ملف ١٩٢٤/١٧٠٧ "الجزيره العربية - تقارير عن الوضع في جدة. (١٩٢٤-١٩٣٠)" [و‎‎٤‎٣‎١] (٨٩٨/٨٦٦)

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tTe'p/rZsrprile^haTgone ^ntre^ZZ^Vf 001 ^ ^ 1
= r T S ’ f 1 , t0 , ex P eot orders for reputable British (or other) firms when
^VHe^meXrierVho 1 '^!)' 1 aS ?°‘ bet t wee ™: The y bu 7 through doubtful Levantine
^tevertheless thr^San B COn “^ a he ‘, r r ° L bbery ° f the Hed j az Government.
heZ seem to be debh T° 8 P rOTeda bad bargain that the authorities
neie seein to be deliberating more carefully before buying the second new boat
LTe” to “ San Re 2°” -d.Po-lbly fo purchase another steamZ,'
nas ueen sent to Fgypt. To ensure efficiency it has been selected with great care •
it is composed of one customs official, one Cuban alleged to be an enffinefr and one
ex-mstructor m gymnastics in the Turkish navy. engineer, and one
Ever since his accession to the throne, King Hussein has occasionally applied the
hi ThT P enalt y o f cutting off the offender’s hand (or hand and foot), budit needed
u accession to the Caliphate to make him boast of the fact in the press) The “ Kibla”
Zto ZhZT " b ? e bT 1Ce Saying tb&t “ < Unnamed ) P»son had been found
tl ‘Ws^dZi to UfSld (corrupter) and had suffered the penalty prescribed for
ZeZtirh ,7 z -’, tbe a “P u . tatl °u of a hand and the opposite foot. According to the
I general belief, the facts of this case are these : °
' Ar otoeredTf who made hi ® iivin g h y bis garden. A sharif named
ordeied him to supply some melons, free. The man refused, whereupon Ati
pc “fTf atl A ®' 10a i n woman to accuse the man of attempted rape. Ati then
.ep rted the matter to the King, who fell into one of his blind rages and, without even
seeing the accused, ordered him to be hanged. Someone suggefted a trial, and with
reluctance the King handed the case over to the kadi with instructions to apply a
severe penalty. Not daring to disobey, the kadi condemned the accused to have his
hand cut ott but the King was not content with this and ordered that he should lose
| h s opposite foot also.
When the ‘ Frangestan ’ incident occurred, the Jeddah authorities, on orders from
Mecca called on Reuters agents m Jeddah—Messrs. Gellatly, Hankey and Co—to
despatch a Reuter telegram saying what “the Caliph” had done for the rescued
ulgnms. Messrs.^Cellatly, Hankey and Co. were most reluctant to send a message
relerrmg to the King as “ Caliph,” and advertising a benevolence which would have
oeeii unnecessary if the King had not forbidden the agents of the British steamship
company to assist their passengers, but, having important commercial interests in
J da an which are at the mercy of the King’s arbitrary will, they were not in a position
to make a strong stand. This agency telegraphed a warning to His Majesty’s repre-
sentative in Egypt, as it is to Reuter’s agent in Cairo that^Messrs. Gellatly, Hankey
ana Co. send their messages, and reported the fnatter to His Majesty’s Government.
Reuter’s agent in Cairo has taken the matter up, and made an arrangement which, in
the present state of the Hedjaz, is perhaps the best that can be devised. All Reuter
messages from Jeddah will be closely scrutinised in the light of the knowledge that
Lrey may be disguised communiques, and that, on the other hand, Messrs. Gellatly,
Hankey and Co. are unable to send off any Reuter message which is likely to be in any
wgy displeasing to the King. ‘ J
j-t is veiy difficult fot the truth about the Hedjaz to reach the outside world.
ims are reluctant to speak ill of anything in their holy land, and all other possible
avenues of criticism are closely watched by the King. He'supervises all favourable and
P 1 e , ven ts a11 hostile propaganda. His two papers cannot refuse his articles, however
f> i sh the matter and lamentable the style. On the other hand, no paper can attack
hn, or there are no other papers. Mo “Constant Reader,” no “Pater Quattuor
Fan) diarum ’’can write to the “Kibla” “to respectfully submit,” and hostile papers
iron Egypt and India are stopped in the post. It would be most improper that the
Kiin; should be free to use Reuter also for propaganda. It is regrettable enough that
Rent nr is unable to indulge, as in other countries, in reasonable criticism, and that so
m * ny messages remain unwritten which might not only increase the world’s stock of
k Hedge but also add to the gaiety of nations.