Provisional National Government, and of a head of the Syrian State in the person of Damad Ahmed Namy Bey, a Turkish prince. M. de Jouvenel announced, as the keystone of the new relations between France and Syria, a Treaty similar to the AngloIraqui Treaty. This should, of course, carry with it internal independence, the formation of a Syrian army ultimately to take the place of the French, and the admission of Syria to the League of Nations. A later demand was for the re-distribution of territory between Syria and the Lebanon whereby the earliest Lebanese annexations would, in part, at any rate, be restituted and Syria given access to the sea. But demands not very different put forward by representatives of the Druses some months earlier for inter alia the complete independence of Syria, the restitution of the State of Lebanon to its original limits, and the withdrawal of the French troops to the coast had been summarily rejected. However, the Provisional Government lasted only two and a half months, for on June 15 it was dissolved, on the ground that some of its members were giving encouragement to the enemy. Damad Ahmed formed a new Government, but this also did not live long, and before the year closed he had formed a third Ministry, which likewise did not offer prospects of a long life.

The administration of the mandate by France came before the Mandates Commission of the League of Nations in February, and opportunity was taken of the occasion for extremely severe criticisms of that administration on the part of representatives of the people of Syria. The Mandates Commission was asked to visit Syria so as to examine conditions on the spot. The Report of the Commission was somewhat severe on the administration by M. de Jouvenel's predecessors, but looked forward to an improvement under M. de Jouvenel. The mandate came again before the Commission at its June meeting, when M. de Jouvenel in person represented the French case and explained his policy. M. de Jouvenel, however, did not return to Syria. His successor was M. Ponsot, an official of the French Foreign Office.

In the meanwhile, at the end of May, an agreement between the Turkish Government and that of France which, incidentally, included Syria, was signed at Angora. This provided for reciprocal neutrality in the event of a conflict with a third party, and, of course, eased the frontier situation between Turkey and Syria which, in consequence of raids of a minor character, had been troublesome at times.

ARABIA.

On December 23, 1925, Abdul Aziz Ibn Saud, the Wahabite leader, completed his triumph over the already deposed Hashimite dynasty by occupying their capital, Jiddah. From this time he was undisputed ruler of the Hejaz, and in the course of

the succeeding year he greatly consolidated his position and made himself the most powerful ruler in the Arabian peninsula. On January 8 he was proclaimed king at Mecca, and was soon recognised as King of the Hejaz and Sultan of Nejd by all the foreign Powers which had interests in Arabia, except Italy and Egypt. Ibn Saud showed himself in many ways an able and progressive ruler, and in particular set himself to encourage the pilgrim trade, on which the prosperity of the Hejaz chiefly depends, and to overcome the antipathies which had been aroused by some of the actions of his fanatical followers. He established hospitals and built roads for the pilgrims, and as a result of his efforts the pilgrimage to Mecca this year was a success, and enabled the Hejaz to show a revenue of 500,000l, more than covering its expenditure. With a view chiefly to concerting measures for improving the lot of the pilgrims, but also for more general purposes of Moslem interest, Ibn Saud, after his failure in the previous year, made a second attempt to organise a Pan-Moslem Congress at Mecca, this time with success. The Congress opened on June 6 and was attended by delegates from the Sunni Mohammedans of practically all countries. The Congress strengthened the feeling of Moslem, or rather Sunni, solidarity and also heightened not a little the prestige of Ibn Saud. One incident, however, occurred to mar his satisfaction; the Egyptian delegates, who adopted a modern style of living, came into conflict with some of the fanatical Wahabis of Mecca, and left the country in high anger. Not only were political relations rendered cooler by this contretemps, but there was reason to fear that it might lead to a diminution in the number of Egyptian pilgrims to Mecca, who brought into the Hejaz money which it could ill afford to lose.

