File 1707/1924 ‘Arabia:- Jeddah Situation Reports. (1924-1930)’ [‎362r] (728/898)

propaganda against the “imperialistic” Powers, especially His Majesty’s
Government.
10. There are many matters concerning British subjects in Mecca that need
attention, and I am hoping to be able to send a capable Indian clerk to Mecca in a
few days to deal with them. It is a little difficult to satisfy the wants of all those
* ho look to His Majesty’s Government for protection. Many British Malays are
aiming to Jeddah because they cannot bear life in Mecca any longer and want to go
home, but when, with some difficulty, I obtained permission for fifteen Malays who
had drifted down via Medina to return to Mecca to fetch their luggage and return
tickets, all but two or three decided to stay there. Several Indian merchants have
returned to Mecca via Mazawwa, and several others have applied to me to get them
permission to go to Mecca through the opposing lines. At the same time I receive
a letter signed by several Indians in Mecca demanding free passages for themselves
and their families from Mecca to India, immediately; one of the signatories is a
prosperous merchant who was in Jeddah last autumn as a refugee from Taif, and
insisted on returning to Mecca just before the road was cut, while another is a
professional beggar who has frequently tried to get a free passage home though quite
able to pay for it himself. It is suggestive that this letter, which is peremptory in
tone, was brought to Jeddah by M. Khakimov.
It has been found possible to send to Mecca a draft for the payment of certain
Malay and other pensioners who draw their money through this agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. .
11. Ibn Baud’s proclamation (referred to in Jeddah despatch No. 21, dated the
11th March) inviting pilgrims to come to Mecca via Kunfidah and other small ports,
was probably meant to throw into relief Ali’s policy of blocking the main route
rather than as a serious proposal, but it seems to have been taken seriously in India,
and the Moslem press is demanding that it should be acted on. But the matter
cannot be settled by simply deciding whether pilgrim ships may land their passengers
at Kunfidah, Rabigh or Lith instead of Jeddah. To handle a large number of
pilgrims in a short time requires an elaborate organisation, and a breakdown or even
a slight hitch or inadequacy in this organisation may mean great hardship and even
death to many pilgrims.
12. For the 1926 pilgrim season there should be two measures in force which
should make things easier for British pilgrims and more difficult for the parasites
who prey on them. The scheme requiring all Indian pilgrims to deposit in India
the cost of their return journey has been sanctioned by law; and for pilgrims from the
Straits Settlements passports are to be compulsory. The obligation on people leaving
Malayan ports for Jeddah to take out a passport will not only help the ordinary
pilgrim, but will discourage such people as try—sometimes, it appears, with
success—to export Chinese and other women through Singapore under the guise of
pilgrims, for sale as slaves in the Hedjaz.
13. In one respect Ibn Saud has proved himself to be more enlightened than
Hussein. At the request of the Netherlands vice-consul he had a Javanese girl
released who had been kept as a slave in Mecca for several years. Hussein promised
most solemnly, a year ago, to have her set free, but connived at her re-ensiavemen .
Ibn Saud showed that he was in favour of slavery as an institution, but agreed mat,
according to the Shara’, a girl born a Moslem could not legally be held m s aver\.
14. The Egyptian who was promoted to lieutenant-general (and Fasha) or
fishing up the cable can hardly express his indignation at the dishonesty nt. nis
predecessor in the office of Director of Quarantine, the Turk, Thabit, w o ms m oy®
to Egvpt with a verv pretty fortune. His own methods are very different . he lS T10
one honest servant the’King has. “Of course, he explained recen \ ^ v0
Europeans when in his cups, “ I take my percentage on the quarantine ties, um.b Cc
ce west pas voler.” It is not surprising, then, to learn that, while he agrees t a
pilgrims who have been quarantined at Kamaran should not go t roug n mice o
quarantine at Jeddah, he thinks that the dues should not be reduced; the money not
required to maintain the Jeddah station for emergencies won te usee o es s
hospitals. The larger the basis of calculation the larger the procee s o. na
percentage.
R. W. BULLARD.