مجموعة ٦/ ٩ "تقارير جدة يناير ١٩٣١ -" [و‎‎١‎٣‎٠] (٨٠٢/٢٦٠)

419. December was marked by some very hot weather and by unusual rain
storms, one on the 18th December, following on dust storms and generally
unsettled weather, another on Christmas night and Boxing Day. The rains were
followed by very pleasant cool spells but the earlier part of the month did much
to justify the following quotation from Doughty on the Legation Christmas
card :—
“ I asked what were the heat of Jidda? ‘ Ouf,’ he answered, 1 insuffer
able. ‘ Khalil hast thou not heard what said Saud-bin-Saud when he laid
siege to Jidda (1803), and could not take the place : ‘ I give it up then, I
cannot fight against such a hot town ; surely, if this people be not fiends, they
are nigh neighbours to the devil.’”
420. 1 he remains of an elderly Italian passenger were landed for burial in
the European cemetery at Jedda on the 28th December. Mr. A. C. Oppenheim
represented His Majesty’s Minister at the funeral, a gesture for which the Italian
Charge expressed no little gratitude.
421. I he local press announced on the 27th December that the number of
pilgrims who had arrived by sea up to date was 6,420. It is thought that the
total number of overseas pilgrims to stand on Arafat on the 2nd or 3rd March
will fall short of that of last year. It is noticeable that the Indian ships have
brought far fewer pilgrims from Afghanistan and Central Asia, who are apt to
be early comers, than had arrived at the same period of the season in recent years.
Rumours of war do not, however, seem to be affecting the movement of pilgrims
towards the Red Sea as much as might have been expected.
422. The position as regards the manumission of slaves by the British
Legation was as follows :—
On hand at the beginning of the month : Nil.
Took refuge in December : Nil.
Manumitted and repatriated : Nil.
Locally manumitted : Nil.
On hand at the end of the month : Nil.
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