Coll 6/9 'Jeddah Reports Jany 1931–' [‎165v] (331/802)

4
127. The friendly atmosphere described in paragraph 94 of the last report
was maintained throughout April. In particular, great attention was shown to
the cable and wireless delegates. The King sent the heir appaien s . e ^ er ^J
iunior princes to a party aboard the cable ship on the 3rd April, and he himself
entertained the delegates and members of the Legation at dinner that evening. r
128. A small Ethiopian mission arrived in Jedda on the /tn April, bringing
rich gifts and proposals for a treaty of friendship, on the same lines, appaiently,
as one they had just concluded at Sana. They were well received, and the King
gave them an audience and a dinner on the Mecca—Jedda road on the 10th Apul.
Nothing important seems to have come of the visit, however, as the Saudi Loiem
inent thought the moment inopportune for the conclusion of e\en an anodyne
treaty. The mission left for Suez on the 15th. o j-
129. There were no important developments in the relations between Saudi
Arabia and other Powers. The Italians are showing their usual eagerness to
oblige in connexion with the heir apparent’s tour. An Italian ship will call tor
him at Jedda on the 14th May, and he will be accompanied by the Italian Lharge
d’Affaires. The Corps diplomatique as a whole is rapidlv dismtegiating as
summer comes nigh. The Netherlands Charge left on the 22nd Apiil to take up
his additional post at Bagdad (paragraph 95 of the last report), and hoped to go
on to Holland for the Saudi Royal visit. The Afghan Minister, who had
presented his credentials in Jedda on the 1st April and then gone to Medina,
returned to Egypt on the 15th. The Egyptian acting consul was to lea\e on the
1st May, without awaiting the new incumbent of the post, who was appointed last
autumn, but has not yet appeared. The departure of the Iiaqi Chaige has
already been mentioned.
IV.— Miscellaneous.
130. The French sloop Bougainville, a smart new vessel, arrived in Jedda
on the 6th April, with Rear-Admiral Rivet, commanding the Naval Dhision in
the Levant A geographical area corresponding to the region around the eastern Mediterranean Sea. , on board. She had made an extensive voyage from the Persian Cult
and left for the last lap of it on the 9th April. „
131. Mr. H. St. J. B. Philby, accompanied by his wife, left by car tor
Koweit on the 3rd April, intending to go all the way by car to London He was
still dissatisfied with the attitude of the Saudi authorities as regards his motor
business (paragraph 82 of the last report), but maintains his friendship with the
Kino-. He will be away for some time, but there is probably no truth m one story,
namely, that he intends to spend two years in England and to stand for
ci r 1 1 cLinc n t
132. Captain G. S. H. V. de Gaury, who has for some years been seconded
from the army for service under the Air Ministry, joined the staff of the Legation
in Jedda as temporary honorary attache on the 22nd April. By the same ship
arrived Lord Alington, on a private visit, and a new addition to the staff in Jedda
of the California Arabian Standard Oil Company. Other Western visitors
included a Mr. Haliburton, a United States citizen, who has some name as a
writer The lowest of the four classes into which East India Company civil servants were divided. A Writer’s duties originally consisted mostly of copying documents and book-keeping. and journalist. He is a young man of great assurance and a strong sense
of the commercial possibilities of the lighter and less accurate literature of tiavel.
133. The majority of the pilgrims had left the Hejaz by the end of April.
Hardly any remain of the high personages and intellectuals mentioned in
paragraph 100 of the last report. Ihe Badshah Begum Courteous or formal title for (usually Muslim) women of elite status, especially of Turko-Mongol lineage. of Hydeiabad ^.pd her
party sailed on the 22nd April in the steamship Islami, the latest addition to
the Turner Morrison fleet. A reception on board this vessel on the 19th April
enabled people in Jedda to see for themselves the improvements described m
paragraph 324 of the report for December.
134. Some interest attaches to the participation in this year s pilgrimage
of four Japanese, who are understood to have recently embraced Islam.
135 The Saudi Government have prohibited the departure to the Dutch
East Indies of mutawwifs, i.e., pilgrim guides. They are said to be considering
a similar restriction in regard to India. The practice whereby these persons go
to the countries of origin to recruit pilgrims leads to various abuses, and it is
held in certain Saudi circles that the object of stimulating the flow of pilgrims
may be better achieved by intensifying their own propaganda. Various schemes
for doing this have been much talked of. One, which has an indirect bearing on
the
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the
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