1915] on Mesopotamia and Euphrates Valley 491 



According- to the laws of Turkey I uuderstancl it is still almost 

 impossible for Christians or non-Turkish subjects to hold land, but 

 under a new and more enlightened government, with reasonable 

 inducements to capitalists with regard to the ownership of land and 

 otherwise, I am of opinion that this great Mesopotamia district 

 should quickly develop and become, as it was in ancient days, one of 

 the busiest and most productive parts of God's earth, with the 

 further advantage of being able to give an outlet for the best of the 

 surplus population of India, if necessary. 



As it may be of special interest to you, I am having put on the 

 screen some pictures of our work in connexion with the Hindia 

 Barrage, other works we have so far done, and incidents of local 

 travel, etc., and, if time permit, I shall give you a brief description 

 of them, though in themselves they are mostly not problems for the 

 future, but realities of the present. 



In times long ago it had been by carefully devised systems of 

 barrage and canals that such good results had been obtained from 

 the land, but by neglect these works had become defective and the 

 canals silted up. 



As I have said, owing to the state of finances in Turkey, it was 

 decided not to proceed immediately with Sir William Willcocks' 

 scheme in its entirety, but to take it bit by bit, first of all taking in 

 hand the great barrage across the Euphrates at Hindia in order to 

 restore the supply of water to the Hilla Channel. This channel 

 serves a large area of land, and passing near the ruins of the ancient 

 city of Babylon, runs to Diwania, irrigating a district of immense 

 agricultural value. 



It was, as I have already said, upon my visit to Bagdad in 

 February, 1911, that these and other works were put into our hands 

 to carry out. 



Having regard to the extreme difficulties of labour and transport, 

 we considered the time estimated for completion of the Hindia 

 Barrage a short one, but I am pleased to say that notwithstanding 

 all the difficulties we had to contend with, and particularly with 

 regard to the financial difficulty caused by the late Balkan war, we 

 got through our work well within the estimated time. As an instance 

 of the difficulty that had been experienced in getting the Arabs to 

 work on the right lines I may tell you another story, told to me by 

 Mr. Tabor, the Assistant Engineer. The Arab in the usual way digs 

 the earth with a kind of grocer's ladle. He then puts it into a bag 

 on his left shoulder, walks away with it and tips it into a bank. 

 When I was there I ordered some planks and wheelbarrows to be 

 sent out with a view to getting the Arabs to use them. Tabor 

 having called the attention of an Arab workman to the effect that 

 he could make much better progress by using the planks and barrows, 

 the Arab raising himself erect in a most dignified way addressed 

 Tabor as follows : " You people from the west, why, a thousand 



