"ملف 8/15 سلسلة الجزيرة العربية - ١٩٣٣-١٩٣٩" [ظ‎‎١‎٤] (٤٣٤/٢٨)

24
be assumed that the mouth of the Wadi in question is the boundary point in the
eyes of the Saudi Government and the Government of the Yemen probably take the
same view.
2. I think it worth while to draw attention to this point, even though it is
unlikely to have escaped you, as it may be important for naval purposes to have
a definite indication of the coastal point at which Saudi Arabia ends and the Yemen
begins. In this connexion I may add that I now learn privately from the com
manding officer of H. M. S. Penzance that the Island of Ashik, which I mentioned
in paragraph 5 of the enclosure in my despatch No. 104 of the 9th April regarding
naval visits to the Farsan Islands, &c., lies off the coast 30 fniles south of Jizan,
11 miles north-north-west of Medi and about 2 miles south of the mouth of the
Wadi Tashar.
3. I am sending copies of this despatch to His Majesty’s Chief Commissioner
at Aden and to the senior naval officer in the Red Sea sloops.
(26)
(Received on the 8th July 1933, with the Political Secretary’s letter No. 25, dated the
22nd June 1933.)
Letter from His Majesty’s Minister, Jedda, to the Foreign Office, No. 118,
DATED THE 16TH APRIL 1933.
No. 1.
With reference to paragraph 32 of the Jedda report enclosed in my despatch
No. 102 of the 7th April (F. 81-N./33), I have the honour to state that Ibn.
Sa’ud arrived in Jedda early yesterday and gave the usual series of formal audiences
to the heads of foreign missions in the forenoon. He is staying at a large house
which has recently been built by the Minister of Finance about a mile outside the
town. It is already rumoured that the so-called “ Green Palace ” is to be turned
into a hotel. Be this as it may, it is interesting to note the tightening of the cop-
nexion between His Majesty and Sheikh Abdullah Suleiman, who spends but little
time in Jedda and may have built his new house partly with a view to his master’s
convenience.
2. I found the King affable, but he did not appear to be in the same good
form as when I last saw him at the end of last August; I cannot say that he looked
ill, but he gave the impression of suffering from nervous worry. He seemed
distrait, and I had to initiate almost every subject of conversation. The nature of
the audience required that the topics should be general. We discoursed of our
respective states of health, the excellent rains that have fallen in Nejd, the virtues
of water and the broader aspects of the recent pilgrimage. The most striking
feature of this last part of the conversation was the King’s eagerness to assure me
of his readiness to entertain suggestions for the betterment of pilgrimage condi
tions. He repeated this assurance at least twice.
3. Mr. Furlonge, who was with me, agrees generally with my impression
of the King’s physical state. He had not seen His Majesty for nearly two years
and would not like to express himself too confidently, but he thought that Ibn Sa’ud
presented the appearance of having aged considerably.
4. The King’s plans appear to be uncertain. If I should have any conversa
tion with him of an important nature during his stay in Jedda, I will report sepa
rately.
5. I am sending copies of this despatch to His Majesty’s Ambassador at
Bagdad, to His Majesty’s High Commissioner for Transjordan, to the Honourable
the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf and to His Majesty’s Chief Commis
sioner at Aden.
(27)
{Received on the 8th July 1933, with the Political Secretary’s letter No. 25, dated the
22nd June 1933.)
Letter from the India Office, to the Colonial Office, No. P.Z.-2871/33,
DATED THE 21ST JuNE 1933.
With reference to Colonial Office letter No. 17963/33 of 17th May 1933
[Serial No. (19)], regarding the succession to the Sultanate of Lahej, I am directed