مجموعة ٦/ ٩ "تقارير جدة يناير ١٩٣١ -" [و‎‎٣‎٢‎٨] (٨٠٢/٦٥٦)

9
36. While some were moving northward, the Amir of the district sallied
forth from Tabuk with 130 camelmen and a machine gun. He set out immediately
after the fast of Ramadhan and held to the eastward of the Beni Atiya tents,
marching quickly up the Hejaz Railway until near the Transjordan frontier. A
little short of Hajj he turned westward, thus interposing his force between the
moving tribe and Transjordan. On the 14th and 15th February he fell upon the
nearest tents and progressed steadily southward through the rest of them back
to Tabuk, which he reached on the 20th after mopping up everything in his way
and driving off 350 camels, the Arabs say, beside many more sheep. On the same
day the leading tents of the Beni Atiya began to cross into Transjordan. The
southward-bound portion of the tribe had meanwhile passed to the south of
Taima.
37. Information available to the Royal Air Force in Transjordan indicates
that the Beni Atiya who entered Transjordan were refugees from justice, but
Captain Glubb, who was in close touch with them, was convinced that their
migration was of a routine nature, but began before the normal time because of
the lack of rain further south. By the middle of March, according to Royal Air
Force reports, 300 tents had crossed the frontier with 2,000 camels. They were
collected well away from the frontier and sent north of Ma'an under police
supervision.
38. On the 29th February the Hejaz-Nejd Minister in London requested
that these tribesmen should be returned by the Transjordan authorities to the
Hej az. It was'suggested to him at the Foreign Office that such frontier questions
could best be raised through the frontier authorities, or, if that was
impracticable, through the Legation at Jedda. He promised to suggest the
former channel to his Government, but the latter on the 9th March addressed
themselves to His Majesty’s Charge d’Affaires, invoking the inconclusive corre
spondence of 1930-31 about denial of refuge in Transjordan to certain Beni
Atiya groups (see 1931, January-February report, paragraph 11), and expressing
the hope that the British Government would agree to refusing present refuge to
the Beni Atiya in Transjordan. An exchange of views and reports on the facts
of the matter proceeded between London and Jerusalem, but no decision as to a
reply had been reached by the end of the month.
Iraq.
39. Material for reply to Fuad Bey Hamza’s demarche of last September
(September-October report, paragraph 39) regarding certain remnant chiefs in
Iraq of the 1929 Nejdi rebellion was received in January, but was not used, as
Fuad Bey had not again mentioned the matter, and the Iraqi representative was
expected shortly to arrive. The gist of the reply, if made, would have been that
these chiefs were not near the frontier, and that, so far as was known, they were
keeping quiet and had received no special favours.
40. The Iraqi representative’s arrival is reported in paragraph 68. It is
to be hoped that he will shortly be in a position to relieve the Legation completely
of questions concerning Iraq.
Koweit and Bahrein.
Biscoe-Ibn Saud Meeting.
41. As soon as it was known definitely in Jedda that Ibn Saud had left
Riyadh on the 2nd January for the Hasa, steps were taken to bring about the
courtesy visit to him of the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf which had
been spoken of at His Majesty’s Minister’s audience of the King on the
2nd March, 1931 (March-April report, paragraph 29), and recorded at the inter
departmental conference held at the Foreign Office on the 12th August
(September-October report, paragraph 42), as a necessary preliminary to the
negotiation of the Persian Gulf questions. The Under-Secretary for Foreign
Affairs having arrived at Jedda and His Majesty at Hufuf, Sir A. Ryan was
able to communicate through the former by wireless with the latter and prepare
him for the visit. On the 17th January Lieutenant-Colonel Biscoe telegraphed
a personal message from Bushire via Bahrein to Ibn Saud and received a reply
asking him to come as soon as possible. Accompanied by the Political Agents at
[7003] c