Baghdad Jan. 20. Darling Father. I'm afraid that this will be a short and dull letter for the truth is that I'm being overworked! I have the rather tedious corvée of the annual report upon me and to fit it into the ordinary office routine and take a little necessary exercise is about all I can do. I hope to get though it in the next fortnight and then to go for a jaunt with Lionel to see the excavations at Ur and Kish which will be very refreshing.
All the same we have had a very satisfactory week with the acceptance of the treaty by our parliament. You will see that the opposition in the lower house took a leaf out of the Labour Party's book and walked out after a childish scene of petulance at finding themselves nowhere. The King was so much pleased that he announced that he was coming to tea with me and arrived beaming. He had every right to be satisfied for he had personally interviewed every member of the House and explained to them what would happen if the treaty met with delay. But the Govt party was so strong that there really wasn't any doubt of the issue. Still H.M. and the Prime Minister deserve every credit. You will please note that the 'Iraq is the only eastern country which pulls together with Great Britain and the reason is that we have honestly tried out here to do the task that we said we were going to do, ie create an independent Arab state.

We are a little overwhelmed with journalists who have come out to write us up. I had one to dinner last night, namens Donohue (Daily Chronicle) with Ken and Iltyd to meet him. I hope he will strive to profit by others more than he did by us, for as far as we could see he took no interest in the 'Iraq at all and didn't want to hear anything about it, but talked himself all the time of Syria, France, Russia, Italy and Morocco. He was a dreadful man, I may add, and I hope it will not be necessary for me to see him again. On the other hand a nice young party called Ryan came to tea with me. He is correspondent for the Daily Telegraph. Heaven send that they neither of them take me as part of their text, as journalists are apt to do when they run out of matter.

Your letter and Mother's of Jan 6 gave such a satisfactory account of Hugo and I also had a most delightful letter from Frances. It is to me more and more miraculous that he should be alive, isn't it to you? To have been so terribly ill under such unfavourable conditions and to have recovered is almost incredible. It is so comforting to think that now every circumstance is favourable. Except the weather for according to the telegrams you are having a terrible winter.

- At this moment the Minister of Justice, Naji Beg Suwaidi, a very slippery gentleman who has slipped for once right, came in to give and receive congratulations on the treaty and when he heard I was writing to you sent you his deep regards! You don't know him.

Syria is going from bad to worse. Husain Afnan was over there on business and told me a shocking tale when he came back two days ago. I can't think what will happen there except that I am convinced that the French can't succeed, unless they can reach success over the dead corpse of a country. No one trusts them and no one will lay down arms though the Druzes have famine staring them in the face. I do hate to think of that pleasant hill country where I spent such nice times being brought to ruin.

Did you agree with the scheme the owners put before the coal commission? It looked to me very black if after all those nearly impossible, if not quite impossible, things had been done, the coal trade was still to be run at a loss. But really Ernest Benn's book has made me realize so clearly what a hopeless track we are steering on that I don't feel as if anything drastic enough would be done.

What a good plan that Herbert should go with you to Italy. He will be the most delightful addition to the party.

I did so love Mother's letter of Jan 6 with the account of Xmas doings and I'm only not writing to her this week because, as I told you, my fingers are worn to the bone! Your very affectionate daughter Gertrude.