File 2182/1913 Pt 9 'Arabia Policy towards Bin Saud' [‎148r] (293/406)

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came away with a rich booty including 1,500 camels, 10,000 rounds of ammuni-
tion, many sheep and much camp furniture.
lit refused to allow me to accompany this expedition on
the ground of the fanaticism of his own force, practically entirely urawn irom
^ntdd ^ n + e l eineIlt f' an 1 + part1 ^ doubtless, owing to his own douots, which he
could not bring- himself to admit, regarding the issue of the venture and hi >4
memory of the fate of Captain Shakespear on the last occasion when he tried
conclusions with Ibn Rashid. I rejoined him, however, at Qusaiba on his
return from Hail expedition on the 25th September and found him so confided
as the result of his expedition that he readily waived all further objection
to my remaining with him. Meanwhile I had obtained authorisation from
you—m vmw of the necessity of keeping Ibn Saud actively employed—to keep
•him in funds to the extent of £10,000 monthly, and the communication to hTm
of this news had so favourable an effect, that the arrival, almost at the same
moment, of the news of a third unsuccessful attempt on Khurma b V the Sha-
Tt T1 p Tvi S / ai i ed , t ° da T P il 1S bao y anc y- He was very confident of bringing
untimt object 1 wtTttefned? ^ t0 teeP Up at lligh pressure
Little did he or I know of the disappointment in store for him. Even as
7n e .ir7Y U T Wa i y t0 Tarafi y i a t0 . refit next blow at Hail, the military
forces of the Turks were collapsing and, during the first days of Octobe/
Lou C Lmt d H W M 1 ’ )U p eSplaIlatl( +7 f ^ an 2 es wllich ha(i supervened, intima-
* s . Government desired Ibn Saud to desist from his operations
111 116 ? ir 7, mstarices , they were not prepared to place at his disposal
previously 8 sullied 1 lnm m eXchange for a similar number of ^erlor weapons
^^ ^thout explanation, these orders produced a sensation
akin to consternation; Ibn Saud suspected the Sharif of having indulged in
further successful machinations against himself and expressed himself bitterly
disappointed at the treatment he had received from the British Government
the lecent iittack on Khurma began to appear to him in a different light, and
finally letters arrived from Eakhn Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. , the Commandant of the forces at
in7to73 gr V U him 011 the Akhwan victor y over the Sharif and offer-
Sharifian P cSpaign W armS ’ ammunltl ™ P™*eoute an anti-
n must be admitted that the circumstances attending the receipt of these
orcleis were most unfortunate and that the orders themselves looked extremely.
noiofed .Tf]! SeV - e i a i n m-° f re J at I ons wi t b Hu Saud, who was bitterly disap-
fr n 1 the Wlt 7° d b ing of 7 e arms promised to him and non-plussed by
H M s Government s change of plans regarding Hail. He delivered himself
ot what practically amounted to an ultimatum; “ who,” said he “ will trust
you after tins? The people of Najd, who have’ all alofg criticised my pjhcy
7 al ? lla T C >f ^ y ° U ’ a I e Jnstified by the event. What shall I reply'to them
p°w- There are now but two alternatives acceptable to me—let the British
Government choose between them; either let our active alliance against the
fumhT )e , re ‘ a f ir ? le d and H.M.’s Government do its part in helping me with
deGrPs^T^ 1 ^ - t0 pros ®? ute H vigorously, or, if the British Government
esires me to remain _ inactive, I am perfectly ready to fall in with their
desires, on the condition that they guarantee me against aggression by my
of Kuwait ^ Slla^lf, Ibn Easbld ’ tbe Shammar, the Ajman and the Shaikh
and th!7p U a 7u7 ta allow Ib n. Saud to reduce this ultimatum
and the reasons, which inspired him m delivering it, to writing as it was
in my opinion, advisable to prevent him committing himself to any irrevoc-
able step before his people Accordingly, after much discussion, it was agreed
that I should go down to the coast at once to make representation^ toGovern-
the^lWu 1 + ,matte +' f 77 Same time Ibn Saud gave me to understand that,
the aiternatives set forth above represented his minimum demands and that
Unab i® 7 Hs decision, he would consider himself
and tht t wJSd’n:t 1 "L b hh r ei”f tall0eS ’ t0 Pr ° te0t Ms ° W11 intereSte
A year’s work collapsed before my eyes; I had but little hope that Gov
ernment would modify m any materia] degree a decision conveved in terms
so emphatic, and I assumed that they desired or were prepared for a rupture
of relations with Ibn Saud as a pis-aller out of the Central Arabian dilemma
I twesaw the early outbreak of hostilities between the Wahhabi hordes irrL
tated by long restraint and the Sharif’s forces.
TnQT>lr I 7 aS i n ° t Until . ? al T ived at Kuwait that I received the news of the re
markable change, which had so suddenly come over the war situation every-
Iw fn'S! e ^ ec ? lly m r 5 g y d t0 T - nAe 7- Tlle orders «< Government were
ow intelligible to me end the receipt of authorisation from you—issued in
c cipation of the sanction of H.M.’s Government—to release the 1,000 rifles
to^ritrS 7 I 7 7 d reiaove d a fruitful source of irritation. I was able
to write inn baud a letter of assurance explaining matters, which in the in
terior had seemed to convey a meaning so different, and, above all, I was satis-