File 756/1917 Pt 2-3 ‘ARAB BULLETIN Nos 66-114’ [‎292v] (593/834)

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ALLEGED ARMS TRAFFIC BETWEEN NEJD
AND HEJAZ.
Towards the end of September Mr. Pliilby reported to
aghdad that, according - to information which he had obtained
from Riadh, an extensive traffic in British arms and ammunition
was being carried on between Hejaz and Nejd. The sources of
supply appeared to be two, Nejd mercenaries in the Heiaz army
and dishonest Hejaz officials. Mr. Philby estimated that Ibn
Sand himself had bought more than 800,000 rounds of ammuni
tion, and that as much again was held by Nejdis privately. The
ordinary price for a British short service rifle was forty to fifty
dollars, while ammunition was being sold at from fifteen to
twenty rounds a dollar. The Harb in particular were generally
i umoured to have a very large supply.
_ Immediate representations were made to the King, but they
elicited only a vague and unsatisfactory reply, constituting indeed
a virtual admission of his inability to control the Beduin to whom
the majority of the rifles were necessarily issued. Incidentally he
asserted that we had in any event, given Ibn Sand almost as
many rifles as himself, a misstatement, for Ibn Saud has in the last
eOOOO 7 ^ 1 ’ 8 reCeiVed ° nly 4 ’ 000 British rifles as a 8' ains t the King’s
No adequate answer being forthcoming from the King inde
pendent enquiries were pursued by Colonel Wilson
With tegard to theCutces oi sup,,.,, he suggested that, in
addition to the two given by Mr. Philby, the Turks might have
sent consignments of captured British rifles into Nejd by caravan
rom Damascus. This, however, while intrinsically not impro-
W does not; seem actually to have happened. Mohammed
tsasam, a Damascene notable who contracted for the Turkish
Government on a large scale early in the war, stated that, as far
as he was aware, no British rifles had reached Nejd in this wav
I be only recent consignment sent there by the Turks he said
consisted of 10,000 rounds and 2,000 rifles, probably Turkish’
despatched from Medina to Ibn Saud at the end of 1916 ’
•> «"•' Wil “ •>“>•
tefay css g ”""
were based apparently on nothing better than a report from a
”el mCht w^f 611 Ver ? a ' ly by Ibl ‘ Saud ; - d ^lonJ^Zol
witiouhtroboratiofr 8 y a,ld C ° Uld n0t be
number of hand j 51 wils ext i'e'nely probable that a certain
tli r ■ t . nfle ^ and some oi the ammunition issued by us to
e Hejaz Army had reached Nejd. Such a possibilky had
C3 ArnbhTd' 2 - ^ Numbers o£ tnbesm /from
home witl, their J0 ' ned l he Kin S’ s forees had returned
borne with their arms on desertion or on the expiry of their