideration to the Patriarchal family, and by speaking fearlessly of the need of union between all denominations and races.

THE KIRKUK MUTINY.

More serious than the outbreak in Mosul was the mutiny of two levy companies in Kirkuk, on 4th May, 1924, which arose out of an altercation between some Assyrian privates and Moslem shopkeepers. In spite of the efforts of their British officers and native non-commissioned officers to restrain them, the Assyrians ran amok through the town, firing at all Moslems, of whom a number were killed, and looting shops and houses. British troops were despatched by air, and their presence, together with that of armoured cars, undoubtedly saved the local Christians from savage reprisals, though on the following day a few Christian houses were attacked with resulting casualties. The arrival of the High Commissioner and the issue by him of a strongly worded proclamation restored confidence and the town quieted down.

All possible measures were taken to bring the guilty to justice, and the case was tried in October by a special Court of Sessions presided over by a British Judge; but the difficulty of producing witnesses for purposes of identification resulted in a sentence which appeared light in proportion to the gravity of the offence. Eight men were found guilty of wilful murder, in that the Court was satisfied that they had fired Lewis guns on the townspeople, but as it could not be proved that they had actually killed any one, the sentence of death was commuted to imprisonment for life. A ninth man was given a term of five years penal servitude. The resentment of the Moslem population was not allayed by this judgment and for a time very careful precautions were necessary to prevent a further outbreak of animosity against Assyrian levy drafts or discharged men as they passed to or from their units. The measures were successful and with the approach of the frontier commission leaders of responsible opinion are realizing the unity of interests on either side.

4. 'Iraq Levies.

The period under review opened with the concentration at 'Arbil of a column consisting of the three Assyrian battalions, the Pack Battery (less one section), one section of machine guns, and the 3rd Cavalry Regiment, which has since been disbanded, under the command of the Commandant of the Force, preparatory to the occupation of Ruwandiz, some seventy miles away.

This was the first time that an organised column of Levies had ever attempted to operate for a considerable period independently of regular troops and of their administrative services. It should be realised that no supply service or transport service exist in this force and no personnel are available from which to improvise them, so that the supply train had to consist of hired transport and civilian drivers collected together at a moment's notice.

In these circumstances, many administrative difficulties were naturally encountered, but it is extremely creditable to record that the column occupied Ruwandiz on the 22nd of April, 1923, having never had less than seven days' rations actually with its transport.

The chief value of the operations, apart from proving that the Levies were able to act independently as a brigade column, was the demonstration of the extraordinary rapidity with which the native officers and non-commissioned officers, even down to junior lance-corporals, grasped the principles of co-operation with aircraft.

A system of signalling by means of canvas strips had been evolved with the Officer Commanding the Royal Air Force Wing; and three strips were in possession of each section. Different signals had been invented to demonstrate the advance to, occupation of, and retirement from a piquet. It is very satisfactory to note that the Royal Air Force pilots engaged found no difficulty in locating the piquets, and, although in many cases no British Officer was within controlling distance, the system was fully carried out by the native N.C.Os.

At the conclusion of the Ruwandiz operations, the 3rd Regiment was detached for work on the lines of communication with the Regular Army Column proceeding to Sulaimaniya and eventually returned to 'Arbil in June, at about the same time as the Headquarters of the Commandant returned to Mosul from Ruwandiz. The other units of the column remained at Ruwandiz until September, when they moved into winter quarters in the Dasht-i-Harir and Kirkuk.

In the early spring of 1924 Ruwandiz was re-occupied, and the Kirkuk battalion moved out to Chemchemal in the direction of Sulaimaniya, but its departure from Kirkuk on the 4th of May was the occasion of the regrettable incident which has been

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described above. The removal of the battalion with its women and children to Chemchemal, some 20 miles out of Kirkuk, quietened the situation.

This battalion was employed during the summer in piquetting the heights of Bazian and Tasluja to enable the 'Iraq Army to make its advance on Sulaimaniya, while since the occupation of that town it has been guarding the lines of communication. During the same period two companies of the 4th Battalion proceeded from Kani 'Uthman to Pushtashan, on the Persian Frontier, on a demonstration march.

The situation in the north of Kurdistan rendered it necessary to move a company of the 4th Battalion from Mosul to Amadia in July, while, during the Turkish threat against the frontier in that district during September, this small garrison was reinforced by the 3rd Battalion, a section of pack artillery, and two sections of machine guns.

It is worthy of note that during the retirement of the Assyrian non-combatants from the trans-border settlements in September, there was not one single case of desertion among the Assyrian units of the force.

This is the more remarkable as every man knew that his relations were almost defenceless, so great had been the drain on their man-power caused by their enlistment in the levy battalions.

When it is considered that most of them were under the impression that the political authorities in 1922 had promised at any rate a vague measure of protection for their homes during their levy service, and that they were being employed, whilst those homes were going up in flames, in defending the frontiers of 'Iraq, the high state of discipline in these troops may be appreciated. It was as severe a test of their discipline as of their confidence in their British officers, and it was a test from which few troops in the world would have come out as creditably as this handful of Assyrian soldiers, many of whom had had less than two years' training.

