2 JANUARY 1926, Page 11

However, Ibn Saud has begun well. He made no attempt

to kill his predecessor or massacre in his success any more of those who had opposed his grasp at power. He has made a quite reasonable agreement with Iraq for which Sir Gilbert Clayton acted successfully in the negotiations. He has made polite promises to respect Egyptian pilgrimages. There is every reason to think that he and his virile followers will keep order in the large area now under his sway, and the rulers who are his nearest neighbours, the Imam of Sauna and the Sultan of Oman, are not likely to dispute his rule.