Such at least is the opinion I heard constantly
given at Jeddah, and several recent incidents seem to prove that a
little closer attention to this matter would be advisable. That ugly
story which was told in our newspapers more than a year ago of the
abandonment of a pilgrim ship in the Red Sea by her British captain is,
I am sorry to say, a true one, and I heard it confirmed with every
circumstance which could aggravate the charges made. The captain in a
fit of panic left the ship without any substantial excuse, and if it had
not been for the good conduct of a young man, his nephew, who, though
ordered to leave too, refused out of humanity, there is little doubt
that the vessel would have been lost. A very painful impression was
produced on the Jeddans while I was there by the news that this English
captain had been sentenced for all punishment by an English court to two
years' suspension of his certificate. Indian pilgrims have besides been
very roughly treated in Hejaz by the authorities during the last year
because they were British subjects, and this without obtaining any
redress. Such at least is the gossip of the town. However this may be,
it seems to me astonishing that so important a matter as the Indian Haj
should be left, as it now is, entirely in the hands of chance.
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