File 1707/1924 ‘Arabia:- Jeddah Situation Reports. (1924-1930)’ [‎247r] (498/898)

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the Customs an if Quartoti im•' 1 Ad, q e t 111 e books of the Ministry of Finance and
ostensibly to seek information a^to'certain^custoins'regulations.^ 8 ^ ^ ^
dollars,” as “art vario^ly known 6 in th “h dollar8 >” or “ Frank
the general financial question^of tl,„ tt ' 1111 H f Jaz ’ t S : u,el uian Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. passed on to
5- kro " eht up
Farasan Islands f Alsoof coDDel ^ Tt* Wed J’ and that of tlle
iron ore deposits near Abha. ^ d §1 S m tde dlds Lith and 80 per cent.
Wadfrunbng dotnto^heTea^at Pa °t rich alluvial tin de P osits “
who is in the Survey Department of ir.Ir ' '■ly n'lurmfim was an Indian pilgrim
tions that the alluvial tin was nAent* 1 ?’ and . n ® was most emphatic in his asser-
behind no doubt held ore deposits) workable quantities and that the hills
belons^toTbn . staged that the Farasan Iala nds must eventually
practfcally eea^d*to exist a?! p lendly W1 A t h ° th sectlons of the Hrissi, who had
sd rf ‘ im * ““
and that tifA ' ;U V't Idr . lssi would be a glorified sort of Governor under Ibn Saud
J^an and Sabia wtmh W^th^r 611 ^ the He J az was a li~th of
znn ana bapia, winch left the Farasan Islands to Ibn Sand.
tvo FA il Skea 11 tdere were Briti sh companies who would undertake the develon
emphaticaUtf I replied tn the negMit mX'
tSr ssi His “ that aS T g as the Farasan Islands belonged to
Government 11 -! FftA S y COuld entertam no proposal from the Hejaz
within ih!. H ‘ t A Ir future dev elopment, but that for the resources actually
were onAfr- 1 F ’ ex P, ert surve y s and . perhaps, in the case of oil, trial boring S y
AnA mdl ®P ensab le preliminary, and I had no doubt that, under reasonable
advisefto mnsifit'tfv e x P lo| f- a tmri rights, the Hejaz Government would be well
and evneri ^ ' 1 companies interested, as these, with their greater capital
and experience and fixed exchange, they would would be in a much better position to
xploit any natural resources in the Hejaz with more advantage to the local Govern-
ment than continental companies.
The conversation ended at this point, but the reference to the Farasan Islands
and the setting out even of the ’ natural frontiers,” which might more suitably be
(mlied economic frontiers, would serve to show that thought and consideration
ad been given to the matter in Government circles, and the present recruiting might
not be unconnected with these aspirations.
1 am informed that the Idrissi and his family (i.e., the ex-Idrissi, Sayid
All) have all arrived in Mecca and are being treated as special royal guests.’ They
have only just arrived and I have no further information for the present, but the
sequence of events detailed above all point in one direction and that towards the
Idrissi s territory. The fact that the Italians are arming the Imam of Yemen might
be causing Ibn Saud to hurry up and assert his authority over such area of the Asir
as he considers his due without delay.
11. The persons who were arrested in Mecca some time back and sent to Taif
nave now been deported by the Hejaz authorities.
Sherif Mohsen, who was arrested at the same time and sent to Riyadh still
remains there.
12. The local authorities have accepted the proposal of the High Commissioner
for Palestine that a British officer or civilian should be appointed president of the
Special Tribunal to be constituted under article 6 of the Hadda Agreement for the
settlement of disputes between frontier tribes and the return of looted animals and
properties and the punishment of the offenders.
13. The Soviet representative in Jeddah has informed my Italian colleague
that he has received instructions to suppress the Soviet diplomatic agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. , and until
further instructions it will be simply a consulate-general.
14. The religious situation since the departure of the pilgrims remains calm,
the only event of importance being Ibn Sand’s declaration of the inviolability of the
Prophet’s Tomb at Medina.
This will give general satisfaction to the orthodox Moslems, though perhaps
create a little discontent amongst his own followers, who, nevertheless, when
besieging Medina, invariably respected the tomb.
[ 1395 n—-2] B 2