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'File 8/7 I Jidda Intelligence Reports' [‎28v] (56/536)

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The record is made up of 1 file (266 folios). It was created in Jul 1931-Dec 1934. 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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J
5. On the same day the “Umm-al-Qura” published a long proclamation
by the King to his people announcing the information contained in the pre
ceding paragraph but omitting the percentages, establishing the principle
that all creditors must stand on an equal footing and forecasting with pious
hope the beneficial results that would flow from the policy of retrenchment
and development which had now been adopted. Further communiques pub
lished in subsequent issues announced the King’s commands to reduce expen
diture, to select a Reorganisation Committee, to create a Treasury Depart
ment and to appoint a Treasurer, and meanwhile to employ the Director-
General of Finance and the Vice-President of the Hejaz Legislative Assem
bly in an inspectional tour of the other side of Nejd (whence they had not
returned by the end of December). The King’s personal expenditure was
also to be reduced, for which the “Umm-al-Qura” gave him loyal praise.
6 . Although the budget, or what passes in this country as a budget,
was not published until January 15th, it may conveniently be dealt with
here. It took the from of a badly worded decree in six articles and a list of
items of expenditure which do not add up correctly; a translation is attached
as an appendix to this report. The budget thus resolves itself into an
estimate of expenditure under various heads which do not seem to corre
spond with the percentage allotments previously communicated. The
decree states that the revenue equals this expenditure, but no detail is
given and no mention is made of the reserve fund. Nor is it stated whether
the budget applies to the Hejaz only or to the whole of Ibn Sa’ud’s domi
nions. As soon as budgetary reform was announced, it was generally held
to have come too late. Now that the details have been published, pessimism
is confirmed. Fuad Bey himself seems to have no illusions as to the un
certainty of the revenue prospects.,
7. One other point emerging from the budget discussions has been that
the financial capital will in future be Jedda instead of Mecca. The idea of
supplementing the reform by the employment of a European financial adviser
is still canvassed and the post is said to have been offered to the local Manager
of the Dutch Bank, Mr. Jacobs, and also to another Dutchman, Mr. van
Leeuwe. Nothing definite has transpired, however.
8 . Ministry of Foreign Affairs .—The Amir Feysal, Viceroy and
Minister, moved his Government and Department back to Mecca on ’Nov-
ember 6th from Taif, whither he had removed them on July 6th for the
summer. On November 7th his Under-Secretary informed the foreign re
presentatives that the Jedda office of the Ministry had been transferred
(from the flat which it occupied in the offices of an Italian shipping agent
and for which, incidentally, it has failed to pay the agreed rent) to a sepa
rate building of its own. This has meant nothing more than a welcome
change of environment, which will make it no longer necessary for the Under
secretary to speed his parting visitors through al fresco macaroni parties
on the stairways. The new office, however, is just as vacant as the old.
Personal contact with the foreign representatives at Jedda, which it had
been hoped a year ago (December 1930 Report, paragraph 1) would become
more frequent, is as rare as ever and heads of foreign missions are becoming-
restive and increasingly critical of their isolationist treatment.
9. Fuad Bey came to Jedda on the 29th October and left on the 3rd
November. On the 1st he gave His Majesty’s Charge d’Affaires a 3-hour
interview. He returned on the 7th to await the Minister for Foreign
Affairs who came on the 9th, signed a Treaty with France on the 10th. and
left on the 13th. They were joined on the 12th by Sheykh Yusuf Yasin, hot
foot with' the reforms from Riadh, and Mr. Hope Gill had a further inter
view with Fuad Bey which was attended by the Sheykh. They both left
Jedda on the 14th November. Yusuf Yasin returned to Riadh on the 2nd
December, and Fuad Hamza, after a flying visit to Jedda on December 4th-
6 th, followed him there on the 15th, the day on which His Majesty's
Minister arrived. He was not seen again until January.
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Content

The file contains intelligence reports on the Kingdom of Hejaz, Najd and its Dependencies (after September 1932, Saudi Arabia) written by the British Legation at Jeddah.

Between July 1931 and December 1932 the reports are issued every two months, with the exception of the January-March 1932 and April 1932 reports. From January 1933 the reports are sent on a monthly basis.

Between July 1931 and December 1932, each report is divided into sections, numbered with Roman numerals from I to IX, as follows: Internal Affairs; Frontier Questions; Relations with States outside Arabia; Air Matters; Military Matters; Naval Matters; Pilgrimage; Slavery; and Miscellaneous. Each section is then further divided into parts relating to a particular matter or place, under a sub-heading. Some reports contain an annex.

From January 1933, when the reports become monthly, they take a new format. Each is divided into sections, as follows: Internal Affairs; Frontier Questions and Foreign Relations in Arabia; Relations with Powers Outside Arabia; Miscellaneous (often containing information on slavery and the pilgrimage).

Most reports are preceded by the covering letters from the Government of India, who distributed them to Political Offices in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. and elsewhere, and the original covering letter from the Jeddah Legation, who would send them to the Government of India and Government departments in London. From May 1933, most reports were sent directly to the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. at Bahrain from Jeddah.

Up until January 1933, each report began with an index giving a breakdown of the sections with references to the corresponding paragraph number. From January 1933 onwards no index is included.

Extent and format
1 file (266 folios)
Arrangement

The file is arranged chronologically.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover and terminates at the back cover; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are 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. An additional incomplete foliation sequence is also present in parallel between ff 6-11; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence.

Written in
English in Latin script
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'File 8/7 I Jidda Intelligence Reports' [‎28v] (56/536), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/2/295, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100025543724.0x000039> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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