After the fixing of the provisional frontier line, the Assyrian troops retired into winter quarters at Amadia, 'Aqra, Kani 'Uthman, Koi Sanjaq and Chemchemal with one company and the battery in Mosul.

The levy cavalry during 1924 were employed chiefly on lines of communication work, a small cavalry column was sent out in February from Kirkuk to the Jaf country, which enabled a peaceful collection of taxes to be made from that tribe, while during the summer a levy squadron was sent to Feishkhbur, on the Tigris, owing to the fears that were being expressed for the safety of the 'Iraq army garrison at Zakho.

The health of the force throughout the period has been very satisfactory. The deaths of Captain W. McWhinnie, Captain H. Hammond, O.B.E., M.C., Captain H. E. Bois, and Sergeant Dawson were a great loss to the force. The incidence of malaria

has been greatly reduced by the careful selection of camp sites, bi-weekly prophylactic dosage of quinine during the mosquito season, and the drainage and clearance of stagnant pools and streams near camps. Venereal disease is negligible amongst the Assyrians, but the Arabs and Kurds, who are quartered near large towns, show a percentage of 3.8 per annum.

The Assyrians employed in the Ruwandiz operations in 1923, though very inclement weather was experienced, showed themselves to be a hardy, virile race. There were no evacuations due to sickness.

Each levy station has its small hospital with trained medical personnel, and the training of native other ranks in stretcherbearing duties, first-aid and sanitation has been carried out uninterruptedly.

All levy dependents to the number of 4,000-5,000 are also medically cared for.

Immense progress has been made during the past twenty-one months in the training and interior economy of units, as well as in the general standard of living among the British personnel of the force; for the first time battalion commanders have had their battalions concentrated and the result has been a tremendous improvement, which has been greatly assisted recently by the arrival of further British officers.

5. Relations with the Government of Syria.

THE FRONTIER.

The boundary which separates 'Iraq from Syria is in theory determined by the Anglo-French Boundary Convention of 1920, but the Commission provided for in the Convention to trace the boundary line has not yet in fact come into being, and the actual frontier of the territories administered respectively by 'Iraq and Syria has for purposes of convenience been left approximately as it was before the signature of the Convention. Thus the 'Iraq has continued to administer the whole of the Jabal Sinjar, while on the Euphrates the boundary fixed in May, 1920, by the British Government of Occupation and the Arab Government of Syria has been adhered to, leaving to Syria the 'Iraq half of the village of Albu Kamal and a strip extending seven miles to the south.

The administrative frontier runs for the whole of its length through deserts without settled habitation, but two great nomadic groups, the Shammar and the 'Anizah, roam over the area which it traverses, the Shammar to the east of the Euphrates, the 'Anizah mainly to the west, the frontier line cutting through their grazing grounds. The tribesmen, unaccustomed to an artificial boundary, pay scant attention to it. Shammar or ‘Anizah shaikhs do not seek a passport when they wish to visit one of their kindred

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on the other side of a border which is at the best vaguely known, nor, if the object of the expedition be hostile, do they hesitate to raid an enemy who has recently become the subject of another State. Nevertheless, when convenient, the frontier may be put to service. Unwonted activity on the part of Government officials in the collection of the sheep and camel tax, or the pursuit of criminals, may point to the advisability of "seeking pasturage in the adjacent country, while if the favour of Government seems likely to fall permanently below the high-water mark of expectation there is always the possibility of a change of nationality by the mere shifting of the black tents into a region where those in power may be more generously inclined.

These anomalies, inherent in a desert frontier, might prove rich in international complications but for the close co-operation of the two authorities concerned. The High Commissioner for 'Iraq has never sought in vain the help of the High Commissioner of Syria in the solution of their common problems, and the same excellent relations exist between the local officials, whether European or Arab.

CONFERENCE AT QAIM.

The period under report opened with an attempt to effect a settlement of long-standing trans-frontier tribal claims between the 'Aqaidat, a riverain tribe on the Syrian side, and the 'Iraq tribes of the Dulaim on the river and the nomadic 'Anizah. A conference, attended by French and British officials and by the shaikhs concerned, was opened at Qaim on 6th May, but its work was interrupted a few days later by a demonstration on the part of a band of Dulaim tribesmen, said by the latter to have been friendly in intention, but held by the Syrian authorities to have borne a different interpretation. It resulted in the breaking off of the conference before any conclusions had been reached.

The situation was left worse than it had been before and General Weygand, fearing a sensible increase in lawlessness among the tribes, lost no time in suggesting that another conference should be arranged, its scope being limited to the settlement of inter-tribal disputes, and the consideration of civil claims against the tribes for raids and robberies committed on either side, as well as arrangements for the safety of the routes between Syria and 'Iraq.

CONFERENCE AT DAIR AL ZOR.

The conference assembled at Dair on 20th July, 1923, and sat till 25th July. It did not succeed in effecting a permanent settlement of existing tribal feuds, but an armistice was imposed and arrangements were completed for the better co-ordination of measures for the protection of caravan routes.

As regards the retrocession of loot some improvement resulted, but trans-frontier raiding in no way diminished. It was arranged at the Dair Conference that a fortnightly convoy, supplied by the