"ملفات 61/12 و 61/16 (D 80) معاهدة بين بان سعود والحكومة البريطانية" [و‎‎١‎٧‎١] (٤٠٨/٣٤٨)

should be discussed in committee by his advisers and Mr. Antonius, after which
another interview would be held between Ibn Saud and Sir G. Clayton.'
In the afternoon oi the same day the King had a private and personal interview
with Sir G. Clayton, and agreement was reached on the question of manumission and
that of the Hejaz-Trans-Jordan frontier. In each case it was agreed to deal with
the points at issue by means of an exchange of letters in terms to be drafted bv
Sir G. Clayton.
1th Meeting.
The seventh meeting took place at the mission's house, at 8-30 a.m ., on the
18th May, 1927.
Sir G. Clayton opened the proceedings by informing Ibn Saud that he had
received from him a letter on the previous evening which had caused him some
surprise, as it indicated that His Majesty regarded as vital various entirely new
points, which had been raised by his advisers in sub-committee and which in certain
cases represented requests to which His Majesty's Government would be unable to
accede. Sir G. Clayton added that he had hoped, after the satisfactory personal con
versations which he had had with His Majesty on the previous day, that all the major
points had now been settled.
His Majesty replied to the effect that the letter in question had been written and
signed before his personal interview with Sir G. Clayton, after which he had
endeavoured to recall it but had not been in time to do so.
Sir G. Clayton replied that he had felt sure that there was some satisfactory
explanation of the letter, which did not quite harmonise with the excellent tone of
the conversations up to date.
Before dealing with the various points in detail. Sir G. Clayton emphasised the
fact that the negotiations for a treaty were taking place in consequence of a direct
request made by Ibn Saud, and not at the instance of His Majesty's Government.
He also pointed out that the draft which he had now brought with him had been
framed after very careful consideration of the results of the discussions at
Wadi al 'Aqiq, and that it was somewhat surprising to find a number of new points
being raised which did not appear in the last draft submitted by Ibn Saud to
Mr. Jordan.
In connection with the proposed article 6, Sir G. Clayton stated that he was
unable to agree to any extension of its provisions. The article as it stood represented
a great concession, and His Majesty's Government could not go as far as to admit
that all British subjects should be tried by local courts. He strongly recommended
the King to accept the clause as a considerable advance towards the ultimate object
at which he was aiming.
The King then propounded various hypothetical cases to illustrate the difficulty
in which he was placed owing to his courts not being fully recognised, to which
Sir G. Clayton replied that His Majesty's Government was unable to advance further
at present and cases such as had been quoted would have to be dealt with on their
merits.
After considerable discussion. His Majesty stated that he must defer his decision
pending further consideration, to which Sir G. Clayton replied that he could not
change the attitude which he had taken up.
Sir G. Clayton then stated that it appeared to him that the suggested addition
to article 4, which treated of the security of pilgrims, had now been dealt with under
article 6, but Ibn Saud continued to urge that the. word "subject " should be substi
tuted for the word " pilgrim," thereby greatly extending the scope of the article.
Sir G. Clayton was unable to accept this proposal, pointing out that the article
was merely designed to deal with the special case of pilgrims. He added, with some
sharpness, that the draft which he had presented as representing the final views of
His Majesty's Government had been based on a careful study of the results achieved
at Wadi al 'Aqiq. and that His Majesty's Government had not expected that a
number of new points would be raised which had never even been mentioned in the
course of the discussions with Mr. Jordan. . .
In regard to clause 3, Sir G. Clayton insisted on the retention of the word
" undertake" in the first part of the article, but agreed to the insertion of the word
" notifies " in the clause which deals with the safety of pilgrims and their property.
Sir G Clayton agreed to certain minor modifications of wording asked for by
Ibn Saud.