"ملف 8/7 I تقارير الاستخبارات في جدة" [و‎‎١‎٤] (٥٣٦/٢٧)

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I. INTERNAL AFFAIRES.
Ibn Sa'ud .—The King spent September and October at Riadh, whence
he made a number of three and four-day excursions to neighbouring centres
and oases for sport and the diversion of picnicking. These were no doubt
mixed with a little local politics, but he seems to have avoided w T ork of any
kind as much as possible. He did not pay his projected visit to the Hasa
coast, nor did he move in force to Hail, as rumour alleged, !to forestall the
Shammar rising which was expected to follow the circumstantially reported
escape of some of the Rashidi family from Riadh. All this and other
similar and repeated news of “trouble in Nejd” proved unfounded. There
was at most a certain dissatisfaction amongst the tribes at having to pay
taxes instead of receiving bounty from the King.
2 . Ibn Sa’ud, during this period of retreat in Nejd, has been described
as disheartened in spirit, disillusioned in mind, and approaching impotence
in body. This last disability seemed to have poisoned his whole outlook,
so that he had become morose and reticent, withdrawing himself for the
greater part of the day into the quarters outside Riadh where he kept his
slaves and concubines, spending long nights with one or other of his wives,
and only finding relaxation between whiles in the company of a few Beduin
cronies, where the talk was of women and camels. In the past it has been
his wont, even in Riadh, to devote many hours daily to current affairs of
his dual monaryhy, but he seems this summer to have lost all interest in them,
so that even his industrious Rais ad-Diwan, Sheykh Uusuf Yasin, mooned
about with nothing to do. These activities and this indolence suggest that
his Majesty, who is now fifty-^two and has had a strenuous sexual career,
has now reached a stage of conflict between desire and its fulfilment.
3. The Hejaz .—While the King was thus employed in Nejd, govern
ment of the Hejaz lapsed more and more into the Beduin hands of his
Director-General of Finance. Sheykh ’Abdullah Suleyman, having placed
his numerous relatives in key positions, himself moved to and fro between
Taif, Mecca, Jedda and Medina levying contributions in cash and kind
and disposing of them none knew how. His bodyguard and style came
to overshadow those of the Viceroy, whom he kept short of funds. He
made the Vice-President of the Legislative Assembly, ’Abdullah Ibrahim
al Fadhl, his jackal. Fuad Bey Hamza, the only other important func
tionary in the Hejaz, he reduced to impotence by continuing to deprive
him and all the Foreign Ministry personnel of their pay and completely ,
ignoring him and his communications. Throughout September he con
solidated his position as dictator in the King’s absence. By the middle
of October he was supreme. At the end of October he was called at last
to account.
4. The period of this ignorant Nejdi’s rule was chaotic and critical.
As foreshadowed in the last report (July-August Report, paragraphs 40
and 41), September opened with a threat of war from the Yemen. There
was urgent necessity to send reinforcements and ammunition to meet it,
but there was neither money nor petrol available. ’Abdullah Suleyman
raised forced loans from the merchants and (two hundred and fifty troops
were sent by sea to Jizan, but the military transport was held up for lack
of fuel. He pressed the Soviet Legation for the benzine they had con
tracted to supply (July-August Report paragraph 10); it had not even
left Batun. He pressed Messrs. Gellatly, Hankey and Co., for Shell benzine
on credit; knowing their man they offered it on cash terms only. Messrs.
Sharqieh Ltd., quoted similar terms for Standard oil. He pressed the
Dutch Bank for credit; they refused it pending the outcome of the nego
tiations in Amsterdam (July-August Report, paragraph 9). On the 12th
September they informed ’Abdullah Suleyman that the negotiations had
failed and that no more credit would be given. The same night a clean
sweep was made of all the benzine held in Jedda. Government lorries
plied all night at the task, and when Messrs. Gellatly, Hankey and Co , and
Messrs Sharqieh, Ltd., woke next morning, they found the warehouse emty
and their stocks gone.