While Ibn Saud strengthened his position at Jiddah, the Imam Yehya maintained himself without opposition at Sanaa. The British Mission under Sir Gilbert Clayton which at the end of 1925 had visited him for the purposes of arranging terms (vide ANNUAL REGISTER, 1925, p. 247) met with no success. In the summer Britain again tried to conclude a Treaty of friendship with the ruler of the Yemen, but again failed, because she insisted on his giving up a strip of territory which he had seized near Aden. Italy, which also desired the friendship of the Yemen, was more successful, and on November 4 concluded a Treaty with the Imam which strengthened commercial relations between the Yemen and Eritrea.

Situated between the Sultan of Nejd on the North and the ruler of the Yemen on the South, the Idrisi Emir of Asir found his position untenable, and in October he placed himself under the protection of the former. Ibn Saud further extended his authority in December by meeting a number of tribal chiefs at Riyadhin, near Medina, and inducing them to offer him allegiance. In view of the consolidation of his power which had taken place during

the year, the British Government decided that relations between the Wahabis and the British Empire should be defined afresh, and for this purpose the British consul at Jiddah went on December 30 to confer with Ibn Saud at Abyar Ibn Hassan, near Medina.

INDIA.

During the year the Viceroyalty of Lord Reading (who was raised to a Marquessate) came to an end, with a quiet frontier, a surplus Budget, and a great and general improvement in political conditions. His successor in April, 1926, was the Rt. Hon. Edward F. L. Wood, afterwards Baron Irwin of Kirby Underdale, who had a hereditary connexion with India as the grandson of Sir Charles Wood, the originator of the present educational system. Lord Irwin's personality as a man was found acceptable to the man of the frontier during his tour of the North-West: he has already become known as the "farmer" Viceroy, owing to the interest displayed in agriculture and the life of the peasantry; and his appeals at the Chelmsford Club at Simla in July, and at the opening of the Autumn Session of the Legislative Assembly in August for better relations between the Hindu and Moslem Communities made a profound impression.

The year opened with the prospect of further disruption of the Swaraj (Home Rule) Party, and of Hindu-Mohammedan antagonism. The Swaraj Party had resolved at Cawnpore, in December, 1925, to re-open a campaign of civil disobedience and a boycott of the Legislatures: but it came to naught. The other political parties, the Moderates, the Independents, and the Responsive Co-operators realised the necessity for joint action; but their negotiations were punctuated throughout the year by the personal differences between leaders. At the March sessions the Swarajists adopted the theatrical, but resultless, step of walking out of the Legislatures. An attempt at reconciliation between the Responsivists and the extreme Swarajists was made in April at Subarmati, in the Bombay Presidency; but it failed through vagueness, and the Indian National Congress was left to be dominated by a dwindling body of extremists. The mutual attitude of the various parties was later affected by the Hindu-Moslem communal strife (to which reference is made later), and the imminence of the elections in November-December for the Central and Provincial Legislative bodies. At the elections the Swaraj Party lost one-third of their strength in the Central Assembly; they lost heavily in Bombay; were decisively defeated in Assam ; and became negligible in the United Provinces, Central Provinces, and in the Punjab. In Bengal they were returned in practically undiminished numbers. On the other hand, they strengthened their position in Madras, with 44 out of 94 seats, and had a triumph

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in Bihar. In Madras they were unwilling to accept the responsibility of a Ministry. The year closed with the meeting, in December, of the Indian National Congress at Gauhati, in Assam, where the Swaraj Party, some members of which stood for boycott of the Councils, and some for entry and obstruction from within, was in the majority; and Responsivist Hindus and Mohammedans were in small numbers. In the Presidential speech, Mr. Srinivasa Ayangar declared against acceptance of office; and a resolution to that effect until the "national" demand had been conceded was passed by a large majority. No mention was made of mass civil disobedience.

