THE NEW BROOM IN PALESTINE

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 285, 28 August 1919, Page 5

THE NEW BROOM IN PALESTINE

SWEEPING UP THE TURKISH DEBRIS

OF MISRULE

A YEAR OF BRITISH ADMINISTRATION

It is only twelve months since a complete administration started 1 in Palestine, and .the absolute chaos into which that country had been plunged by lour years of war has in one year given placo to an orderly Government, which has alrady worked wonders (writes the special correspondent, of the "Morning Post"). After tho Turk had been driven from Palestine the area to be administered covered about 8700 square miles, of which only about 1000 are under cultivation, with an estimated population of 512,000 Moslems, 66,000 Jews, and 61,000 Christians. who include 87,000 Orthodox, 21,300 Latins, and 1900 Protestants. A complete administration only_ began in April of last year, and it may be_ described us a system of government which undertakes all the. ordinary duties of civil iidministration through the. agency of military officers. To insure order out of chaos fias been a colossal task, ,for when the' Turks were driven o.ut the entire administrative machinery of the whole country had been ddiberately wreoked. The enemy in his retreat took with him not only the agricultural stock and produce of the wintry, but also the records, the cash balances, and the chief officials of the Government, while confusion was worse confounded by thousands aud thousands of refugees from both sides of the line. The currency was in a state ; of: complicated confusion. Prices wero outrageously high, as the stocks of everything had been reduced to a minimum aud the production for export was practically nil; the Turks had denuded the country of forest and fruit trees; an entirely new police force had to bo created. All hospital materials and stores had been withdrawn by the enemy; all live stock, including farm.animals, had been requisitioned, while the greater part if the able-bodied population had been, conscripted. In a word,-the entire country was in a state of chaos, and, nevertheless, it was essential that an administration should be brought into being ut once, although all the facilities usually regarded as essential for each a work were non-existent, and Almost the whole of the staff employed was new to administrative work. •

Order Out of Chaos. On the first occupation in Palestine the administration' consisted only, of a email section at the General Headquarters of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force to deal with the business, of .the Jerusalem district. But with the rapid advance northwards of General Alienby a great new area : had to be administered as soon as possible, and on one occasion the territory to be incorporated in the _ administration was doubled in a fortnight. In April of last year Sir A, W. Money was appointed Chief Administrator under the orders of the G.0.C., -assisted by _ five principal officers for finance, political and general administration, commerce, law, and public health. The headquarter at Jerusalem are housed in the magnificent Gorman hospice on the' Mount of Olives, known as the Empress Augusta Victoria Endowment,'wiioh was opened in 1910, and where the statues ana picture of the ex-German Emperor and Empress look down upon a network of Dffices, from which the country he hoped to rule is now being governed by his victors." The local administration is in the hand of twelve military governors of twelve districts, and' the entire staff is so small that the total establishment; of all these districts only include' 78 British officers, 14 British soldier clerks, and loir civilian assistants.' .Never in the' whole course of its long history has the land from. Dan to Beersheba been administered, so , economically and withal so efficiently, under overpowering difficulties. It may be objected that the proportion iof British officers, is relatively large, ;but this is"')3ue to' general policy, ana at the outset their, numbers' 'are necessarily higher than will "be the case under permanent administration. Palestine under British occupation embraces the old Turkish sanjalcs of Jerusalem, Nablus and Acre, and is bounded on the 'south by the, Egyptian frontier districts from near Rafa to tho south' of the Dead Sea on the W6st by the Mediterranean Sea, and on the north by a curved line from the coast to 6ome 1!) miles above Lake Huleh. On the east the border follows' the -Jordan,, the eastern side of Lako'Huleh, then the Jordan again to the Lako of Tiberias, from the eastern coast of which it runs to a point •'st-south-east of Beisan. It then again allows the Jordan and tho Dead Sea to ..the southern end of Jhe latter.

Financial Administration. Tliis part of the former Ottoman. Empire is officially known as the Occupied Enemy Territory (south); and its'financial administration has not undergono any radical changes, since it is regulated by the terms of the Laws and Usages of Ware) 'which are as follow:— "The financial administration of occupied enemy territory passes into the hands of the oocupant,. but all fiscal laws remain, operative. If he collects the taxes, dues, and tolls payable to the State, he is in consequence bound to defray the expenses of the administration to the saino extent as the National - Government was liable. The ooliection must be made, as far as possible; in accordance with the rules in oxistonco and the assessment in force. The occupant ia entitled jto appropriate, for the use of the Army, any balance remaining over after the disbursement of these expenses. The. occupant may use'local rates only for the ■purpose for which they tire rawed. Thus the old Turkish system, is still in force, although, several of the more vexadious Turkish imposts have been discontinued. The total incidence of taxation of all kinds, including the Ottoman Public Debt Assignments, is only about 1. Eg. 1. a head of the population, and thifi demand is easily met. Another necessaiy reform has been the abolition of tho farming out of the 12.5 par oent. tithes, which system lent itself to • oppressive irregularities. The tithes aro now oollected in 'money, the crops being estimated by commissions, an(l this innovation has been found to work well. The Customs, which form at present tho largest single item of tho revenue, continue to 1m levied at tho Turkish rate of 11 per cent, ad vidorem on all imports with the • exception of Egyptian produce, on which, by a specific agreement, only 8 per cent, is charged, The house and land tax, tho third chief s'ourco of revenue, is continued on Turkish Canes. Many imports liavo been done away with, for, .although they largely increased the incidence of taxation, their collection was often vexatious and irTPgular, and involved tho maintenance of a horde of underpaid officials, who had to gain a parasitic livelihood, with tho result that tho not gain to the exchequer waa comparatively small. The same system of refraining from any radical ohangos has also been Mowed in TegaTd to the judicial organisation, all the Turinsli olvil and religious courts •having been oontirraed, although tho numbers of these establishments havo been reduced and the salaries raised. The greater confidence of the people in the Ijiw conrte under British administration is seen from the accounts, which aro three or four times as large as brforo the occupation.