Papers on British policy and the Arab movement [‎8r] (17/380)

15
(vii.) 7 reaties and Agreements between His Majesti/’s Government and other A rab riders
in the independent area.
1 he boundaries of Arab independence assented to by Sir H. McMahon on the
24th October, 1915, in his second letter to Sherif Husein, included not oidy (a) Arab
territories still subject to the Turk, but also (b) the dominions of independent Arab
rulers like the Sultans of Moknlla and Maskat, the Trueial Chiefs, and the Sheikh of
Koweit, with whom His Majesty’s Government had treaties, in some cases of more than
half a century’s standing; and (c) the dominions of Arab rulers, like bin Saud and the
Idrisi, whom His Majesty’s Government had recognised before the war as being within
the Turkish sphere, but with whom we had since made agreements, or were on the
point of making them. (The Treaty with the Idrisi was signed on the 30th April,
1915, before Sherif Husein had opened negotiations with us, and that with bin Saud on
the 26th December, 1915, before we had concluded them with him.)
Sir H. McMahon, therefore, stated in his letter that “we accept these limits and
boundaries without prejudice to our existing treaties with Arab Chiefs” (p. 53).
I he point does not appear to have been taken up by the Sherif until his third
letter of the 5th November, 1915, in which, apropos o£ British administration in Irak,
he wrote that he might consent to it “ for a short time, without the rights of either
side being prejudiced thereby (especially those of the Arab Nation, which interests are
economic and vital to it) ... . at the same time respecting your agreements with the
Sheikhs of those districts, and especially' those which are essential ’(p. 93).
On the 10th December, 1915, the Foreign Office, in a telegram of instructions to
Sir II. McMahon, laid it down that:—
“ It should be made clear to the Sherif that when we spoke of our existing
agreements with Sheikhs being upheld, we referred to the Arabian Peninsula no
less than Mesopotamia ” (p. 102).
And in his third letter of the 13th December, 1915, Sir H. McMahon embodied
these instructions as follows :—
“ In stating that the Arabs are ready to recognise and respect all our treaties
with Arab Chiefs, it is of course understood that this will apply to all territories
included in the Arab Kingdom, as the Government of Great Britain cannot
repudiate engagements which already exist.”
This stipulation was ignored by the Sherif in his fourth letter of the 1st November,
1916, and dots not appear to have been referred to again during the negotiations.
After the outbreak of the revolt and the reduction of the Turkish garrisons at
Mecca, Jeddah and Taif, Abdullah, as Sherifial “ Minister for Foreign Affairs,” appears
to have sent messages announcing the victory to the neighbouring Arab rulers, to which
both bin Saud and the chief of the Hashid and Bekil Confederation sent extremely
courteous, though non-committal, replies. 46
Bin Saud was also informed of the Hejaz revolt officially by His Majesty’s
Government through Sir P. Cox. In his reply to the latter, 47 dated the 20th July, 1916
(or 25th July, 1916), he expressed pleasure at the event as a blow to the Turks and a
success for His Majesty’s Government, but intimated doubts as to Sherif Husein’s
intentions, mentioned that he and the Sherif had been at war for years over demarcation
and allegiance questions, and took exception to the fact that “ in the official communique
mention was made of ‘ the Arabs’ as if they were a compendious whole.”
Early in August, 1916, Sherif Husein appears to have written a second letter to
bin Saud, asking for “alliance” and “assistance.” Bin Saud reported this to
Sir P. Cox in a letter dated the I 5th August, 1916, and expressed even graver concern
at the Sherifs intentions than before. 48 Sir P. Cox submitted that His Majesty’s
Government should assure bin Saud that their treaty with him would be adhered to,
and that they should communicate the terms of it to the Sherif. Both Sir P. Cox’s
suggestions were adopted, 49 and the text of His Majesty’s Government’s treaty with
bin Saud was conveyed to the Sherif by Colonel Wilson on the 30th October, 1916. 50
On the 1st November, 1916, Sherif Abdullah, in his telephonic communication to
Colonel Wilson, 51 regarding the proclamation of his father as “ King of the Arabs ” two
days before, defined the position of the other independent Arab rulers as follows :—
46 Translations in 242002/16. *7 182436/16; full translation in 231939/16 (No. 52>
48 18U581/16. 49 183725/16 and 187737/16. 50 219296/16. 51 242002/16.