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244                     Part III.
                         Kut Rhcst—half way botwoon Moharamorab and Dowasir.
                         Shamshumiah—below Abdul Klmsib. Each post was to hold ono lieute­
                     nant and twenty soldiers. They were meant for the protection of navigation
                     and smuggling and wore alleged to have been constructed on representation of
                     the British Embassy. But as will bo seen from the account of the piracies
                     in Chapter XII, they served little the purposes of protecting the traffic on the
                     riyor.
                         334. The buildings aro of kiln bricks of one storey each, defensible for mus­
                     ketry having loopholes on roof around which there is parapet.
                         336. The Turks had also once a project in hand to build a fort opposite Mo-
                                                   liaramerah, but it has apparently not been
                          Soeret E., Juno 1890, Noi. 32G-327.
                                                   carriod into effect. (See Sir H. Drum­
                     mond Wolff's Dospatcb No. 110, dated 9th April 1890, to Lord Salisbury).
                     Project for the construction of a road between Basrah and Pao, 1900.

                         In his lotter, dated 24th August 1900; the British Consul reported that
                                                   Mohsin Pasha had spoken to him of a
                          External B., October 1000, No. 84.
                                                   project he had iu view to construct a
                     direct road between Basrab and Fao, to enable the easy despatch of soldiers
                     and munitions of war to the latter place in case of an emergency. There
                     appeared to bo the following difficultiesJn carrying out the project:—
                           (i)  Appropriation of land from private properties with date plantations,
                                wliioh the owners would not easily part with. To meet this
                                difficulty Mohsin Pasha proposed to introduce the corvee system
                                obtaining elsewhere in the Turkish Empire
                           (ii)  The construction of a large number of bridges over the creeks,
                                 which would cost an enormous sum.
































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