ملف ١٩٢٤/١٧٠٧ "الجزيره العربية - تقارير عن الوضع في جدة. (١٩٢٤-١٩٣٠)" [ظ‎‎١‎٥‎٢] (٨٩٨/٣٠٩)

'1
Noori Pasha's statement does not represent the views of His Majesty's Government
or of Iraq.
3. The King is anxious for the early return of bir Gilbert G lay ton, as he is
unable to postpone his departure for Nejd later than the 15th August. He had
promised his sheikhs to return at that time and to explain to them the results of his
conversations with the mission. Moreover, the death of his father, the Imam
Abdurrahman, makes his presence in Nejd desirable at the earliest possible date
The Imam Abdurrahman died at Riyadh on the 2nd June, though the news of
death did not reach Mecca until the 12th June. Telegrams of condolence were
received from His Majesty King Feisal of Iraq, His Majesty s High Commissioner
for Egypt, and Sir Gilbert Clayton, among many others.
4. The King is leaving Mecca early in July to take up his residence at Tail
Conversations with the Clayton Mission on its return to the Hejaz will be held at
Taif. Telephonic and telegraphic communication will be assured with Jeddah.
Taif offers advantages over Jeddah as a venue for the negotiations, especially if
Philby, whose presence is most undesirable, is unable to take up his residence there.
5. Philby paid a short visit to Egypt during last month at the King’s expense,
The object of his visit was to secure the services of a competent electrical engineer
for the installation of a lighting set in the King’s palace at Mecca. An Egyptian
mission has been studying the possibilities of improving the water supply at Mecca,
and some agreement seems to have been reached.
6. The pilgrimage was successful this year, especially as regards the low
mortality among pilgrims. Credit must be given to the Hejaz authorities, whose
arrangements were far in advance of those of last year. Motor ambulances, well
provided with water, were employed to pick up stragglers and sufferers from heat
exhaustion or sunstroke. Many lives were saved in this way. The disposal of the
dead and of sacrificial animals was also effected more competently this year. Sanitary
conditions in Mecca and Jeddah still leave much to be desired, but the state of the
houses and streets is largely due to the filthy habits of pilgrims themselves. There
are some 1,400 Indian pilgrims lying in the streets awaiting shipment. The majority
are, as usual, Nemazee ticket-holders. Fines for detention of pilgrims over twenty-
five days became leviable as from the 29th June, and have been claimed from the
shipping agents concerned for distribution among the pilgrims. A meeting was held
by the leading pilgrims detained, and a resolution was passed to submit for the
consideration of the Government of India certain changes in the present regulations,
The pilgrims are chiefly concerned to procure the introduction of compulsory deposits,
thus avoiding a repetition of this year’s experience, when over a thousand Indian
pilgrims remained three weeks in Jeddah unable to leave, while an India-bound ship
of another line remained empty in port.
7. The tw T o Soviet ships which brought pilgrims to Jeddah have left, one with
the pilgrims, the other, the c ‘ Tobolsk,” for Hodeida, Aden and the Persian Gulf.
The Tobolsk ” discharged at Jeddah 1,399 sacks of flour and 2,000 sacks of sugar,
and at Hodeida 1,000 sacks of flour and 700 sacks of sugar. The cargo discharged
at Jeddah has not yet been disposed of. Belkin, who with Astakhof and two others
landed at Hodeida, has proceeded to Sanaa on a commercial mission. Belkin was not
permitted to land at Jeddah; the others were allowed to land and to remain ashore
a few oays. Hakimoff, the Soviet agent and consul-general, is leaving shortly, and
will be replaced by Nasir Turaculoff, regarding wdiom no information is at present
available.
. r ^^ le Egyptian Mission under Bassel Pasha was well received by the King.
Ihe question discussed appears to have been the purpose to which the sum
(roughly £60,000) which in the past accompanied the Mahmal should be devoted,
-^Syptians, it is understood, proposed to devote the money to the building and
staffing of hospitals in Mecca and Jeddah. Agreement was, however, not reached,
as the Egyptians, naturally enough, desired to retain the management of the hospitals
• e< ^’ w ^ ereas /'^ n Saud apparently held out for Hejaz Government control,
there is reason to believe, on the other hand, that a proportion of the money saved
y the non-despatch of the Mahmal will be devoted to the Mecca water-supply scheme,
o w fiich the Egyptian technical mission, referred to in paragraph 5 above, have been
studying. ^ r
9. The Sultan of Shehr and Mokalla left for Egypt on the 11th June, the Begum
of Junagadh left for India on the 13th June, and the Sultan of Perak left for
" 11 ^fP ore k 11 i ^9^ June. They all expressed their gratification at the courtesy
and help afforded them by the Hejaz Government, though the Sultan was inclined
u.
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