"ملف 61/11 VII (D 122) مسائل متنوعة خاصة بالحجاز ونجد" [ظ‎‎١‎٣‎٩] (٤٥٤/٢٩٥)

4
It g-ives me pleasure to offer to his tLighness a sou\eiiii of this auspicious
yjgj^—this sword, which, God willing, he will cvii i \ foi many }cais as a token of
loyalty and brotherhood.
Amman, Jamada A wal 17, lb54
[August 16, 1935).
Enclosure 3.
The following Message has heen handed by His Royal Highness the Amir Sand
to His Excellency the Officer A dministering the Government for Publication.
THE two days which I spent in this country, which is full of energy and
life, have delighted me and created in me a feeling such as, to say to the least, can
only be expressed by thanks to the noble Government and people alike for the
great hospitality and generosity with which they have received me.
In particular, I am grateful for the kind attention which has been extended
to me by his Excellency" the Officer Administering the Government, his alert
officers and the zealous members of the police.
As regards the Arab people, who received me during my visit as an
affectionate father Avould receive his sons and a kind brother would receive his
brothers, to this living people who are mine and whose I am, I confess my
inability to appreciate adequately their feelings towards me and to express my
thanks for all they had shown to me during my journeys in their towns and
villages and visits to their institutions.
I can only pray to the Almighty God to bestow His blessings upon this
people and to direct their steps in the right path.
I wish also to thank the Syrian delegates who took the trouble to come here
to take part in my reception and to make me feel that I am amongst my family
and clan.
I shall not forget the way I was received by the press and by all journalists.
May God reward them on my behalf and on behalf of the nation of whom they
are the spokesmen and whose feeling they express.
Enclosure 4.
Officer Administering the Government of Palestine to Mr. Malcolm MacDonald.
(Secret.)
Sir, September 5, 1935.
I HAVE the honour to refer to my confidential despatch of to-day's date
regarding the visit of His Royal Highness the Amir Saud to Palestine and
Transjordan, and to submit the following further observations on certain
political aspects of the occasion :—
2. Although the composition of the Arab reception committees as published
in the press purported to embrace all parties, in fact none of the leading members
of the Opposition (National Defence party) participated, and complete control
over the arrangements was thus exercised by the Mufti and his adherents. The
reason for the abstention of the Opposition was that they resented the fact that
Haj Amin, and not they, had taken the initiative in the matter, thereby securing
a political advantage and an enhancement of prestige. They also objected, aiw
with some reason, to the inclusion in the local committees of persons of little
standing, including in the case of the Jaffa Reception Committee, as I subse
quently learnt, a man who had served a sentence of three years' imprisonment
for forgery. Both in Jaffa and Nablus, the district commissioners were obliged
to hi ing piessure to bear in order to overcome the reluctance of the mayors to
attend the leceptions arranged in their towns. They were offended at not having
been invited to preside over the local reception committees, a dignity to which
they felt themselves entitled as the elected representatives of the population.