The Emir Feisul was proclaimed in Baghdad on Tuesday as
King of Irak, and received a personal message of congratulation from the King. It its-officially announced that " an. overwhelming majority of the electorate " had, in a referendum, expressed approval of the Emir's election as King. A treaty is to be made with the new monarch, and it is hoped that the British garrison may be reduced more quickly than was anticipated. Everyone will share that hope. At the same time, it would be well not to place undue confidence in the stability of the new Arab kingdom. The people of Mesopotamia are rent by racial, religious, and economic feuds, and, until we occupied the country, they bad never known a just and efficient rule. King Feisul will have not only to raise a trustworthy native army, but also to train honest and capable native officials, and this will take time. He will be hampered, too, by foreign intrigue from all sides. But it is our duty and our interest to see that his throne is upheld. Islam will observe that Great Britain, after over- throwing Turkey, has created a new Moslem State, in fulfilment of her promise to the Arab peoples.
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