Coll 6/19 'Arabia: (Saudi Arabia) Hejaz-Nejd Annual Report.' [‎240v] (481/540)

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December 1930. He belongs by origin to the Syrian Rualla tribe. He has been
variously described in official reports as “an untutored Bedouin youth, and as
an upstanding man of 40, with a sense of humour, more intelligence than the
average Bedouin and a knowledge of Damascus Arabic. He fears the sea and
the air, it would appear, like poison, but he has shown the true condottiere spirit
in his desert adventures. He has raided both Iraq and Transjordan Used in three contexts: the geographical region to the east of the River Jordan (literally ‘across the River Jordan’); a British protectorate (1921-46); an independent political entity (1946-49) now known as Jordan from Nejd,^|
and he became a leader in the rebellion of 1929 against Ibn Saud. The latter
bears him an understandable grudge, and has held that not only Iraq but His
Majesty’s Government are responsible for his surrender in virtue of assurances
regarding the non-admission of rebels into Iraq and Kowait territory, which
were given freely and perhaps without sufficient thought for their form and
implications throughout 1929. He appears to have some pull with the Iraqi
authorities, who let him go free soon after his surrender and never showed
eagerness to expel him into Ibn Baud’s dominions. When at last they were
gingered up by British pressure to get rid of him in a manner which would
ensure his return to Nejd, the matter was complicated by difficulties as to the
route by which he should be shepherded (for he was still a free man) back to
the arms of Ibn Saud. The latter was'eager to get him to Jedda, preferably
by air. Part-sea routes were considered, but, as has been said, Ibn Mashhur
detests all elements except the land. The upshot was a tragi-comedy. Of all the
alternatives the worst was chosen. It was agreed by everyone (except Ibn Saud)
that Ibn Mashhur should be allowed to proceed via Syria, in reliance on King
Feisal’s assurance that he could be relied upon to go on to Jedda, and that he
would be personally conducted all the way by one of Feisal’s own men.
Ibn Mashhur got as far as Syria and stayed there, He took up with the
notorious Nuri Shaalan. The French were not only unwilling to help, but
objected to any attempt to persuade their guest, in some sense a Syrian citizen,
to leave. He was still in Syria, apparently with a distinct animus manendi, in
December. All that King Feisal could do was to write to Ibn Saud protesting
the whiteness of his own soul in the matter and the blackness of Ibn Mashhur’s,
and promising by way of amends to hand over the faithless fellow’s family and
property. The situation was the more embarrassing for His Majesty’s Govern
ment because what was meant in regard to property was obscure. The Iraqi
Government had themselves seized the greater number of the camels brought in by
the rover when he skipped the frontier, on the ground that they had been looted
from Iraqi tribes.
(d) Claims .—King Feisal, in pursuance of the arrangement made aboard
H.M.S. “ Lupin,” and after much trouble had been expended on the question
of convoking a tribunal under the Bahra Agreement owing to some misconcep
tion of what had been arranged, offered in June to accept £30,000 in settlement
of Iraqi claims against Nejd. He intended this to be a lump sum payable on
balance, and had reduced his own people’s claims from a total of £70,000 in
order that there need be only a one-way settlement. Unfortunately he did not
make this clear in his letter to Ibn Saud, who was not slow to take advantage
of the omission. He and his advisers replied in effect : “ Fine! It was left to
your Majesty to assess both your own claims and ours. You have put yours at
£30,000. Will you please now assess the Nejd counter-claims? ” They put in
a little bill for £20,500 for these. The same delays that had held up the “ Bon-
Voisinage ” business delayed the answer to this communication. At last, in
December, King Feisal replied explaining his idea of a one-way settlement by
payment of a lump sum of £30,000 in liquidation of everything. There had
been two minor complications in this affair, which was still outstanding at the
end of December. It will be remembered that in January the Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency.
in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. had extracted from Ibn Saud a promise to pay £10,000 on
account in respect of raids from Nejd into Iraq and Kowait. Ibn Saud later
tried to evade this promise as not having been absolute. He eventually paid up
in July under the strongest British pressure, borrowing the money 1 from the
Dutch to hand it to the English; but his Minister for 1 Foreign Affairs when
forwarding the cheque referred to it as money payable to Iraq, and in writing
direct to Bagdad he repeated the same mistake. Iraq was delighted, and
persistently maintained a scandalous claim to the whole amount, £3,000 of which
His Majesty’s Government had intended to apportion to Kowait. The Hejazi
authorities admitted freely to the Legation in Jedda that the money was