Coll 6/9 'Jeddah Reports Jany 1931–' [‎174v] (349/802)

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first opportunity for many weeks of discussing serious business. He returned to
Mecca on the 22nd January, and was not again seen during the remainder of
the month.
4. The rumours of dissension in the Royal Family (paragraph 298 of the
report for December) died down in January. The last which reached the
Legation on the 2nd January were, however, the best. The King’s brothers, it
was said, had left Riyadh for a strong place not far off, and had declared that
they would not accept the Amir Saud as heir. Ibn Saud, to minimise the matter,
had put it all down to a rivalry between his son the Amir Feisal, and his nephew
Khalid, the son of the Amir Muhammad, for the hand of another cousin, the
daughter of Nura, favourite sister of the King. The Crown Prince had
quarrelled with Khalid over the matter and had slapped his face. It was,
perhaps, to give the lie to these reports that the Amir Muhammad, complete with
Khalid and two other sons, came to Mecca to visit the sacred precincts. They
stayed a few days and left again for Riyadh about the 12th January. Even now
the gossips were not at a loss. The King’s brother, they said, had brought off in
Mecca a little marriage with the daughter of an illustrious divine, one of the
more fanatical descendants of Abdul Wahhab, the reformer; and this alliance
would so increase his influence with the tribes of Nejd that he could raise them
against the King any day. No apology need be made for reproducing these stories,
so charged with passion and with love.
5. No more was heard of trouble on the Yemen frontier or at Teima, though
in January renewed reports, perhaps belated echoes of the old, came from
Damascus regarding alleged important Saudi concentrations at Hail and Jauf.
Almost the only other news of any consequence was that of a terrific breeze
between Ibn Jiluwi, Governor of Hasa and the King’s cousin, and Muhammad
Tawil, the important Hejazi, who now directs the financial and economic
affairs of that province. A breach between these two might have important
repercussions. On the 24th January Sheikh Hamad Suleiman, Deputy Minister
of Finance, who was supposed to be standing by to act as a delegate for the
delimitation of the Saudi-Yemen frontier, went to Hasa instead. This lends
some support to a report that the King had ordered an investigation on the spot.
6. Fuad Bey Hamza brought back from Riyadh three important announce
ments, which were duly published in the latter part of January after the first
two had been officially communicated to the foreign missions on the 18th January.
They seemed to indicate a victory for«moderate counsels in the King’s entourage,
but a victory the value of which is diminished by ambiguity, due perhaps to
compromise or perhaps only to slovenly drafting. They were as follows :—
(a) A communique prolonging by two months the time allowed for producing
proof of foreign nationality (see paragraph 284 of the report for
November 1934).
(b) A communique purporting to interpret in a reassuring sense the Regu
lations on Real Property promulgated last October (see paragraph 241
of the Report for October 1934). In terms it goes but a little way
to remove the objection raised in foreign circles to the regulations.
(c) A Royal proclamation sanctioning the return to Saudi Arabia of Saudi
subjects previously excluded for political reasons.
7. The last of these announcements is described in the heading as an
amnesty, but the text does not grant pardon for political offences. Its true effect
can only be shown by the event. It may facilitate the return of certain members
of the Shereefian family and possibly some tribal personages. One does not yet,
however, quite see people like the Dabbaghs dashing back with joyous shouts of
Dulce Domum.
8. Fawwaz, the grandson of Nuri-bin-Shalan, left Jedda by sea on the
2nd January after staying with the King at Riyadh. According to a subsequent
report from Damascus, he went back well pleased with an arrangement he had
made regarding the future of the Ruwalla tribe in the Jauf area.
9. The activity of the two Saudi aeroplanes noted in paragraph 301 of the
report for December and earlier has continued intermittently on the same limited
lines.
10. There were no new economic or financial developments during the month.
Reports of doubtful authenticity were received of urgent demands for gold to be