Coll 6/9 'Jeddah Reports Jany 1931–' [‎29r] (58/802)

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^ of a real Eldorado are in the air; and the syndicates shares are said to be
going up.
283. The northern area and Wejh have now been finally abandoned by the
syndicate
284. Mr. Twitchell left for London on leave the 21st July.
285. A German mechanic, named Halama, representing the Daimler-Benz
Company of Stuttgart, has been in Jedda for the past three weeks. His task has
been to try to explain to the local pundits the workings of the Government's stud
of twenty Merc6dks-Benz Diesel lorries (cf. Jedda report (April), paragraph 164).
1 he Alireza family are said to be importing a Merc£dks-Benz Diesel-engined
private car (55-h.p. German rating) for their own use.
II. —Frontier Questions and Foreign Relations in Arabia.
286. The new Italian hospital has received permission to function, though
not as part of the Italian Legation; it is to be run as a private hospital, though
the doctor (an Italian) is paid by the Italian Government. The Italian nurses,
who were said to be coming, have not arrived.
III.— Relations with Powers Outside Arabia.
287. M. Maigret, the French Minister, suddenly returned to Jedda from
Syria on the 18th July. He refrained from advising his colleagues of that fact,
but contented himself with calling on them a week later; he explains that his
return is only temporary and that he hopes to go back to Syria early in August.
288. Lady Abdul Qadir, wife of Sir Abdul Qadir, member of the
(Council of the Secretary of State for India, arrived at Jedda with
one son on the 28th July. She is accompanied by Begum Courteous or formal title for (usually Muslim) women of elite status, especially of Turko-Mongol lineage. Sarbuland
Jung (widow of a high personage in the Government of Hyderabad)
her son and granddaughter, as well as an Englishwoman named
Miss M. M. Clements. The latter says she became a Moslem in England thirteen
years ago, and hopes to visit Medina and Mecca with the Jung party, finally
going to India with them. She found, however, that, as is usual here, the Qadhi
of Jedda, the Grand Qadhi of Mecca, as well as other authorities had first to
pronounce on the genuineness of her conversion to Islam. The Jung party found
that a day and a half of Jedda in July was enough for them, and left for "Medina
with Lady Qadir and her son, leaving the unfortunate Miss Clements to wait here
for her Islamic “ bill of health."
289. Mr. Philby seems determined to do his best to antagonise as many
people as possible. The brawl at a recent Royal Central Asian Society meeting
about Shabwa was in his usual vein. But his advocacy of the Palestine Com
mission's report (announced in the Observer of the 11th July) seems likely to damn
him in Hejazi eyes. From recent press articles it is very unlikely that many
Hejazis will agree that the Royal Commission’s proposal was the only possible
solution, or that it satisfies Arab demands.
290. Mr. H. M. Eyres left Jedda for the last time, on the conclusion of his
service here, on the 28th July, travelling, via Suez, to England on leave.
291. On the 29th July the Egyptian Charge d’Affaires, M. Abdul Hamid
Monir gave a tea-party in celebration of the coronation of King Farouk. A loan
of coloured lamps from this Legation increased the brilliance of the decorations
and earned his gratitude.
IV.— Miscellaneous.
292. The Posts and Telegraphs Department announce that wireless messages
can now be accepted for Beirut from the station at Riyadh at the rate of
4 -95 piastres gold per word (about hd.).
293. A sort of round robin having been received from forty-eight persons
at Mecca complaining that they, British subjects, were being compelled to allow
their beards to grow, His Majesty’s Minister wrote a personal letter to the Amir
Feisal at the end of June. He said that many men from British Malaya are
naturally without beards; that many others are accustomed to shave their chins;
and that the application of the new order to such men, or to any British subjects,
might lead to misunderstanding. The Amir Feisal was not amused, and sent an
uncompromising reply; the Shariat is the Shariat and all who live at Mecca must
obey it. But pilgrims, temporary visitors, and non-Moslems who live outside the
boundaries of the Harim are exempt. It seems difficult to get any farther in this