Baghdad July 16. Darling Father. Your telegram from Port Said reached me, bless you, and made you feel very near, but also gave me a great heartache to see you. However I loved having it. I hope you get my letter. Your ship was Moldavia in one of your letters, but in your telegram Mongolia. Still if they had any sense they would deliver it. I can't say I had a nice birthday, indeed it was one of the most infernal days I ever remember. The temp. had jumped up to 121° with a raging, furnace wind. It was so bad that Sir Henry, who was to have started off for Ramadi [Ramadi, Ar] by air, on his way home, failed to get off at 6 and again at 10 and came back sadly to lunch. Finally he left at 5 and with considerable difficulty landed safely at Ramadi after dark. Today I hope he is in Egypt. The temp. has dropped again to something reasonable, round about 110 and I'm hoping that you won't be too hot in the Red Sea. Nigel Davidson is left in charge and is living at the Residency, where I lunch with him. I like him very much and he is very agreeable to work with. We're hoping that no 'orrible crisis will occur while the H.C. is away. I sent an interim letter to Mother by Sir Henry, telling about the 'Id and thanking you for your interview with Mr Thomas and I asked her to forward it to you. The four days' holiday have suspended political activity and the new Cabinet hasn't yet come into being. Ja'far is therefore still in office. Meantime a curious incident has happened, which may lead to the disconfiture of political agitators. One morning the richest merchant of Baghdad, Mahmud Shahbandar (no relation of 'Abdul Rahman - you saw his son with Husain Afnan when you were here) was sitting in his office with a certain Saiyid Mustafa, a nice little man who grows most of the cabbages and cauliflowers for the Baghdad market, when there came in a young man who presented Mahmud Chalabi with a letter under the seal of the Secret Societies of 'Iraq. It was a demand for Rs 2000. Mahmud refused whereupon the young man drew a revolver half out of his pocket. Saiyid Mustafa, however, had crept round behind him as if going to the door; he threw his arms round him from behind and both fell to the ......, the man biting S. Mustafa in the arm. Mahmud Chalabi, wild with fear, jumped on both of them and before they were all disentangled the police rushed in and arrested the blackmailer and two accomplices who were standing outside. The C.I.D. tell me that investigations into this case are proving very fruitful. They think they are on the track of the gang who created disturbances during the debates on the treaty, shot at the two shaikhs and committed a still more baffling outrage in the early part of the year, the assassination of Taufiq al Khalidi, of which I told you at the time. Nothing would be more fortunate than a full revelation of these matters, but for the present the hopes of the police are not for publication though of course you may tell Herbert and Elsa. The same blackmailers are now found to have collected quite a lot of money by exactly the same method as they used with Mahmud Chalabi. The people are such arrant cowards that they daren't refuse or even report to the police for fear of black hand vengeance. That's why the gang had grown so bold. Mahmud Shahbandar was all for making off at once; he was kept till he had given a signed statement on oath and has now cleared out to the Lebanon. An interesting tale, isn't it. Nuri Pasha has been away on 3 weeks' leave in Palestine and Egypt where he went to see Lord Allenby for whom all of them who fought through the Hijaz campaign have a hero worship. He came to see me on Monday and was extemely interesting about Egypt. He said there was a marked decline in administration owing to the departure of such a large number of British officials. He himself had noticed it in the railways; the trains didn't run up to time and the organization of the service had deteriorated. He had heard (probably from Ld Allenby) that the same deterioration was present in the distribution of water for irrigation and in the rural police - in the towns there were still British officers in the police. Corruption was everywhere rampant. He saw 'Adli Pasha, Zaghlul and others and came to the conclusion that the situation there was exactly what it had been here; (a) the leading men wouldn't work together because they were so jealous of one another; (b) none of them really wanted to break with us but they didn't dare to give way over the Sudan because of the criticism of the small but vociferous band of extremists. The attack on Zaghlul is likely to be productive of curious results. It is {the outcome of} a demonstration on the part of the wildest nationalist group who wanted to stop Zaghlul from going to England lest when there he should be persuaded to come to terms with MacDonald about the Sudan and it is possible that it may open his eyes to the nature of the monster he has created. But monsters, though it seems remarkably easy to bring them into being, are very difficult to exterminate, as we well know. So much for Arab politics; now you can compare them with Indian. We're occupying Sulaimani [Sulaymaniyah, As] at last. Two regiments of 'Iraq cavalry, mostly Kurds, are on their way up there and are earning golden opinions from the A.V.M. We do not anticipate opposition of any kind; the people are sick of two years' anarchy under Shaikh Mahmud and are longing to come under any decent administration. It is very satisfactory that the 'Iraq cavalry should be doing so well. They are taking on their own job for themselves. That's as it should be. The French, on the other hand, have promulgated with a great flourish of trumpets a new Constitution for United Syria. It is pure eyewash. They have united Damascus [Dimashq (Esh Sham, Damas)] and Aleppo [Halab] and placed all the coast, including Beyrout [Beyrouth (Beirut)] and the Lebanon, under direct French control so that they can always have the whip hand of the Arab State which is supposed to govern itself. It won't, of course, do even that and no one will be deceived for a moment. It is all remarkably silly - how different from the Bellgian hare! You might, however, cast an eye over a letter I wrote recently to Herbert in which I explained that our scheme isn't free from difficulties. But difficulties can be overcome if you have got the spirit of co-operation going. That's the main difficulty and as I once wrote to Sir J. Shuckburgh, it's a confidence trick which depends entirely on the ability of the local British officials to inspire confidence. That's what your office in London never understands; they think it is all being done from the top. It isn't. It will be great fun having your letters from Ceylon [Sri Lanka]. My love to you all. Ever your very devoted daughter Gertrude. Here's the last page of a letter from J.M. Wilson. I think you will like to hear what he says about the dinner party and about you. I entirely agree. [Enclosed final page of letter from J.M. Wilson to G.B.:] - with .... that Lynam would brief them Lynam was nervous about them and finally refused to be responsible Meanwhile Langdon got hold of them and took them to his house to study and after he left they were found in one of his packed boxes and his intension [sic] was apparantly[?] to get them home. He is now saying that they are likely to arrive shortly and he is to publish them (this I gather) Meanwhile Sadd[?] is very sad. I assured the B.M. people that such was not the case I think the tablets should be sent here to Sadd You might fix up about them and let me know He also wants that new Hammurabbi we have so that it may be copied and published I think you should send it along also. I think that finishes business We spent a most enjoyable evening at the house of your father and mother. It was very grand and I met lots of most interesting people. I had not anticipated such a wonderful evening however and committed the mistake of appearing in a dinner suit I hope I was forgiven my ignorance Your father has grown quite considerably younger since last I saw him He is more wonderful than you you [sic] know. He says that if I keep you out in Bag. much longer he will come out to fetch you. I assured him I would do my best. I liked your mother immensely but I scarsely [sic] had a chat with her I saw the reproduction of Amurath and congratulate you it is a fine work by that new process. My pen is just giving out. So good bye. Love. J.M.