مجموعة ٦/ ٩ "تقارير جدة يناير ١٩٣١ -" [و‎‎٣‎٢‎١] (٨٠٢/٦٤٢)

15
216. In June, the Legation was approached by Misr Airwork, an Egyptian
company associated with Airwork (Limited), of Heston Airport in England, for
advice as to the utility of offering to demonstrate to Ibn Baud an Avro machine
suitable for instructional and light military purposes, which they had been
showing in Persia and Iraq. They thought, having in mind, inter alia, the
prospect of military operations in the Hejaz, that the King would find this type of
aircraft handier and cheaper than Wapitis. Sir A. Ryan prepared a guarded
reply, but arranged that it should not be delivered in Egypt before His Majesty’s
Government had approved of it.
Emergency Landing Grounds.
217. Following on the discussion of this during the Political Resident’s visit
to Hofuf in January, Mr. Hope Gill was instructed on the 3rd May to seek Ibn
Baud’s definite assent to the selection and marking of emergency landing grounds
at Darin and Jinnah by or in consultation with Royal Air Force, Iraq, and to a
Royal Air Force reconnaissance of Makta with a view to similar arrangements
there, if it should prove suitable. He was to be guided by earlier instructions as
to the question of rent and cost of preparation. The King’s precipitate departure
from Jedda prevented Mr. Hope Gill from taking the question up with His
Majesty in person. He had what appeared to be promising conversations with
Sheikh Yusuf Yasin, but it soon appeared that the Hejazi Government preferred
that the matter should be dealt with by their mission in London, who were not,
however, to take the initiative in raising it. It was accordingly discussed
informally, but closely, between Fuad Bey and Mr. Rendel, of the Foreign Office,
on the 11th May, and by the same, with the assistance of Captain Peirse, of the
Air Ministry, on the 13th May. The position reached was that it remained for
the Air Ministry to prepare, in the light of those discussions, a fresh statement
for communication to the Hejazi Government as regards both the desiderata of
His Majesty’s Government and the quid pro quo which they would be prepared to
offer.
Alleged Aerial Trespass in Hejaz-Nejd Territory.
218. No fresh complaints were received in May or June. Certain earlier
complaints regarding violations of territory alleged to have^occurred in February
and March were reported by the authorities concerned and a suitable communi
cation was addressed to the Hejazi Government on the 25th May.
Chapter V .—Military Matters.
219. There is nothing of importance to record apart from what is stated
elsewhere, especially in the section dealing with the Transjordan frontier.
Chapter VI .—Naval Matters.
220. The only naval visit, British or foreign, to Jedda was that of H.M.S.
“ Hastings,” which arrived with His Majesty's Minister on board on the
30th May and stayed to the 2nd June. By the end of June both Red Sea sloops
were in the north of the Red Sea in connexion with the Ibn Rifada affair.
Chapter VII.— Pilgrimage.
221. The dispersal of the pilgrims proceeded normally in May and June.
The sanitary condition of returning pilgrims was satisfactory and the Alexandria
Quarantine Board formally declared the pilgrimage clean on the 3rd May. It
was reported from India in June that twenty cases of small-pox were discovered
in one pilgrim ship on its return to Bombay. Telegrams were exchanged between
the Government of India and the Legation about this mysterious affair, but it had
not been fully elucidated up to the end of the month. The problem of the repa
triation of destitute pilgrims has again been somewhat formidable this year. No
further details under this heading need be given in this already lengthy report, as
it is hoped to distribute earlier than usual the full report on the 1932 pilgrimage.