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'File 61/11 VI (D 102) Hejaz-Nejd Miscellaneous' [‎55r] (130/522)

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The record is made up of 1 volume (259 folios). It was created in 2 Feb 1931-30 Aug 1934. It was written in English and Arabic. 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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this docdment 18 the property of his britahnic majesty's government
EASTERN ( Arabia ). January 30, 1934.
CONPIDENTTAL Section 3.
[E 714/714/25]$ No. 1.
■- Vl*- . ( ( '
Sir F. Humphrys to Sir John Simon.—(Received January 30 )
{No. 2.) ^ ''
HIS Majesty's Minister at Jedda presents his compliments to His Majesty's
Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, and has the honour to transmit
a confidential report on the heads of foreign missions at Jedda.
Jedda, January 5, 1934.
Enclosure in No. 1.
Report on Heads of Foreign Missions at Jedda.
(Paragraphs marked with an asterisk are reproduced from the report submitted
in January 1933.)
A fghanistan.
SALAHUDDIN KHAIN SALJUQI, the Afghan consul in Bombay, arrived
in Jedda on the 16th March, 1933, and obtained a Saudi exequatur as consul
here with effect from the 11th April. It was understood to be the intention of
the Afghan Government, when making this first appointment to Jedda, to do
no more for the time being than to detach Salahuddin Khan for service in the
Hejaz during the pilgrimage season. He stayed at the local hotel and took an
unexpectedly early departure on the 25th April, leaving a clerk in charge of
current business. I had no opportunity of cultivating his acquaintance after
his first visit, when he struck me as a well-educated man, with a special inclination
for philosophy. He spoke English passably and was understood to have a good
knowledge of classical Arabic. His age is probably about 45. I gathered that
before being sent to Bombay, in or about 1931, he had been little outside his own
country, where he had been educated and had held a succession of official posts,
including that of secretary to King Amanullah.
Egypt.
# Hafiz Amer Bey has been Egyptian consul since March 1931, but was absent
from Jedda from September 1931 until June 1932, and again from early
November 1932 until the end of the year. He lacks previous diplomatic or
consular experience, having been formerly an advocate at Tantah, his home town,
and having later held minor judicial posts in Egypt. He is said to owe his
position to the protection of Emin Yehia Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. , brother of the Egyptian Minister
for Foreign Affairs^ 1 ) He speaks English imperfectly and French very sketchily.
Up to August 1932 he was by way of being very frank and friendly with the
British Legation, and indulged at every turn in fulsome compliments, especially
in intercourse with my wife and lady visitors. His frankness was chiefly shown
in a rather tactless inquisitiveness, and I have had reason to doubt the sincerity
of his friendliness. He is an ardent Moslem, strict in observance. Soon after
he came here he formed a very poor opinion of the Wahhabi regime, and does
not conceal his dislike of it. He is repaid by suspicion, which, in June 1932, was
pushed to the length of a definite accusation of complicity in the plots behind
the then rebellion in the Northern Hejaz. There is no evidence, as far as I am
aware, in support of this accusation. Nevertheless, Hafiz Bey's sympathies are
certainly with the enemies of Ibn Saud. He is hardly the man for the difficult
task of promoting a rapprochement between Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
C) The Minister for Foreig-n Affairs mentioned above, Abdul Fatah Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. Yehia, is now Prime
imster of Egypt bnt there is reason to believe that Hafiz Bey's attaches are with the Palace, rather
an with any particular Egyptian Goverument.
[6 gg—3]

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Content

The volume contains two original files bound together. The first file (folios 1A-207) has the original reference 61/11 VI (D 102) and covers the period 7 November 1933 to 30 August 1934 and relates to Hejaz-Najd affairs. The second file (folios 208-243) has the original reference 61/6 VII (D 95) and covers the period 2 February 1931 to 5 August 1932 and relates to Najd affairs. Both contain letters, telegrams, memoranda, and reports sent between the British Legation in Jeddah, the Foreign Office in London, the Political Residencies in Bushire and Aden, the Political Agencies in Bahrain, Kuwait, and Muscat, the High Commissioner in Trans-Jordan, the High Commissioner in Baghdad (later the British Embassy following Iraqi independence in 1932), the Colonial Office in London, the Government of India, and Ibn Sa'ud.

The main subject of the first file is the territorial dispute between Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Contained in the volume are papers concerning Saudi Arabian advances into the territories of 'Asir and Yemen and the subsequent Treaty of Taif that largely settled the dispute. There is also coverage of diplomatic conversations between Italy and Britain regarding the dispute, including secret talks in Rome. Included is the full Arabic text of the Treaty (folios 143-150A) and an English translation (folios 156-177).

Other subjects covered in the first file are:

Notable documents contained in the volume are a report on the heads of foreign missions in Jeddah, and a revised (June 1934) report on the leading personalities in Saudi Arabia.

The subjects covered by the second file are:

  • details and significance of a resurgence in war dancing by the Saudis;
  • the visit of Charles Crane to see Ibn Sa'ud;
  • a request for military assistance made by Saudi Arabia to Turkey;
  • the conditions of entry into Hasa for Hindu merchants.

At the end of each file are several pages of internal office notes.

Extent and format
1 volume (259 folios)
Arrangement

Each of the two separate files which make up the volume is arranged chronologically.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: The sequence starts on the first folio and continues through 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. There are the following anomalies: 1A, 1B, 1C, and 1D; 11A and 11B; 24A; 30A; 132A; 143A; 150A; and 236A. There are two other sequences, both uncircled and incomplete.

Written in
English and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script
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'File 61/11 VI (D 102) Hejaz-Nejd Miscellaneous' [‎55r] (130/522), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/1/569, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023576504.0x000083> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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