ملف ١٩٢٤/١٧٠٧ "الجزيره العربية - تقارير عن الوضع في جدة. (١٩٢٤-١٩٣٠)" [ظ‎‎٣‎٦‎١] (٨٩٨/٧٢٧)

2
orders against the beating of soldiers in such cases in future. What ehect this treat-
ment by itself would have had cannot be judged, for at that moment a contribution of
£20,000 arrived from Hussein, and the troops were made tolerably happy by the issue
of a month's pay.
The detention as soldiers of foreigners who have no written contract and who
wish to leave because their pay is several months in arrears has made it necessary to
apply to His Majesty’s Government again for instructions. The letter had hardly
been posted when a batch of over 200 more recruits arrived from Akaba—most of
them Palestinians.
There is reason to believe that the rumour reported some time ago, that the
Hedjaz Government were trying to recruit men from territories near Aden, was well
founded. The recruiting agent seems to have been one Ahmad Sakkaf, who went to
Aden with several thousand pounds for the purpose. The Foreign Secretary
complained to one of my colleagues that they could have secured thousands of
Hadhrami recruits if His Majesty’s Government had not interfered.
5. No staple food-stuffs have been imported into Jeddah for some months,
merchants having been discouraged by the requisitioning of considerable quantities,
without any security for payment, for the army. It is calculated that the existing
stocks of flour will last only about a month. There will still remain large stocks of
rice, but the local people are not used to a diet of rice and will not take to it gladly.
b. The Foreign Secretary professes to hope that troops may now be obtained
from the Yemen. He boasts that the Imam has written Ali a most friendly letter
offering an alliance. He has shown me a letter which is certainly sealed with the
Imam’s seal, but the only part I w T as allowed to read w r as a non-committal statement
about excluding foreign influence and “European education,” and applying the
Shara’ Law. The Imam’s motive is probably to allay any suspicions Ali may"have
while the Idrisi is being dealt with.
7. Permission to enter India having been received from the Government of
India, the three men whom the Hedjaz Government had selected as a deputation
!e+t for Aden on the 18th April on their way to Bombay. They are :—
Sayyid Tahir Dabbagh, formerly clerk in the Finance Department. He
became Minister of Finance on Hussein's fall, but resigned on his
departure for India.
Ahmad Ghazzawi, chief clerk to the Prime Minister.
A1 Taib-al-Sasi, who in Hussein's time was assistant editor of the “ Kibla.”
It is understood that they are not going as an official delegation; their object
oVnoo s ® cret ’ or at an y rat ® unobtrusive, propaganda. They have with them
£ 6 ,000-—ostensibiy for the purchase of food-stuffs for the Hedjaz army.
nnow-’ s l f lzar ® of a Kamaran dhow at Hali by Hedjaz armed craft raised the
InrT 01 6 S f o 1 k amaran - The Hedjaz Government have placed the dhow
w 6 * s P°. sa ^ . t ^ lls a g enc y> an d a member of the crew, who all
Mpanwhim IT' 6 ivf 16 0 f ® ei ^ ire5 18 on ^ 1° Jeddah to take delivery of them.
MocSp M ^ est ^ ^ Government have agreed that for the purposes of the
blockade Kamaran dhows should be regarded as though they were British.
davc-in Mon ^° V wur vr re P r e s eutatiyes returned after spending five or six
was verv qpvprp • ^ 1 n . ^ 16 reaction after this prolonged period of piety
scions for fort ’ ' nf Iai TT kSteacil ty f° r twenty-four hours and was more or less uncon-
Xhp Not ght ' H6 ^ 0e Qn n °^ , Se ?f t0 have been ver y successful with Ibn Sand.
Mecca i n M d ICI^ :COnSU , T bh A e r kh ^ avira > Was allowed to move about freely in
Wahabi attelmu “tho “th^^
great indignation of Ibn Sand’s representative in Mecca.
nersori' nd' a rlr!Tfll'l,' ^ If' ykakimov was taken at his own valuation as a private
ha7e commanded resnect ^ 11 a ? d T1 0th ® rs a / Sheikh Kerim. He does not seem to
Prlvirrjn f a° ne J 11 “ ! ? aud s ci l lef mei1 - Damluji, asked Sheikh
how he eon Id hr in a li aad 80 ^udly that M. Khakimov could not fail to hear,
tie could bring himself to travel with “this miner vcho nretended to be a
Sntativef Ibn Sand 3 t0 1 | I1S : At a dinner g iven to the three consular repre-
iie had no f rrefljw ° U to very emphatically that for himself
European Powers ’ from who - indeed - he
Ihere is good reason to believe that M. Khakimov publicly engaged in violent