'File 8/15 Arab Series - 1933-1939' [‎103r] (205/434)

too*
43
(56)
(Received on 5th October. 1935 with Political Secretary's letter No. 38,
dated 19th September 1935.)
(Enclosure in Colonial Office covering letter, dated 13th September 1935.)
Letter from the Colonial Office, to the Resident, Aden, dated the
9th September 1935.
I have the honour to refer to Sir Bernard Reilly’s confidential despatch
No. 94 of the 17th Apri) 1935, regarding the policy to be adopted by His
Majesty’s Government in the Hadramaut.
This question has been considered at a meeting of the Standing Official
Sub-Committee of the Committee of Imperial Defence for questions con
cerning the Middle East, at which Sir Bernard Reilly was present, and
gave further explanation of his proposals, which have my general approval.
Details of the scheme for implementing the proposals will no doubt be
submitted to me in due course.
■1
H
(57)
(Received on 2nd November, 1935, with Political Secretary's letter, No. 1>2,
dated 17th October, 1935.)
(Enclosure in Foreign Office covering letter, dated 10th October 1935.)
Letter from His Majesty’s Charge d’Affa,tres, Jedda, to the Foreign
Office, No. 227, dated the 6th August 1935.
With reference to Sir Andrew Ryan’s despatch No. 80, of the 18th
March [S. No. (35)], concerning the concession granted by the Saudi Arab
Government to the Saudi Arabian Mining Syndicate (Limited), I have the
honour to submit a general report on the activities in the Hejaz of the
syndicate since the ratification of the concession by King Abdul Aziz on
the 12th February last.
2. It will be recollected that the concession allowed the syndicate three
months in which to get to work, a yeai for general prospecting and another
year for further research in selected areas, after which leases were to be
granted to subsidiary companies foimed to work the individual property.
Mr. Twitchell seems’at present to be well ahead of this schedule. He set
to work, with great energy, immediately after his return to Jedda on the
17th February. The Australian, a Mr. Shanks, mentioned by Sir Andrew
Ryan in his despatch No. 56 of the 24th February [S. No. (31)] arrived
with a British clerical assistant on the 27th February, and the whole party
set out early in March for Yanbu and the Northern Hejaz.
3 After four months prospecting and assay work Mr. Twitchell seems
to have decided to concentrate, for the moment, his attentions on the gold
workings at Mahd-adh-Dhahab (“Cot of Gold”), and has withdrawn Mr.
Shanks from Yanbu- an-Nakhl where he has been working without success
ful results.
4 Mahd-adh-Dahab was visited for three weeks in June by Mr. E. D,
McDermott, one of the directors of the syndicate On his return to Eng
land earlv in July, followed on the 24th July by Mr. Twitchell, who hoped
to tiavel from Egypt by air, it was reliably reported that a subsidiary
company had been formed to work the area containing this mine.