File 1707/1924 ‘Arabia:- Jeddah Situation Reports. (1924-1930)’ [‎24r] (52/898)

purveyors of credit to the Government, will give no more. A bumper pilgrimage next
year is already being anxiously looked to to replenish the public purse. g
his ‘Gntermed^rv” 1 ^, 8 ^ has , a PP eale f , to His Majesty ’s Government to act as
his intermediary for the purchase of his requirements in England, “where he
still preferred to buy them although beset with offers from Poles, Germans, and the
rsst. The matter is still under consideration.
A (d) Ibn Saud also asked in July for the remission of the 2 per cent transit dues
at Bahrein on a large consignment from Karachi of rice for his troops but the
Government of Bahrein has been unable to accede to the request.
5. Commerce.
Complaints made by the Calcutta Marine Insurance Association about the heavy
claims arising from losses on cargoes incurred between ship and shore at Jedda were
again brought to the notice of the Hejaz Government, and were mentioned by His
Majesty s Minister to the King. As a result regulations were issued governin°- the
registration and loading of dhows, the local form of lighter. It remains to be^seen
whether they will be strictly applied. Commerce generally has become as dull as is
usual m the on ’ ’ season.
6. Social.
t£ The Umm-al-Qura published in August the news that the Government had,
fiom dire necessity, referred to the Legislative Council a measure ordaining
compulsory marriage for all upon reaching maturity. It was said that the excess
female population of Nejd is to be mated with the bachelors of the Hejaz. Facilities
are to be decreed in the shape of lighter dowries and cheaper weddings, but the
problem of how to stall and feed a wife is to be left for private solution. There can
be no turning out to grass in this country.
II.— Frontier Questions.
7. Transjordan Used in three contexts: the geographical region to the east of the River Jordan (literally ‘across the River Jordan’); a British protectorate (1921-46); an independent political entity (1946-49) now known as Jordan .
{a) The preparations for Mr. MacDonnell’s investigation into frontier raids
continued throughout July and August. The 1st August was fixed by Mr. Mac-
Donnell as the last date for receiving notifications of raids. The Transjordan Used in three contexts: the geographical region to the east of the River Jordan (literally ‘across the River Jordan’); a British protectorate (1921-46); an independent political entity (1946-49) now known as Jordan
Government accepted Ibn Baud’s suggestion that spokesmen be named by the tribes
implicated, and they named Sayyid Adeib-al-Kayed as their agent. The Hejaz
agent, Sheikh Abdel Aziz, and his secretary, Tamimi, left Jedda for Amman on
the 13th August in five cars to collect the tribal representatives on the way. To
Mr. MacDonnelFs request that individual culprits should be represented by their
Government’s agent, the Hejaz Government agreed, except in the case of Ibn
Mashhur, for whom they continued to disclaim responsibility. Wireless facilities
were requested by the Hejaz Government to enable their agent to communicate from
Amman with Jauf, and were granted.
A duplicate of the Acting Minister for Foreign Affairs’ reply to His Majesty’s
Minister’s note of the 10th June was at length procured in July (June report,
paragraph 7). It maintained the objection to any “ reasonable” time being allowed
for the acceptance of previous notifications of raids and pointed to the insecurity
induced in Nejd by Transjordan Used in three contexts: the geographical region to the east of the River Jordan (literally ‘across the River Jordan’); a British protectorate (1921-46); an independent political entity (1946-49) now known as Jordan raiders as good and sufficient reason why Mr.
MacDonnell should not pursue his investigation in Nejd territory. Mr. MacDonnelFs
further study of the situation led him to the provisional conclusion that there was
no immediate necessity for him to visit Nejd, and that question was therefore left
in abeyance, but the Hejaz Government was informed that His Majesty’s Government
had definitely decided to allow Mr. MacDonnell to use his own discretion in
interpreting the “ reasonable” delay to be permitted for past notifications of raids.
His Majesty’s Charge d’Affaires was also instructed to represent to the Hejaz
Government the practical advantages of encouraging voluntary settlements between
tribes, to be endorsed by the investigator and enforced by the two Governments
concerned. No reaction to either communication was received by the end of August.
(&) Raiding continued in July and August on a relatively small scale. The
Transjordan Used in three contexts: the geographical region to the east of the River Jordan (literally ‘across the River Jordan’); a British protectorate (1921-46); an independent political entity (1946-49) now known as Jordan Government protested against two raids from Nejd, made on the
1st and 8th July, in which twenty-five camels were taken, two men killed and three
wounded. The Hejaz Government protested against six raids alleged to have been
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