File 756/1917 Pt 2-3 ‘ARAB BULLETIN Nos 66-114’ [‎22v] (53/834)

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• i + ' oil livelihood will still be Turkey after this war, and
m wbat m all i , f 6 r the upkeep o£ mosques,
Itl tedrf sehs ^™^what not. Moreover the sum
required ? bv a free Kingdom of Hejaz will be much m excess of
the total of the Ottoman surra allowances, which used to be
charged on efkaf properties in Turkey sequestered by
Mahmud 11. (2) Peter’s Pence ’ from the Faithful all over
the world ? Well—one would be sorry to be King Husem s
Chancellor of the Exchequer, introducing a 1 y id g et
on estimated receipts from that source ! (3) Christia
Powers ? If any of these should finance the Kingdom of Hejaz
openly and directly, when there is no longer war for an excuse
that kingdom will fall into such discredit in Moslem eyes that it
will cease to be worth financing at all. (4) Some external Moslem
state or states ? Which of these can be conceived able and willing
after the settlement of the present war ? Certainly none of those
that will preserve independence. And of the others is there
any but Egypt that could do it ? The argument, therefore,
leads us back to something not unlike, in fact, the status quo ante
1850 by whatever name it shall come to be called m, say, tyio.
’ • nan
IDRISI’S OFFENSIVE.
In our issue, No. 61, p. 365, we printed a statement about
agreements reported by Xdrisi to have been made between him
and certain Yemen elements, including Hashid and Bekil tribesmen,
for a combined offensive, ostensibly against the Turkish garrisons
in the Yemenite Tihamah and northern highlands. Idrisi
proceeded to ask for the subsidy and supplies which had been
promised to him by us in the event of his enlisting the Hashid
and Bekil. After some demur, due to the difficulty of verifying
Idrisi’s statements and of devising guarantees that his objectives
should be such as would serve the purpose of the Allies, H.M.
Government decided to fulfil its part of the pact ; and, on
October 17, Aden sent Major B. R. Reilly, Assistant Resident,
np to Jeizan with the total sum allocated by H.M.G., and
instructions to interview Idrisi. If satisfied with his statements
and plans and assured that he would accept a British liaison
officer to accompany his operations, Major Reilly was to hand
over the money. Food supplies were to follow. On October 21 ,
Major Reilly telegraphed from Jeizan that his interview had been
satisfactory except in respect of the acceptance of a liaison officer.
To this Idrisi firmly objected, pleading that it would indispose
his tribesmen to him. Nevertheless, it was decided that the
whole sum of money, rather than, as had been suggested, an
instalment, should be handed to him, he being told that no more