An outstanding feature in the election campaign was the bitterness between Hindus and Moslems. The appeal to the electors was on frankly communal lines. This was a sequel to the various outbursts of fanaticism, for which the year has acquired an unfortunate reputation. On two occasions in April there were serious riots in Calcutta owing to conflicts between the two parties in the two outbreaks there were 975 casualties, including 102 killed. The Government of Bengal declared a state of emergency. Serious outrages also occurred in parts of Bengal, in Delhi,^ in the North-West Frontier Province, in the United Provinces, and in the Punjab; and incidents in Malabar, Hyderabad, and elsewhere. All religious festivals in Upper India, Hindu and Mohammedan, by July and August necessitated, both before and during their ceremonies, elaborate precautions to ensure their peaceful celebration. A grave incident occurred on December 28, when a prominent Hindu leader, Swami Shraddhanda (Munshi Ram), the founder of the monastic college of the Arya Samaj at Hardwar, was shot dead at Delhi by a Mohammedan fanatic. The Swami's name had been prominent on account of his identification with the movement for the reconversion to Hinduism of Mohammedans whose forefathers had been converted Hindus. The Secretary of State (Lord Birkenhead) expressed, in the House of Lords, on July 28, the view that, while it would be untrue to deny all connexion between the Reforms and the religious tension, so far as a tangible cause could be assigned, it was to be found in the general unsettlement of ideas and of material conditions which followed the war, and which gave a final quietus to the system of paternal government.

The proceedings in the various Legislative bodies may now be considered. In the Council of State in February a motion by Sir Phiroze Sethna for the immediate appointment of a Royal Commission to establish a scheme for responsible self-government was rejected. The Indian Trade Union Act was passed by the Legislative Assembly: provisions were made in connexion with the safe custody of Union funds and with their periodical audit. In August the Assembly passed an Act providing for the constitution of Bar Councils in the various Provinces: the intention was

to establish Councils similar to the English Bar Councils, thus uniting judges and advocates of different categories in one great profession. As a result of the Reforms Enquiry (Muddiman) Committee, a rule was passed enabling women to stand as candidates for the Legislative Councils, and the Madras and Bombay Councils acted upon it. A resolution to the same end was adopted in September in the Legislative Assembly. Dr. Ammal was the first lady member of the Madras Council. As regards the vote, women are now eligible to vote, both for the Provincial Councils and for the Legislative Assembly in all Provinces except Bihar and the Central Provinces. A permanent Indian Public Service Commission was constituted during the year.

Under the head of Defence, the Budget estimate was 54.8 crores of rupees (one crore = 750,000l.), for 1926-27, showing a steady reduction in six years from the 87-4 crores in 1920-21. The Commander-in-Chief informed the Assembly in March that, on a comparison of 1914 and 1926, Indian Cavalry had been reduced from thirty-nine to twenty-one regiments; and battalions of Indian Infantry serving in India from 126 to 100. A Committee of eleven, of whom nine were Indians, under the chairmanship of Sir Andrew Skeen, Chief of the General Staff, sat to consider the means of attracting Indian youth to adopt a military career. Pundit Moti Lal Nehru, the leader of the Non-co-operation Swarajists, resigned his membership of the Committee in March on the ground of the "general interest of the country " and "as a necessary corollary to our recent action in the Assembly." The Report was ready, but not published, at the end of the year. On the North-West Frontier the success of the civilising effect of the road-making policy in Waziristan continued, and raiding abated to an extent which the Commander-in-Chief considered to be not only satisfactory, but remarkable. In February the Viceroy announced to the Council of State that the Royal Indian Marine would be reconstructed, and known as the Royal Indian Navy, with the privilege of flying the White Ensign; that in its first development it would consist of twelve vessels; and that Indians would be eligible to hold commissions in the Service.

In the Indian States there were some changes of moment. In 1925-26 the Begum of Bhopal visited London in connexion with her claim that her third and surviving son, Haji Mohammed Hamidalla Khan, C.S.I., C.V.O., should be her successor. In March, 1926, the Secretary of State and the Viceroy concurred in accepting him as heir-apparent; and in May, on the Begum abdicating in his favour, he became the Nawab. In February, 1926, H.H. Sir Tukoji Rao Holkar, Maharaja of Indore, abdicated in favour of his son, Prince Yeshwant Rao Holkar, who was born in 1906. This followed the implication of some of his officers in a case of abduction at Bombay. In connexion with the claim made in 1923 by the Nizam of Hyderabad for the restoration of Berar,