File 3665/1924 Pt 1 ‘Arabia:- Situation 1924; Wahabi attack on Hedjaz. Capture of Taif & defeat of Hedjaz Army. Abdication of King Hussein.’ [‎46v] (101/852)

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agents were to hand the documents to Messrs. Lazzarini, as representatives, it appears,
of the Banco di Roma. The cases were for the Hedjaz Government. They appear to
have passed through the hands of Messrs. Ihomas Cook and Son at or ai , wmre
they were disembarked from the steamship “Architect,” a Harrison boat, the ongm
of the consignment is not known.
The Amir Ali assures his supporters that armoured cars, aeroplanes and munitions
will reach Jeddah on a (? Dutch) steamer arriving about the 5th November.
Under the direction of the Turkish officer referred to above, a system of trenches
has been made all round Jeddah, at a distance varying from a mile to a few
hundred yards.
A Hashimite steamer brought about 300 “volunteers from Akaba on the
29th October. . v T i i u
4 . For the native of the Hedjaz, Mecca is now considered much safer than Jeddah.
Most of the well-to-do people who had fled to Jeddah have returned to Mecca. The
rest, and many inhabitants of Jeddah, would also have gone, but during the last few
days the road has become unsafe. Several caravans have been robbed and the people
composing them have had to return. These robberies seem to have been instigated, or
at least allowed, by the Shereef Muhsin, who acts as intermediary between the Hedjaz
Government and the tribes. One of the objects seems to have been to secure the
letters in which the people of Mecca have poured out their treasonable souls to the
Wahabis; another, to reward tribes who have promised to help Ali against the
Wahabis,
The Mecca road being closed, the population are seeking other ways of escape.
Egypt and Eritrea refuse to take refugees, but many have gone to Suakin. Some
hundreds of women, children and servants have been sent to the Jeddah quarantine
islands, and all the dhows have been retained by the menfolk of these people to take
them to the islands at a moment’s notice if Jeddah is attacked.
5 . The departure of all the Indian pilgrims, and also the cutting of the road, which
removes the possibility (already greatly diminished by the reassuring attitude of the
Wahabis) of our being flooded by Indians from Mecca, simplifies the evacuation problem
very greatly. The special measures which had been taken at Kamaran by the Resident
at Aden to provide for the possible arrival of 2,500 British refugees have been cancelled,
the quarantine station being able to provide without expansion for some 500 persons ;
that is about as many as we should have to send there.
6 . The Wahabis have committed no oftences against life or property in Mecca, but
| they have prohibited as unnecessary the delivery of theological lectures and the use of
all religious books other than the Koran and the Traditions. This policy has had the
effect of driving a considerable number of Malay and Javanese theological students
away to Jeddah, where they are waiting for steamers to call to take them home.
Evidence obtained from these students and from other sources goes to show that the
Wahabis have also desecrated various tombs at Mecca which the Sunni regards with
veneration.
7 . The Amir Ali has stated to various people that when ibn Saud reaches Mecca
he will go there - alone if necessary—and try to come to an arrangement with him, but
that he will make no further attempt to negotiate with Khalid. It is unlikely that any
attack will be made on Jeddah before Ibn Saud arrives. The Wahabis have met with
no serious opposition hitherto, and will hardly attack an entrenched position if they can
solve the problem in some other way. Jeddah is the most convenient port for Mecca,
but it is not the only port. Trade, if not the pilgrim traffic, could be diverted to, e.g. y
Rabigh to the north or Lith to the south. Rabigh has gone over to the Wahabis, and
there are signs that an attempt will be made to get supplies for Mecca through that
place. Supplies at Mecca are already very low and prices high, and a solution must be
found soon. What the attitude of the tribes will be is not known. At present they
are busy swearing allegiance to both sides. They will probably not make up their
minds until the scales have swung definitely one way or the other. Ali is giving them
money and grain ; the Wahabis could offer them a tax on all grain imported through
Rabigh. Ali’s resources are believed to be small, and he is collecting very little
revenue, the main source—customs dues—having almost dried up, so that he might be
outbidden by the Wahabis, who have in addition the prestige of Ibn Sand’s name on
their side.
R. W. BULLARD,
Agent and Consul.