'File 61/11 X (D 170) Nejd-Hejaz Miscellaneous' [‎19v] (51/554)

4,
successful federation. In a few quick words, interlaced with classical and
Bedouin quotations, lie conveyed to my mind that if we were seriously interested
xn Arab Federation we should certainly have to give the necessary impetus
to it ourselves. This was the only hope for federation. The Arabs owed
everything to Britain. It was she who had given them their freedom and who
maintained their freedom for them to-day. As Lord Allenby had once said,
if we leave Egypt to-morrow morning, the Greeks will be in by the evening."
(I do not know his authority for this statement or if he really meant Greeks, but
that is what he said.) The Arabs had no determination in construction and were
easily susceptible to disintegration. A thousand Germans, if they had reached
Iraq, could have so shaken the Middle East structure, which we had built up, that
it would have collapsed and twenty-five years of laborious effort on our part
would have, come crashing about our ears in irretrievable ruin. He had been
greatly relieved at the speed with which we had been able to restore the loyal
regime in Iraq.
This shows, I hope, sufficiently well the general trend of Ibn Saud's
conversation at my opening audience. About half way through it, Khalid al
Qaraghani, the Tripolitan politician and secretary to His Majesty, had slipped
into the room through a side door but had seated himself out of earshot. A few
minutes later H.R.H. The Grown Prince came in and our conversation was
interrupted for a moment whilst I took leave to greet him.
Mr. Uniacke was present with me.
If you see no objection would you please send a copy of this letter to the
Minister of State and to the Middle East Intelligence Centre at Headquarters
Middle East, Cairo. '
I have, &c.
GERALD de GAURY.
i !
Enclosure 2.
Colonel De Gaury to Mr. Stonekewer-Bird.
^ r ' Riyadh, 'Noveinher 13, 1941.
IN. this letter I have the honour to continue my report on audiences of
Ibn Saud at Riyadh.
Before being received by him this morning I had asked to be taken to the
Crown Prince, whose morning reception rooms are also in the Old Palace of
Feisal, inside the city walls, the St. James's Palace of Riyadh, as it were.
The gateways, the pillared covered ways and the sanded corridors were, as
is usual, filled with Bedouin visitors, soldiers and bodyguardsmen.
H.R.H. the Emir conversed politely on various subjects, and offered us the
loan of mares to ride in the afternoons. He made appreciative reference to the
cinematograph films sent to His Majesty by the embassy in Bagdad, and would
like more. They are very short ones, it seems.
Ibn Saud received me alone and talked at great length—for more than an
hour and a half. He began by speaking of Syria. At first he seemed a little
guarded, and he is evidently not very happy about that country, but guarded as
he was about our actions, he did not avoid expressing his opinion of the Free
French, t£ the corrupt Frenchmen who had even stolen food sent bv the British
for the relief of the Syrians."
He said that everyone knew about this, their untrustworthiness and their
threatening of those who were friendly to or visited the British, and presumably
I knew this too. I had to acknowledge that I had heard such things said For a
moment he seemed about to become rather heated.
I asked him about control m the desert, and he showed that he knew about
the Commission of Enquiry at Deir ez Zor and the events preceding it I said
that we hoped for a better system soon. His own contribution was a rather
surprising one.
He said that if we could find the right man, which would be the difficulty,
we should appoint a delegate or commissioner (" mandoub ") for desert affairs to
work from a base m Iraq. cow
I asked him again, to make sure where the seat of the commissioner should
be. He said Iraq, from where he would be able to contact all the tribes.
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