File 2182/1913 Pt 9 'Arabia Policy towards Bin Saud' [‎153r] (303/406)

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Harrat Eliaibar to Hanakiya {wbicli would it +n rvir> f
meeting place of the boundaries of The Hijaz Na d ?ah’ n »u/
thence straight across the steppe to Marran J thpnp^fl’ ,'i abal . a ^ d Shammar),
sftstteaas-jsa zst
the line would follow the Wadf^Turab^ 3 Whhw^^^uraba 1 to^
the line would run east or west nf tlio PonTm +» 4 . • Izom 4 ural:,a to -Ijisha
by 1 circumstances . 011 t0 eSPreSS “ -uldTet?* JbeSed 1
expJstrt^ttit'tw^^ikeriut^
respective spheres of jurisdiction of the sLrif and lln sLdl^Tn^ 6
the com’s^'of ^the^ar^ 11 ^!^ wishes^^he wopt toT'ffh* d'b “
and the desirability of leaving no loophole for the occurrence o^religlousTrTc 11
rhhtieifrd^rr^
but subordinate, adjusts P 6 ° aSe WOuld serve as ™P”tent,
abstr^^merits a o e f'thTdlfrflfl iS ad f, ed S e reflesio11 that - "'hatever the
aostract merits of the dispute between the Sharif and Ibn Saud over their
boundaries may be, the actions of the Sharif durino- the past year have so
alienated the sympathies of the people of Khurma that they will nh submit
to his rule m any circumstances whateyer, the delicacy of the task confronting
H.M. s Government m the near future can be readily imagined On the othe?
hand, if they decline the heavy responsibility of deciding and enforcing their
16. Ibn Saud and the Turks.
From time to time, and notably on one occasion, when a consio-nment of
SrceTinTamln n T°tr ^ g0t th J 0 ^ gh from Madina to tbe Turkish
was not I - thlnk ^ tke summ er of 1917, it was stated that Ibn Saud
the Slmrffnfvpr t- . of connivance with the Turks, and on this point
Iht t ot f 5 . tired of laying especial emphasis. Whatever may have been
that Tf it^f ^ ® 01 \ S ^ nment ° f mone ^ referred I a ^ convinced
at, if it got through, it did so without the knowledge of Ibn Saud as it
Stonhl h d Ibn y S P , aS d mS dC T th “ ugh l he gr ! at Ataiba 8te PP e . an < 1 sug^
gestion that Ibn Saud gave the party safe conduct, etc., I have no hesitation
ly reaUs'ed that 8 "? f ° t Unded v an . d a, ? sur ! 1 ■ J* ha s never perhaps been sufficient
ly Tho S, ,,! *’ T *. ’ 1 ' the 'ntncacies of Central Arabian politics, the Turk
Jbe enen V’ "“t onl y because he is accounted an infidel by
pemlnhulss of w eCaUS 'f I* 18 lm P ossible ‘hat he should acquiesce in the
the“ament of^ato.’ remamS af * er the War “ a position to . contest
f . 1, at Jidda, the Sharif asserted with much vehemence, as a 1
fact of which he had incontestable proof, that Ibn Saud had lone- been in I
secret correspondence with Fakhri Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. , the Turkish Commandant of the ’
Madina garrison As a matter of fact, when I was at Riyadh, Ibn Saud had
W n 11 / inforn l ed me °f the receipt of letters bv himself from’Fakhri Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders.
comchisivpl 111 three original letters, one of which, at any rate, shewed
^WfT 17 th&t Ibn 1 Saud il ad n . ever vouchsafed a reply to the others. The
tlWnl 1 ^™^ ma i e 1US T a( “° n and ° ffered to Produce his evidence—I
think a human witness I duly informed him of the nature of the proofs I
held that his statement was unfounded and, on the following day, P when I
produced the letters themselves and proceeded to read them out for his in-
in ^I ^! t ?« tl0n • , llG 0 4 bS TL nat c y ^ efu l sed to . llsten aad declared that he was justified
convinctoglvidenhl 1 Saud—but sald notbla S more about producing his
towabfrblT I'i 6 ™ atter ber ? b f h a8 . shewing the attitude of the Sharif
towardsTbn Simd and as sufficiently satisfactory proof that, though the Tur
kish authorities were fully alive to the advantages of detaching Ibn Saud
PakkJTp c f 1Se5 he blmself never gave them the slightest encouragement.
± akiiri 1 asha was at any rate, discouraged by his experiences and ceased
flt dl ! eS 4 mg la i t p rS q? I t 11 Saud i Untl1 matters became really acute between
the latter and the Sharif over the Khurma affair, when, in September, 1918,
he took the opportunity of writing, ostensibly to give Ibn Saud the somewhat
a e news of the demise of the late Sultan but, more particularly, to con-
g r a tulate him on the victories of the Akhwan of Khurma over the Sharifian
expeditions {md, incidentally, to offer to supply him with anything he might
1? t m. ma n er arms ’ ammunition and funds to prosecute a campaign
a amst the Sharif These letters, also, Ibn Saud made over to me in original
ana, tnough the offer of arms, etc., came at a critical moment, when his rela-
ns wi the Sharif are extremely strained and H.M.’s Government had
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