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over. He called a hurried council and abdicated in favour of his elder brother, Inayat Ullah Khan. The words he used on that occasion are memorable: "The welfare of the country" he said, "demands that I should withdraw my hands from public affairs, for all the bloodshed and risings in the country are due to a general hatred of me." Next morning, accompanied by a few favourites he escaped to Kandahar by car, taking with him whatever of gold and precious stones still remained in the public treasury, the bulk having been already conveyed to Kandahar by the aeroplanes that carried the Queen and other ladies of the royal family. The unfortunate Inayat Ullah Khan, the real heir to his father's throne, whom Amanullah Khan had deprived of his lawful right, was not to enjoy his kingship for long. At about 2 the news of his brother's abdication was made public and by 4 in the evening he found himself nearly besieged by Bacha's forces. A mission of some influential men, including Sardar Mohammad Usman Khan and Hazrat Mohd. Sadiq Khan, a younger brother of the well- 39