Coll 6/19 'Arabia: (Saudi Arabia) Hejaz-Nejd Annual Report.' [‎15v] (31/540)

2
Paragrapli
II.—Foreign relations (contd .)—
(C) With Powers outside Arabia
(contd .)—
Italy ...
159
Germany
172
Turkey
174
Egypt
181
Soviet Russia
188
Spain ...
192
Afghanistan ...
194
Iran
195
United States
197
J apan
200
China
205
(D) Position in regard to the general
international system
and
the
League of Nations
206
(E) Treaties
209
III.—Internal affairs—-
General situation
210
Economic and financial
216
Constitutional development
and
ad-
ministration ...
220
Paragraph
IV.—Military and naval organisation ...
222
V.—Aviation—
Saudi air force ...
226
Other aviation
234
VI.—Press
237
VII.—Legislation
239
VIII.—Education
241
IX.—Public health
244
X.—The pilgrimage
248
XI.—Slavery
258
XII.—Naval matters
260
XIII.—Miscellaneous
267
I.—^Introduction.
THE year began well and ended well for Ibn Sand, though he is believed
to have passed through a slough of despond in the middle. The Athlone visit
and the discovery of oil in his territory in paying quantities gave him obvious
satisfaction. The Palestine question, however, must have caused him acute
anxiety as the year progressed, and then there were the perplexities aroused
by the Anglo-Italian Agreement and, later, the anxiety due to the acute crisis
in Europe. By November, however, the worst of the crisis was over, the Palestine
outlook had improved owing to the abandonment of the partition proposal, and
fresh wells began to yield oil in commercial quantities. It may be true, as one
observer maintained, that during the summer Ibn Saud seemed to take little
interest in public affairs, but he showed keen interest and activity in the arrange
ments for the London discussions about Palestine, and it was felt that if his
energies had ever been inclined to droop, they had been revived by the opportunity
he now had to use his influence in the Arab world and to show his critics what
he could do when he thought fit to take action.
II.—Foreign Relations.
(A)— General.
Increasing Contact with the Outside World.
2. The penetration of Arabia proceeds apace. The country has now been
crossed by an English princess—the third non-Moslem lady to accomplish this
feat. American geologists have been all over Hasa, and even into the Rub-al-
Khali, in their search for oil. In the summer of 1937 an English engineer had
spent three months in Riyadh erecting an electric-lighting plant for Ibn Saud :
for the last few months of 1938 an American driller was sinking a deep well
a few miles from Riyadh in a search for water for irrigation. There are about
sixty Europeans and Americans in Jedda now as against some ten or twelve
a dozen years ago. The Soviet Legation closed down in September, but economic
development is bringing Ibn Saud into contact with the United States and world
politics into contact with Germany.
Regulations affecting foreigners.
3 A, regulation governingyhe residenc£Lof Joxeigaexs in. Saudi Arabia was
published in the Umm-al-Qura of the 28th January, 1938, and became effective
from the beginning of 1357 a.h. (the 2nd March, 1938). It requires all foreigners
of more than 18 years of age who desire to reside in the Saudi Arabian Kingdom