Coll 6/19 'Arabia: (Saudi Arabia) Hejaz-Nejd Annual Report.' [‎259r] (518/540)

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149. The editor of the “ Umm-al-Qura ” told Sir A. Ryan early in 1931
that there were five printing presses in the country besides his own, and that two
of them belonged to the Government. There is little sign of their activity, as all
printing which comes to the notice of the Legation appears to be done at the
“ Umm-al-Qura ” press, including a small output of official publications, like the
4 ^occasional Green Books containing treaties, &c.
150. The existence of an Official Pi’ess Bureau is revealed by the publica
tion in its name of occasional communiques. There is no other evidence of
organisation for control or propaganda purposes, nor are there any European
foreign correspondents settled in the country except Mr. Philby, who sends
frequent letters to the “Near East ” and is said to act for the “ Daily Herald.”
The manager of Gellatly, Hankey and Co. s Jedda branch acts rather vaguely
for Reuter.
151. Foreign press correspondents occasionally visit Jedda, and if they are
Moslems they range further afield. Thus Mme. Berthe Gaulis came to the Hejaz
in 1929 and M. J. Londres, of the “ Petit Parisien,” in 1930. Such persons are
received with courtesy, and suitable attempts are made to ‘‘propagand them.
The presence of a delegation of Egyptian journalists was a noticeable feature of
the first official celebration of Ibn Baud's accession in January 1930.
152. Nothing is known in Jedda of any press activity in Nejd. There is
probably no native press, but the following passage may be quoted from the
Administrative Report for the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. for 1929, a year, it may be noted,
when the rebellion of Feisal-ad-Dawish, &c., drew much attention to the eastern
side of Ibn Sand's dominions :—
“ Ibn Baud thoroughly understands the use of the press, and a constant
stream of Egyptian, Syrian and Iraqi journalists pours through Bahrain
to visit Ibn Sand and be suitably fed by him. He has even paid Bahrain
schoolmasters to write him up.”
IX. —Education.
153. It has not been possible to obtain any general view of this subject for
the purposes of this report. It can confidently be said that very little has been
done to promote education on modern lines in the country as a whole. The
Hejazi Constitution, however, makes provision for a Department of Education,
and it is understood that an Egyptian is employed in connexion with this at
Mecca. A more or less private school run at Mecca under Indian auspices
appears to be well attended. The list of Government achievements mentioned
in paragraph 115 states that the number of schools has been increased, and that
additions have been made to the number of students sent to Egypt. The
incomplete list of laws in paragraph 146 mentions a general regulation on
schools, and a regulation on the curriculum in preparatory schools. English
is taught in at least one school in Mecca, and there is a school of agriculture,
dating from an earlier regime, in Jedda. These scraps of information indicate
a certain concern on the part of the Government with elementary education, but
there are no signs of anything in the nature of higher education, except perhaps
of a purely Islamic kind, and except in so far as a certain number of youths are
sent abroad for various studies.
154. An attempt will be made to deal more comprehensively with the
subject in the annual report for 1931.
X. —The Pilgrimage.
155. As the pilgrimage is the subject each year of a special report from
Jedda, only its more salient aspects need be dealt with here. It has already
been mentioned that it is almost the sole industry of the Hejaz. It creates for