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'File 8/7 I Jidda Intelligence Reports' [‎39v] (78/536)

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The record is made up of 1 file (266 folios). It was created in Jul 1931-Dec 1934. It was written in English. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .

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6
17. Communications. —The projected motor-route to connect Medina with
’Iraq has made no material progress. It is still in the stage of a preliminary ex
change of views as to terms, dues payable, passport and quarantine controls, etc.,
etc., between the Hejzi and ’Iraqi Governments. The former’s proposals are
greedy and not very practical and have not been well received.
18. Legislation. —A voluminous commercial code at length completed piece
meal publication in the “ Umm-al-Qura ” in February. All that is now lacking in
this respect is a competent court and bar ; the existing Majlis at-Tujjar or Tri
bunal of Merchants is most incompetent.
19. Instructions governing the boarding of ships lying in Jedda harbour were
issued in January. They were brought officially to the notice of the foreign mis
sions in February. These were asked to supply lists of the names of their staffs,
so that embarkation permits might be issued to them. This appeared to His
Majesty’s Charge d’Affaires to infringe diplomatic immunity and therefore meet to
be resisted, in that momentary forgetfulness to carry the permit might seriously
interfere with the performance of a duty to visit an incoming or departing vessel.
He therefore expressed regret to the Hejazi Government that he could not instruct
the Legation staff to carry this type or permit, but he communicated the required
lists, containing 33 names, and asked that they might be made known to the control
officials posted on the quay. There the matter has been allowed to rest and no
cases of interference have been experienced since a few unsuccessful attempts were
made in January to hold up the Indian Vice-Consul when visiting prilgrim ships.
20 . No other legislation of importance was enacted during the period under
review.
21. Waqfs. —At the beginning of the year a zealous body was formed in Mecca
which called itself the “ Awqaf-al-Harameyn Claims Association ”, having the
object of “ claiming through legitimate channels that which is due to the people of
the two Holy Sanctuaries, Mecca and Medina, in the way of donations and Awqaf
in various countries ”. A Committee of 10 has been formed under the presidency The name given to each of the three divisions of the territory of the East India Company, and later the British Raj, on the Indian subcontinent.
of Sheykh ’Abdullah-ash-Sheybi, son of Sheykh ’Abdul Qadir-ash-Sheybi, heredi
tary Keeper of the Keys of the Ka’ba, whose family has battened more fatly on the
faithful than have most Meccawis and is now peerless.
22. The Rub’-al-Khali.— The Empty Quarter has again been crossed by an
Englishman, this time under the auspices of Ibn Sa’ud who, according to the
“ Umm-al-Qura ”, appears to regard that desert also as a part of his dominions.
Mr. Philby set out from Hufuf on January 6th and reached Mecca on April 51 h.
Ibn Sa’ud’s Amir of Hasa provided him with 32 of the best ’Omania camels and
18 Beduin, sectional Sheykhs of the ’A] man and Murra tribes, as companions and
guides. Their route was as follows :—Hu uf, Salwa on the coast between Qatar and
Hasa, the Jabrin oasis, Maqainama Well (22 lO'N. 49 KVE.), Bir Fadhil (22 15'
N. 50 20'E.), Farajja (21 35' N. 50 45'E.) ten miles to the West of which Mr. Philby
thinks he found the Beduin traditional site of the ancient city of Ubar (w r hich
really was in the Yemeni highlands), Naifa (19 50' N. 51 E.), and Shanna (19 N.
51 05'E.).
23. From Shanna they made an attempt to cross the Emptiest Eighth, the
350-mile wide completely waterless tract between Shanna and Sulaiyil (20 25' N. 45
30' E.). On the fifth day out however and about a third of the way across the
camels failed and they had to make back to the nearest water, Naifa, which they
reached in another 5 days on March 1st, their water giving out 12 hours before they
came to the well.
24. At Naifa they rested and re-formed. Mr. Philby sent back to Biyadh the
14 weakest camels, 3 having died, with 8 men and all tents and other baggage. He
made the second attempt westward light, with 15 camels and 10 men. On the 10th
day, after 111 hours marching across completely waterless sand and gravel, during
v/hich the camels received no water and picked up practically no vegetation, the
party reached Sulaiyil with 2 petrol-tins of water in reserve. Thence they made
their way leisurely by Bisha, Turaba, and Taif to Mecca. Mr. Philby visited
Jedda on April 6th. He must have covered some 1,500 miles in the 90 days outing,
but showed remarkably little sign of the strain. He has enough specimens and
material to work on for a year, but has first to answer the shower of well-deserved
congratulatory telegrams and offers which has met him in Jedda from all parts of
the world, including one from Mr. Bertram Thomas.

About this item

Content

The file contains intelligence reports on the Kingdom of Hejaz, Najd and its Dependencies (after September 1932, Saudi Arabia) written by the British Legation at Jeddah.

Between July 1931 and December 1932 the reports are issued every two months, with the exception of the January-March 1932 and April 1932 reports. From January 1933 the reports are sent on a monthly basis.

Between July 1931 and December 1932, each report is divided into sections, numbered with Roman numerals from I to IX, as follows: Internal Affairs; Frontier Questions; Relations with States outside Arabia; Air Matters; Military Matters; Naval Matters; Pilgrimage; Slavery; and Miscellaneous. Each section is then further divided into parts relating to a particular matter or place, under a sub-heading. Some reports contain an annex.

From January 1933, when the reports become monthly, they take a new format. Each is divided into sections, as follows: Internal Affairs; Frontier Questions and Foreign Relations in Arabia; Relations with Powers Outside Arabia; Miscellaneous (often containing information on slavery and the pilgrimage).

Most reports are preceded by the covering letters from the Government of India, who distributed them to Political Offices in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. and elsewhere, and the original covering letter from the Jeddah Legation, who would send them to the Government of India and Government departments in London. From May 1933, most reports were sent directly to the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. at Bahrain from Jeddah.

Up until January 1933, each report began with an index giving a breakdown of the sections with references to the corresponding paragraph number. From January 1933 onwards no index is included.

Extent and format
1 file (266 folios)
Arrangement

The file is arranged chronologically.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover and terminates at the back cover; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. An additional incomplete foliation sequence is also present in parallel between ff 6-11; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence.

Written in
English in Latin script
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'File 8/7 I Jidda Intelligence Reports' [‎39v] (78/536), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/2/295, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100025543724.0x00004f> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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