مجموعة ٦/ ١٦ "مستقبل: الأسرة الملكية. الأحداث المحتملة في حالة وفاة ابن سعود." [ظ‎‎١‎٧‎٦] (٤٤٠/٣٥٣)

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{d) He enjoins resoluteness bn his heir and reminds him of the causes of the
decay of the Abbasids, who made friends with their enemies and held
aloof from their friends, only to find themselves in the latter end
attacked by the one and abandoned by the other. .
(e) He inculcates respect for the aged of all classes, warning his son not to^~ ^
neglect them or to turn them away for minor faults, hot affecting k
religion or the sovereign power.
(/) There should, says the King, lapsing into unconscious; imitation of
Cromwell, be a garrison in every place, composed of tried and trusty
men, and they should be treated justly in ,accordance with the Sharia.
{g) His Majesty enjoins respect for the Ulema, who are like stars adorning
the sky, guiding the travellers and warning devils away ; but he draws
a somewhat pointed distinction between those Ulema who shine both
in knowledge and council and those who have knowledge only ^nd
whose opinions are not necessarily to be.followed. , , - ^
(Ji) The King enjoins the closest attention to foreign affair^ and the policies
and intentions of other governments. He emphasises the fact that the
relations of. 'States are based on exchange of benefits and inter
dependence of interests. The policy pf each foreign country should be
studied in order to determine itg. attitude towards that of which it will
be the prince’s task to promote the welfare and to undertake the
defence : against enemies., News of the intentions of other countries,
must be carefully sifted and not judged with reference to selfish
desires. “ Beware,” says His Majesty, “bf statements made to you
in the apparent form of advice, while inwardly something ’Mse is
meant.” The prince^ polipy towards other Governments "should be
based, both outwardly and inwardly, on friendship and peaPe. The
v King reminds his heir of his duties towards all Moslems and Arabs.
5 The Amir Baud’s reply to this long epistle i^s commehdably short and
presents no special fesatu^ pf interest,, ' ~ . <
6. In its gener al. comment ary on th.e doings of the two great Mondays in
Mecca and Riyadh, the Vrrim-aflrQura emphasises the evils of dissension in Islam
in the, past. It quotes the late Syed Ameer Ali’s references to the time when
four rival leaders flew their standards at Arafat, and draws a further moral
from a three-cornered contest, for the paliphate in the time of the Abbasida. It
is the duty of the Aratjs, the writey say^^tp, do their utmost to aypid disputes and
mistakes. He commends the decisipn of the King in regf^id to the succession,
which was taken with these considerations in yiewj. 1 y, ‘ ' , j/ !
7. The designation of the heir apparent is being celebrated, according to
the last Umm-al-Qura, by the issue of special postage stamps. They are not yet
on sale. ; .
8. I am sending copies of this despatch to the Government of India, His
Majesty’s Ambassador at Bagdad, His Majesty’s High Commissioner, Jerusalem,
the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, His Majesty’s .Chief 'Commissioner at
Aden and to His Majesty’s High Commissioner for Egypt.
I have, &c.
ANDREW RYAN.