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'File 61/11 IV (D 77) Hejaz-Nejd, Miscellaneous' [‎79v] (168/366)

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The record is made up of 1 volume (182 folios). It was created in 17 Feb 1930-4 Apr 1932. It was written in English. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .

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6. It would be too cynical to suggest that Ibn Saud is offering to Ills
Majesty's Government a " pure and virgin " love for a consideration. He is not
himself cynical or brazen enough for that. He is more like the maiden of
pantomime in a snowstorm, but proudly conscious oi a station, a beaut} and a
virtue that, given their chance, must cause her to be loved and honourably set up
in life for her own sake. There are Christmas parties behind the windows that
glimmer through the snow, and she would like to be taken into the nicest oi those
houses—yours, Sir. The maiden feels, if I may pursue a fancy not entirely idle,
that you should not count on those Hashimite girls whom you are already enter
taining, pretentious hussies who are with you for what they can get and will want
more. "How much happier you would be with me,"" says the maiden,
unconsciously vain in her conscious virtue. ' And oh, how happy should 1 be
too! "
7. I have tried to illustrate by a flippant example what I conceive to be
Ibn Sand's attitude, because I think it reveals it better than pages of solemn
analysis. He is not insincere, but he is fairly desperate at the moment and quite
unpractical. He admitted towards the end of our conversation on the 17th June
that the questions he had asked me to put to His Majesty's Government were too
hypothetical to be answerable. That does not mean that he will not expect some
sort of an answer. T do not see what His Majesty's Government can do to help
him. Political commitments to him, except those of a purely negative kind, seem
to be out of the question. It was decided two years ago that there could be no
question of a renewal of direct financial assistance. He hinted then at a request
for bread, and he was offered a common form of commercial treaty. I can only
leave you to consider whether there is any form of kindness which His Majesty's
Government could show him without prejudice to their obligations elsewhere and
without spending money. I am telegraphing about one point only, that of the
possibility of getting a British bank to help him, because that is a concrete
proposal, though it seems to me as unpractical as all the rest.
I have, &c.
ANDREW RYAN.
Enclosure 1 in No. 1.
(A) Conversation with Fuad Bey Hamza on June 13.
FUAD BEY HAMZA spoke to me at length on the 13th June regarding the
general state of relations between Ibn Saud and His Majesty's Government, with
somewhat special reference to the effect thereon of my personal position vis-a-vis
of His Majesty. He had meditated his statement for some time and it was
carefully considered.
2. " Fuad Bey spoke of the object of my mission. The King's wish to see a
British Legation established here was dictated by a desire to have at his Court
a representative of such standing that he could represent His Majesty's point of
view to His Majesty's Government and speak on their behalf with authority,
enjoying a greater latitude in the discussion of affairs than could be expected in
the case of a junior official. Fuad Bey stressed the importance of personal
factors, and expressed a desire to restore my relations with the King to their
former friendly footing.
3. Fuad Bey traced the history of Ibn Sand's relations with His Majesty's
Government. They had originated as far back as thirty years ago, when the King
was the guest of Sheikh Mubarak of Koweit. The policy of His Majesty's
Government was favourable to Mubarak at a time when the Turks were backing
Ibn Rashid. At that time and afterwards they had lent their moral support to
Ibn Saud. Their relations with him were strengthened during the Great War.
A treaty had been concluded at that time, establishing relations of such a nature
that His Majesty had accepted a kind of vassalage of Great Britain, to which it
was unnecessary now to look back, as that situation had been ended by the Treaty
of Jedda in 1927.
4. The friendly relations, Fuad Bey said, had passed through periods when
His Majesty's Government seemed cooler or even antagonistic. They had
supported King Hussein in the dispute over Taraba and Khurma in 1918-19.
Ibn Rashid had been given support from the Iraq side before his death in 1921,

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Content

The volume contains letters, telegrams, and memoranda relating to Hejaz affairs. Most of the correspondence is between the British Legation in Jeddah, the Political Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. in Bushire, the Political Agencies in Bahrain and Kuwait, the Foreign and Colonial Offices in London, and the Government of India.

The majority of the volume concerns the internal affairs of the Kingdom of Hejaz-Najd and its Dependencies, especially the financial difficulties it was experiencing at the time and attempts to counter them.

Other subjects covered are:

  • the prospect of the Kingdom joining the League of Nations;
  • the appointment of a Minister in London;
  • al-Qusaibi's proposed visit to London;
  • the different uses of the title "Sheikh";
  • American recognition of Ibn Sa'ud as King;
  • the mineral prospecting of the American millionaire Mr C. R. Crane;
  • American appraisal of the water situation in the region;
  • the religious policing activities of the Committee of Virtue in the Hejaz;
  • the arrest of two members of the royal family between Kuwait and Zubair;
  • the territorial dispute between Ibn Sa'ud and Yemen;
  • relations between Ibn Sa'ud and Italy.

A notable document within the volume is a confidential report on the heads of all foreign missions in Jeddah (folios 163-164).

At the back of the volume (folios 165-170) are office file notes.

Extent and format
1 volume (182 folios)
Arrangement

The volume is arranged chronologically. There is a partial and non-alphabetical list of subjects at the front of the volume (folio 2). The list identifies some of the earlier subject correspondence in the volume and where it occurs, according to its original numbering, as folios 17 to 41a.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: The sequence starts on the first page with ff 1A-1D and then continues from f 2 to the inside back cover. The numbers are written in pencil, circled and located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. The are the following anomalies: f 38A; f 91A; f 108A; f 128A; f 146A; there is no f 119.

There are two more sequences that are inconsistent and incomplete.

Written in
English in Latin script
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'File 61/11 IV (D 77) Hejaz-Nejd, Miscellaneous' [‎79v] (168/366), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/1/567, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023554071.0x0000a9> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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