Coll 6/9 'Jeddah Reports Jany 1931–' [‎278r] (556/802)

f
EASTERN (Arabia).
f P.Z.
i 3469
May 3. 1933.
CONFIDENTIAL.
i 1933 ^
* I.
Section 1.
[E 2293/902/25]
No. 1.
Sir A. Ryan to Sir John Simon.—(Received May 3.)
(No. 102.) y }
^ r > Jedda, Ayril 7, 1933.
I HAVE the honour to submit herewith the Jedda report for March 1933.
2. Copies have been distributed as in the list appended to the report for
January.
I have, &c.
ANDREW RYAN.
Enclosure in No. 1.
Jedda Report for March 1933.
I.—Internal Affairs.
32. THE King, who had gone into camp at Rawdat-al-Khafs, a place some
distance from Riyadh and reported to be delightful, mingled sport with business
until mid-March. He returned to Riyadh on or about the 19th March and left
on the 21st March. He arrived in Mecca for the pilgrimage on the 27th March,
bringing numerous members of his family and other attendants. He gave his
annual dinner to notable pilgrims on the evening of the 31st March. Little has
been heard of him in Jedda since his return.
33. The Amir Feisal was in Jedda from the 8th to the 11th March. He
held no reception, but went to tea with Mr. and Mrs. Philby on the 10th March,
where he met a select party consisting principally of Sir Andrew and Lady Ryan,
the American concession hunters and their wives, and Lady Evelyn Cobbold.
The tea-party was alafranga, the Prince most affable to both sexes/ Fuad Bey
^ Hamza has kept fairly regularly to his new plan of being at the Jedda branch of
the Ministry for Foreign Affairs on Saturdays.
34. There have been various developments in connexion with the financial
and economic schemes mentioned in the last report (see paragraph 15). They
may be summed up as follows :—
(a) the ex-Khedive’s agent completed his negotiations early in March and
left Jedda on the 10th March,' taking with him, it appears, the
National Bank Concession, in spite of an eleventh-hour attempt to
scotch it on the part of the young Syrian merchant, Hussein Aweyni,
who went on behalf of himself and others to Riyadh. Both parties
to the concession state that the agreement is definite, but no details
have been made public. The particulars given in paragraph 15 (a)
are believed to be accurate. The notes are not to be forced currency
and are to have substantial gold cover. The bank is apparently not
to be for the Hejaz only, but will operate in other Near Eastern
countries and will have its headquarters in London. It is rumoured
in diplomatic circles that Mr. Philby will be the conseiller. The
motives of the promoters continue to be obscure. The “ Amir ” Habib
Lutfullah, who obtained a similar concession from King Hussein just
eight years ago, had at least the satisfaction of having been made
Ambassador in Rome and playing a miscellaneous diplomatic role.
(h) The Umm-al-Qura of the 3rd March published a summary of the Jeelani
concession for the proposed railway between Mecca and Jedda. The
forecast in paragraph 15 (b) was not completely accurate. The loan
of 10 lacs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees is to be paid in five monthly instalments, beginning in
October 1933, and to be repayable by retention of 5 per cent. of° the
Government s share of the receipts. The loan will apparently be a
charge on the capital of 50 lacs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees . The construction of the line is to
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