File 1707/1924 ‘Arabia:- Jeddah Situation Reports. (1924-1930)’ [‎33v] (71/898)

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tiff s S.Si«» r “%i“» Mr i““St,?::::
Heiaz-Neid territory at any stage m his investigation lire iv g a cl, _ more
reasonably urped the difficulty of conducting the investigation by way of direct y
hearino large numbers of inaccessible witnesses. Mr. MacDonnell undertoolpto
consider benevolently in consultation with 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 authority a proposa
that the King should nominate a certain number of spokesmen drawn trom the
frontier tribes yvolved.^ j discussed. It was agreed to make an
informal but written record of the results arrived at. This document m its final
fnrm rlpifl.lt with the following points :—
(1) The appointment of a Hejaz Government representative to serve (a) as
channel of communication; (b) as intermediary for summonses; and (c) as
agent for submission of claims, production of documents, &e.
(2) Mr. MacDonnelTs undertaking (see above) to consider the proposal that the
frontier tribes should be represented by nominated spokesmen.
(3) The King’s desire that Mr. MacDonnell should himself fix at his discretion
the place or places where he should hold his investigations.
(4) and (5)^ Certain proposals of detail put forward by the King as to the non
admissibility of certain kinds of evidence and the procedure to be
followed, proposals which Mr. MacDonnell did not consider it in the
province of the Hejaz Government to make, but which he promised to
consider.
5. Sir Andrew Ryan handed the record to Sheikh Fuad Hamza on the
10th June with a covering letter from himself in which he made the following
reservations in regard to matters which had had to be omitted from the record
(a) He referred to the views expressed by the King in the stipulation in Mr.
MacDonnell’s instructions that, before embarking on the detailed
examination of any claim, he should satisfy himself that it had been
notified within a reasonable time or that there had been good
and sufficient reasons for any delay. Sir Andrew Ryan confirmed
Mr. MacDonnell’s reply that he was not entitled to discuss the point, and
he was bound by his instructions, but undertook himself as representative
of His Majesty’s Government to draw their attention to the point raised
by the King.
(b) tie referred to the omission from the records, in deference to the King’s
wishes, of any mention of provision for transport and accommodation in
the Hejaz-Nejd territory. He pointed out that His Majesty’s Govern
ment had expected that their investigator would be free to conduct his
enquiries in whatever manner seemed best and asked for a statement of
the reasons for the King’s view that any visits to his territory would be
unnecessary or undesirable.
6. These two documents amounted to little—ridiculous mice produced by a
mountain of labour. It can only be hoped, dubiously, that one of them, the record,
meagre as it is, may help Mr. MacDonnell to emerge from the net in which his enquiry
will enmesh him. He left on the 10th June after a farewell audience in which the
King excused himself for his apparent ungraciousness on the ground that he had
only been pursuing ways of truth and sincerity. Mr. MacDonnell was to proceed to
Amman via Port Sudan, Cairo, and Jerusalem, in order to establish similar contact
with the Emir Abdullah.
7. No ansvver to Sir Andrew Ryan s letter of the 10th June had reached the
Legation up to tne end of June. Vkhen Fuad Hamza’s attention was drawn to this
ate m the month, he positively stated that he had sent a reoly next day. Steps have
been taken to procure a duplicate of this lost communication.
8- It had been intended that, before Mr. MacDonnell saw the King, His
Majesty s Alimster should make the general communication regarding the Trans-
jor an rontier situation contemplated in the Foreign Office instructions summarised
m paragraph 2 of the_May report. Owing to the King’s illness this had to be post
poned until after Mr. MacDonnell left. At his audience, on the 11th June,
Mr Andrew Ryan made the communication. The King belittled the efforts made on
e ransjordan side to control the situation. He stated that he had issued stringent