'File 5/193 II (B 38) Slavery in the Gulf' [‎8v] (21/475)

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that the abolition of slavery in a country where it had a traditional hold must be
carried out by stages, the first of which should be the abolition of the slave trade and 0 pi
the prohibition of the importation of slaves into the Hejaz and Nejd. At the same 0 th
time the King was informed that His Majesty's Government could not give up the s ig
right of manumission as had been requested. The King replied to the effect that it thii
was not easy to abolish the slave trade for trifling reasons, that he could not (i)
accomplish this unless the right of manumission were given up and he were thus to
provided with good grounds for introducing measures of compulsion. Such Re(
measures, however, to be effective, would, he stated, have to be taken gradually. He
regretted that he could not make any further concessions. stej
14. Again, in September 1926, at an interview with the acting British agent, an
the King stated that his policy was to see that slaves already in bondage were treated the
properly, and, meanwhile, he was prepared to discountenance fresh importations. It int<
was impossible for him to forbid slavery. Als
15. I mention these declarations as, to a certain extent, they serve to illuminate are
the present situation, that is to say, the situation subsequent to the signature of the wit
Treaty of Jedda, by which the King, in article 7, undertook to co-operate by all the the
means at his disposal with His Britannic Majesty in the suppression of the slave
trade; also, they are worth bearing in mind in connexion with any fresh mil
representations which may be made. It will be recalled here also that, in the mis
course of the negotiations leading up to the Treaty of Jedda, Ibn Saud made it clear
that he would not agree to the inclusion in the treaty of a provision recognising the Cla
right of manumission by His Majesty’s consular officers. con
16. The effect given to article 7 of the Jedda Treaty again reflects the King’s the
attitude. Of active co-operation there has been none. No action, legislative or con
administrative, has been taken, no moral pressure has been exercised, in fact, nothing vie^
whatever has been done to suppress or to discourage the slave trade; this may or may occ;
not be due to the fact that the King's mind and time have been fully occupied with refi
other problems, and no one but himself could hope to attack a problem of -its to
dimensions with any success. No steps, for instance, have been taken to abolish the aut
customs duty on slaves of 20 per cent., payable ad valorem or in kind, at the ports of aut
disembarkation. I believe that this is still imposed at the smaller ports down the mei
coast. It is true that since the signature of the Treaty of Jedda the importation of hav
slaves as a cargo through the port of Jedda has ceased. I imagine that the slave eas
traders have received a hint from the authorities that this might be embarrassing que
to them. I do not think that there is any more creditable reason for it, as the trade, tern
I am informed, goes on through other Hejaz ports with the connivance, if not with trig
the active support, of the local sheikhs. In other respects also, owing, no doubt, to the
the Treaty of Jedda, no facilities are officially given to the slave trade, but slave hov
dealing is carried on undisguised in the houses of the brokers in the towns, and by if b
retail dealers in the interior. Slaves are not at present being sold in Arabia in are
public market in the ordinary sense of the word, but this is due not to any grace on
the part of the local authorities but to the cessation of wholesale importation. to c
17. The King’s practices and his private attitude towards slavery leave little be i
ground for anticipating his wholehearted support, whatever action he may be opp
induced to take for reasons of policy. The demands of the Royal household do not exc<
decrease, and, although some degree of secrecy may be observed in meeting them, it is has
well known that in 1928 a hundred slaves were sent from Asir and Lith overland to an <
the palace at Riyadh. That this is regarded by the King as a normal proceeding may [ Jed
be judged by the fact that, on one occasion, when Munshi A term used in the Middle East, Persia and South Asia to refer to a secretary, assistant or amanuensis. Munshis were employed in the British administration in the Gulf. Ihsanullah was trying to whc
impress upon him the illegality and cruelty of slavery as practised in his dominions, the
and drew his attention to cases of the importation of Takruni (West African) slaves to t
and the enslavement of Takruni women and children on pilgrimage, he retorted by by 1
referring to the condition of his own slaves, and by saying that Takrunis were people alw
who lived like beasts, that they were much better off as slaves, and that if he had his disj
way he would take all Takruni pilgrims as his slaves, raising them thus out of their
depraved state and turning them into happy, prosperous and civilised beings. kno
18. The attitude of the King and of the people towards slavery indicates that wit]
the Hejaz and Nejd constitute essentially as keen a market for slaves as ever. There disc
is no lessening of the desire to possess slaves. Thanks, however, in part to the fact rep;
that political considerations in Arabia are militating against the practice of keeping thei
slaves, but in a greater measure to the fact that the supply is curtailed by preventive sma
measures taken independently of Arabia, the numbers actually employed are falling the
off. and there are signs that economic laws are operating to reduce them still further. 36 i