Skip to item: of 540
Information about this record Back to top
Open in Universal viewer
Open in Mirador IIIF viewer

Coll 6/19 'Arabia: (Saudi Arabia) Hejaz-Nejd Annual Report.' [‎90r] (180/540)

This item is part of

The record is made up of 1 file (268 folios). It was created in 18 Apr 1931-18 May 1945. 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. .

Transcription

This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.

Apply page layout

25
sections of the line. The note expressed great regret, however, that the conference
had not been able to come to an agreement on the third item in the agenda, viz.,
the manner in which the cost of the work should be met, but had merely taken
note of the proposal of the principal Saudi delegate, to the effect that the recon
struction of the damaged sections should be effected at the expense of the line as
a whole, and had commended the matter to the consideration of the Governments
concerned. The note then quoted the French delegate as stating that the
conditions attached by the Lausanne declaration to contribution by the Syrian
section towards expenditure in respect of other sections had not been fulfilled in
that it had worked at a loss, and that the solution of this question must be
sought in some manner other than that now proposed. Finally, the note declared
that the only solution which would result in the reopening of the unserviceable
portion of the line was that the line should be considered as one and should bear
as a whole the expenses to be incurred on the damaged sections south of Maan.
Should the British (and French) Governments accept this “fundamental
principle,” there would naturally be occasion to discuss how the necessary funds
should be raised, whether by loan or by other means. The note concluded by
asking His Majesty’s Government to assist in the settlement of the question “ by
agreeing to the principle of the unity of the line.”
71. When transmitting a translation of the Saudi note to the Foreign
Office, Sir Andrew Ryan pointed out that while the Lausanne Declaration did in
fact provide that surplus profits accruing from particular sections should be
devoted to the upkeep and improvement of the whole railway, it did not contem
plate the unification of the various sections for all purposes, but rather the
contrary, and stated that the Saudi Government’s suggestion that the railway
should be considered a single entity was merely a particular application of their
old thesis that the railway was one because it was in their view a Waqf. Sir
Andrew Ryan also reported the indifference of his French colleague, which he
took to be an indication of the attitude of the French authorities in Syria. In
May the Foreign Office sent to the Colonial Office a semi-official letter regarding
the nature of the reply to be sent to the Saudi note, but nothing further was heard
of the matter at Jedda by the end of the year. It is realised that examination
of the Hejaz Railway question has been crowded out by more urgent matters.
72. According to a report by His Majesty’s consul at Damascus, there
was formed in Damascus in June a society calling itself the League for the
Defence of the Hejaz Railway, having for its declared objects an appeal to the
Moslem world for funds for the resuscitation of the line, the distribution of
propaganda to that end, and the collection of technical advice about the repair
of the unserviceable section. The Saudi Arabian consul in Damascus was said
to have read to the members of the league a telegram from Ibn Saud assuring the
league of his full support. A society with similar aims has been heard of in 1934,
and the league is perhaps that society under a new name.
73. Government of India Dispensaries .—As recorded in paragraph 64 of
the Annual Report for 1935, it was agreed in January 1936 that the Government
of India dispensaries should in future be subject to the Foreign Dispensaries
Regulations promulgated by the Saudi Government on the 4th October, 1935.
Dilatoriness on the part of the Saudi authorities in issuing the licences, provided
for in the regulations, for the medical personnel, for the reopening of the Mecca
dispensary for the 1936 Haj, and for the clearance of medical stores from the
Jedda customs led to somewhat acrimonious exchanges with Fuad Bey Hamza,
who, however, in a note of the 5th February, renewed assurances previously given
by Sheikh Yusuf Yasin to His Majesty’s Charge d’Affaires, that subject to the
regulation, the Saudi Arab Government would render all possible assistance to
the medical staff of the dispensaries and would do everything in their power to
facilitate their work. The dispensary at Mecca was, in fact, opened on the
9th February, some five weeks later than had been hoped, but no further diffi
culties were experienced during the period it was open, viz., until the 1st May.
The Saudi authorities acted up to their assurances on the whole during the
remainder of the year, although they showed a tendency to enlarge the provisions
of the regulations on one or two points of minor importance. They certainly
seemed to have lost little of their old sensitiveness on this question generally. The
dispensary at Jedda worked throughout the year without hindrance, and the
Mecca dispensary opened for the 1937 Haj on the 1st January, 1937.

About this item

Content

This file contains copies of annual reports regarding the Kingdom of Hejaz and Nejd (later Saudi Arabia) during the years 1930-1938 and 1943-1944.

The reports were produced by the British Minister at Jedda (Sir Andrew Ryan, succeeded by Sir Reader William Bullard) and sent to the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (and in the case of these copies, forwarded by the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs to the Under-Secretary of State for India), with the exception of the reports for 1943 and 1944, which appear to have been produced and sent by His Majesty's Chargé d’Affaires at Jedda, Stanley R Jordan.

The reports covering 1930-1938 discuss the following subjects: foreign relations; internal affairs; financial, economic and commercial affairs; military organisation; aviation; legislation; press; education; the pilgrimage; slavery and the slave trade; naval matters. The reports for 1943 and 1944 are rather less substantial. The 1943 report discusses Arab affairs, Saudi relations with foreign powers, finance, supplies, and the pilgrimage, whilst the 1944 report covers these subjects in addition to the following: the activities of the United States in Saudi Arabia, the Middle East Supply Centre, and the Saudi royal family.

The file includes a divider which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.

Extent and format
1 file (268 folios)
Arrangement

The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the file.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 269; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located at 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 foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 2-12 and ff 45-268; these numbers are also written in pencil but are not circled.

Written in
English in Latin script
View the complete information for this record

Use and share this item

Share this item
Cite this item in your research

Coll 6/19 'Arabia: (Saudi Arabia) Hejaz-Nejd Annual Report.' [‎90r] (180/540), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2085, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100036362870.0x0000b5> [accessed 29 March 2024]

Link to this item
Embed this item

Copy and paste the code below into your web page where you would like to embed the image.

<meta charset="utf-8"><a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100036362870.0x0000b5">Coll 6/19 'Arabia: (Saudi Arabia) Hejaz-Nejd Annual Report.' [&lrm;90r] (180/540)</a>
<a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100036362870.0x0000b5">
	<img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000555.0x00026f/IOR_L_PS_12_2085_0180.jp2/full/!280,240/0/default.jpg" alt="" />
</a>
IIIF details

This record has a IIIF manifest available as follows. If you have a compatible viewer you can drag the icon to load it.https://www.qdl.qa/en/iiif/81055/vdc_100000000555.0x00026f/manifestOpen in Universal viewerOpen in Mirador viewerMore options for embedding images

Use and reuse
Download this image