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'File 8/7 I Jidda Intelligence Reports' [‎45v] (90/536)

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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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18
85. East (Nejd). —There is nothing definite to report.
86. South (Asir).- —Reference to tribal unrest has been made in paragraph 51,
but the frontier appears to have been quiet. The Nejdi reinforcements sent to
Jizan last September (September-0ctober report, paragraph 45) returned in March
by sea, in dhows.
CHAPTER VI.— Naval Matters.
87. Commander A. R. Farquhar, D.S.C., R.N., visited Jedda in H. M. S.
“ Penzance ” on January 28th. The visit happened to coincide wuth the manu
mission by the Legation of a slave claimed by Ibn Sa’ud and proved most timely
for his embarkation, under somewhat unusual circumstances, and repatriation to
Africa (see Chapter VIII). His Majesty’s Minister left Jedda on February 2nd in
H. M. S. “ Penzance ” for Port Sudan, on his way to Jerusalem.
88. The French despatch-vessel “ Dunkerque ” visited Jedda from March 24th
to 28th, after paying short visits to Wejh and Yanbu.
89. The Italian minelayer “ Azio ” visited Jedda from February 9th to 11th,
for the occasion of the signing of the Italo-Hejazi treaty.
CHAPTER VII. — Pilgrimage.
90. General. — By the end of March some 20,000 pilgrims had landed at Jedda,
of whom 8,000 were Indians. Pilgrimage Day was due to fall on Friday April
15th, and another 5,000 oversea pilgrims were expected to arrive for it. Last
year’s figures were 40,000 in all from oversea.
91. Indian. —Hejazis live on Indians, amongst others. They felt the pinch
of a lean season last year and their appetite has recently been sharp. The Hejazi
Government have equally suffered the pinch and their practice has become all the
sharper. They are an unpleasant species at the best of times ; but when, as during
the past 3 months, they begin to make their annual meal in lairs which they call the
Holy Sanctuaries, they offered the senses and exercise the mind of interested
observers.
92. Last summer they published an official tariff of dues for the 1932 pilgri
mage which advertised a reduction of Mutawwifs’ fees. It was scaled in piastres
and rupees Indian silver coin also widely used in the Persian Gulf. . They broadcast it through India and beyond in a propaganda pamph
let entitled “ Friday Pilgrimage ”, promising the fall of Hajj Day on Friday, April
15th, with consequential sevenfold blessing that day upon God’s Guests. (It may
be ntted in parenthesis that it was not the Prophet but the shop and lodging-house
keepers of Mecca who invented this wind-fall, 200 years later.) Indian pilgrims
were thus led to believe that the 1932 pilgrimage would cost less than that of 1931
and be 7 times as valuable. This was good business.
93. On the basis of the official tariff and other necessary expenditure in the
Hejaz, the Legation estimated the total cost of pilgrimage in 1932 to be not less than
800 rupees Indian silver coin also widely used in the Persian Gulf. , and the Government of India were so informed. When the sterling and
rupee left gold in the autumn, however, the Hejazi Government made no sign.
They maintained a fictitious “ official ” parity with gold but in practice the Sa’udi
riyal, which contains 11 Miri piastres, had long ago parted from gold and stood at
the end of 1931 at 17 J to the £ gold, parity being 10. There were thus grounds for
belief that pilgrims would be able to buy piastres at the market rate and that fees
scaled in rupees Indian silver coin also widely used in the Persian Gulf. would be accepted in rupees Indian silver coin also widely used in the Persian Gulf. . But as soon as the first Indian
pilgrims landed at Jedda on December 30th, they found that they were charged all
dues and fees, including those in rupees Indian silver coin also widely used in the Persian Gulf. , on a gold basis, and were also charged for
items which did not figure in the official tariffs at all. They found, in effect, that
expenses in the Hejaz were some 40 per cent, higher this year than last. The
majority held quite insufficient funds.
94. There followed a series of representations by the Legation and of dilatory,
evasive, and contradictory statements by the Hejazi Government. Pilgrims were
first told to apply to the local Government at Jedda, who had been instructed to
investigate and report. The obvious conclusion was that neither gold basis nor
overcharges had been authorised by the Hejazi Government. On January 17th
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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' [‎45v] (90/536), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/2/295, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100025543724.0x00005b> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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