Coll 6/8(1) 'Printed Series: 1929 to 1938.' [‎230v] (465/1062)

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remains at Eiadh and most of his advisers have summoned thither,
indudine Fuad Bey Hamza, who left Mecca for Nejd almost simultaneous^
with my arrival in Jedda. The only Hejaai personage of any consequent
whom i have seen is the rich old Governor of Jedda, who hardly conn s as
nnv longer Though still to some extent employed as a consultant
0 “ SrSS he now concerns himself little with the current afiairs of
his S office so that his outlook is less that of a Government servant than of a f
merchant It is no secret that, as a business man and an important creditor
of the Government, he views the situation in the country with anxiety and
illconcealed hostility to the present regime. . .
2 It is Generally agreed that the economic position m the country as
a whole could hardly be worse. The merchants in Jedda and Mecca have
been increasingly embarrassed during the past two years Of late, they
have had to cope not only with depression m trade but with Govermnent
demands for contributions in money or m kind, extorted ostensibly on loan
but without any definite prospect of repayment of the money or payment
for the goods. Some carry large stocks (e.g., of rice) owing to over-importation
earlier this year and in 1930. Monetary crises elsewhere have created a
feelin- of uncertainty, the net result of which is to create further depres
sion although there have been passing effects of a contrary kind, e.g., the
abandonment of the gold standard by His Majesty s Government and conse
quent depreciation of the rupee gave a temporary fillip to the import trade
from India. The prices of most imported goods, reckoned in gold, have
risen considerably during my absence, though those of local foodstuffs appear
to be fairly steady. ' . , . T ,
3. I am assured that among the tribes and especially those m the .North
0 f the Heiaz the utmost misery prevails. It is impossible to sift the informa
tion but it is said that, what with the reaction of world conditions,
manifested more particularly in the greatly reduced pilgrimage, and the
demands of the Government for military purposes, there has been a great
depletion of livestock. I hear of a reduction in the number of camels and
of sheep and goats being sold off at ludicrously small prices. Attention is
drawn to the influx of half-starved Beduin into the larger towns, especially
perhaps Medina and to the frequent spectacle of hungry tribesmen collecting
at the halts on the main road from Jedda to that place. In August I was
inclined to doubt the tales of actual starvation, which, it will be remembered,
were related by the Hejaz-Nejd Minister in London, among others, harlv
in September the Mecca newspaper “Uminj-al-Qura”, a Government inspired
oro’an, thought it worth while to contradict a report of famine m the Hejaz
which’had been circulated in India, In view of what I now hear, I can no
longer disregard the reiterated statements made to me regarding hunger ana
incased mortality. To give one example, possibly exaggerated, I am told
of Beduin dying in Medina at the rate of 35 a day.
4 There is little or no prospect of relief being afforded by the
pilgrimage. Some months ago I thought that the number of overseas
pilgrims might attain the 1931 figure of about forty thousand, though it was
unlikely to exceed it. The Government have exerted themselves to stimnia
the flow by propaganda, including the announcement of reduced charges an
an almost firm promise that Pilgrimage Day will fall on a Friday. Mve-
theless, it now looks as though the total number of overseas pilgrims may
nearer twenty thousand than forty thousand. It is too soon to make denn
estimates, as the number of Indians and Egyptians is always
to a very short time before the great day, which should fall on or aboiit Ap
15th next year. Up to the present, however, only two thousand five hunar
pilgrims have arrived from' the Dutch East Indies, always first in the neia.
The Netherlands Legation surmises that this represents about halt the t°; -
for the season, which would thus be about five thousand as compared wi
about sixteen thousand this year. yT?
5. Hopes are still founded on the possible development of new resources^
the recently discovered or rediscovered water, petroleum and gold.
American expert, Mr. Twitchell, followed the procession of high ott E ia 5
Riadh on December 15th. The one concrete result of his efforts so tar