مجموعة ٦ / ٨ (١) "سلسلة مطبوعة: ١٩٢٩ إلى ١٩٣٨". [و‎‎١‎٨‎٨] (١٠٦٢/٣٨٠)

(Received on 5th November 1932, with Political Secretary’s letter No 42 dated
20th October 1932.) ’ "
P.Z.-6352|S2.
Despatch riAiAi His AIajesty s Charge d’Aefaires, Jedda, to the Foreign Office
London, Lo. 384, dated the 8th September 1932. ’
I have the honour to report that Hajji Abdallah All Riza, the octogenarian
Governor oi l -<loa, died at lail on the 24th August after an illness of about two
months.
2. His death caused some emotion in Hejazi circles, for he was a well-known
and popular hgure, and had enjoyed, at various times, considerable influence in
the country. He had been Ivaimakam (Governor) of Jedda since the earlv davs
of King Hussein’s regime, and was confirmed in the post by Ibn Saud when the
latter entered Jedda at the end of 1925. ’
o. Of lei si an oiigin, he came to the Hejaz as a young man and with his
brothers built up an important trade with India and the Persian Gulf. He died
a wealthy, wise and witty old man, hard of hearing but very bright of eye, a
personality head and shoulders above the sorry, stunted humanity of the Hejaz.
His relations with successive British representatives ivere uniformly good.
4. The late Governor was the last holder of the old Turkish title of
Kaimakam. The foreign representatives ivere informed on the 30th August by
the Ministry for Foreign Affairs that a Eoyal decree had been issued for the title
of Governor of Jedda to be changed to that of Amir, thus bringing Jedda into
line with all the other towns of importance in the kingdom. Hajji Abdulla’s
successor is a Nejdi named Abdul Aziz-bin-Muammar, who was previously Amir
of Yanbu. He is a young man of good Nejdi stock, his grandfather being, I
believe, Governor of Riyadh in the days of the Rashidi rule.
5. The change in title has no great significance. The change in the person
of Governor, however, may well prove to have a far-reaching effect. The appoint
ment of a Nejdi to a post held for so long by one who, in spite of his Persian
origin, had succeeded in identifying himself with the Hejaz and its interests has
caused misgiving in Jedda. For one thing, it accentuates the Nejdi domination
of the Hejaz. For another, the new r Amir, though well spoken of in certain
circles, is an official pure and simple, and it is to be expected that he will be much
more amenable to the influence of Mecca and Riyadh than was Hajji Abdullah,
who was known frequently to have opposed the central authority in the interests
of Jedda and the Hejaz generally and to have been extremely outspoken on
occasions with 3 bn Sand himself.
6. The new Amir is nevertheless welcomed by the European shipping
agencies in Jedda, for he has no personal interest in shipping and is unlikely
therefore to use his official position to further private interests as a shipping
agent, to the detriment of rival firms, as was the frequent practice of the late and
sagacious Hajji Abdullah.
7. I am sending copies of this despatch to the Senior Naval Officer in Red
Sea sloops and the Acting Commissioner at Port Sudan
(113)
{Received on 5th November 1932, with Political Secretary's letter No. 42, dated
20th October 1932.)
F.Z.-6249 !32.
Enclosure in Foreign Office covering letter No. E.-5265|5265[25, dated 14th October
1932.
Ho. 397 (2785|55|33).
Jedda,
September 20th, 1932.
Sir,
It may be as w^ell to place on record the following events concerning the Holy
Cube at Mecca which have recently been given prominence in the “ Umm-al-
Qura ” newspaper.