File 756/1917 Pt 2-3 ‘ARAB BULLETIN Nos 66-114’ [‎382v] (773/834)

Maan and Medina to proceed in one direction at a time. Rolling
stock is not plentiful; it is believed that on this line only four
serviceable engines are available, two others are under repair,
and only about forty trucks are fit for use.
The Arabs have established a wireless chain from Damascus
to Mecca, with stations at Akaba, Wejh, Yenbo and Jeddah.
With regard to the capture of Jauf by Ibn Rashid, it is
stated on good authority that Emir Feisal has said that political
circumstances at present prevent him from taking steps to adjust
the position. .
King Husein reported that people from Nejd attacked
Hejaz settlements in the suburbs of Taif on April 20, and carried
off 1,700 sheep. Other Ikhwan raiders are said to have made
an attack on Safineh on April 13, but were repulsed.
, The proposed meeting (page 88) between Ibn Saud and
living Husein to discuss the Khurma affair has been grudgingly
(agreed to by the King and more graciously by Ibn Saud. It
iwill probably take place immediately after the pilgrimage either
Jat Taif or on one of His Majesty’s ships in Aden harbour.
Emir 'Abdullah visited Cairo from April 26 to May 11 as
the guest of His Majesty’s Government, and though, from the
Emir’s point of view, the trip must have been more of a social
than a political success, he did not return altogether disappointed,
and showed himself very grateful for the welcome that was given
to him. The San Remo declarations appeared almost oppor
tunely and left little room for discussion, though that did not
prevent Abdullah from repeating, in the name of his father, all
the time-worn protests against the partition of Syria and the
French mandate. He did it, however, in a very moderate and
praiseworthy manner.
Viscount Allenby invested him with the Knight Grand Cross
of the Order of the British Empire, and he reviewed a parade
of British troops, an honour which both he and his father
appreciated.
The question of the supreme control of the Quarantine in
the Hejaz, which has been in British hands for the last three
years, has caused an acute crisis to arise. The Emir 'Abdullah,
to whom the question was referred this year, gave his consent
m writing but unfortunately omitted to consult his father.
. ^ len ^ le latter, who was already in a state of barely suppressed
irritation owing to the decision of the San Remo Conference,
and the failure of his own ambitious hopes, heard of this he
unofficially repudiated the agreement and 'Abdullah thereupon
resigned, there has followed a series of incidents, in which the