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Coll 6/19 'Arabia: (Saudi Arabia) Hejaz-Nejd Annual Report.' [‎215v] (431/540)

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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. .

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32
Dutch East Indies owing to the large part played by Hadhramis in their
commercial life and the politico-religious rivalries between sections of their
Moslem population.
79. It appears to be contrary to the policy of the Netherlands Government
to enter into treaty relations with Ibn Saud as long as this can be avoided. Their
relations with him are, however, eminently friendly. The proposed arrangements
for establishing full diplomatic intercourse were completed in principle in July,
when the Hejaz-Nejd Minister in London was appointed in the same capacity at
The Hague, one of the Al-Fadhl family appointed first secretary in charge of the
Legation there and a consul appointed to Batavia. These arrangements had not
taken effect up to the end of the year, probably owing to the difficulty of financing
them. Indeed, the Al-Fadhl earmarked for Holland was subsequently given
another post in Jedda. As regards the consul at Batavia, it is interesting to note
that the proposal to appoint one was mooted at about the same time as that to
send consuls to Bombay and Singapore (see paragraph 70 (a)). The Netherlands
authorities at first seemed disposed to block it, but would appear to have ended
by giving their consent in accordance with their general policy of following the
line of least resistance in matters affecting Ibn Saud and the interest of their
Moslem subjects in the pilgrimage.
80. The great diminution in the number of pilgrims from Java, which is
referred to elsewhere, has been a severe blow to the Hejaz, as the Dutch East
Indian pilgrims had previously been the most important, the most prosperous and
perhaps the most manageable single element in the pilgrimage. Ibn Saud showed
his politic consideration for them in 1931 by undertaking to finance the repatria
tion of some ninety destitute Javanese pilgrims. Destitution on this scale was a
new feature, and the Dutch Legation in Jedda had no funds at their disposal
with which to cope with it.
81. The Islamised Dutchman, Van de Poll, who had lived many years in
Jedda, built up an important business and cut a certain figure, left the Hejaz in
the summer to settle in Algeria. His business, the principal element in which was
the agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. for the British and Dutch Blue Funnel Lines, was reorganised as a
mixed Anglo-Dutch concern under the name of International Agencies (Limited).
(5) Soviet Russia.
82. There were again no signs in 1931 of Soviet diplomatic activity of a
purely political nature in the Hejaz, or of any definite efforts to promote
communism by means of unofficial agents in the Holy Cities. In the summer,
however, the Russian Minister, M. Touracoulov, became commercially active and
made several visits to Mecca. His main objective, or, at any rate, his one visible
achievement, was a deal in petroleum products, the way for which was prepared
by the non-renewal of the contract between the Government and the Egyptian
Shell Company, which had expired at the end of 1930, and the failure of
negotiations with other interests, including those represented by the German
consul, M. de Haas, who at one time seemed to be on the point of securing a
contract to supply Roumanian products. In or about July the Russian Minister
obtained an order for some £30,000 worth of benzine and kerosene. It is
believed that the original arrangement provided for payment in four equal
instalments, the first to be paid on delivery, the remainder at intervals of two
months. The Soviet Legation subsequently agreed to easier terms, with the
result that, although the benzine, &c., was delivered in Jedda in two consignments
on the 20th October and the 26th November, no payment had been made up to the
end of the year.
83. This transaction was said to have been to some extent forced on the
Hejazi Government by the Soviet Minister, who was understood to be pursuing
at the same time the larger object of inducing Ibn Saud to remove the restrictions
on Russian trade generally. The precise operation of those restrictions is not
very easy to determine. There would appear to be still a general embargo on
imports from Russia, co-existent with a regulation subjecting such goods as may
be imported in spite of the prohibition to a fourfold duty. In practice, certain
Russian goods, e.g., sugar, matches and cement, do find their way into the Hejazi
market from Massowah and other ports, but the restrictions, whatever their
exact nature, are sufficient to hamper the trade. The Soviet Minister had not

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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.

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English in Latin script
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Coll 6/19 'Arabia: (Saudi Arabia) Hejaz-Nejd Annual Report.' [‎215v] (431/540), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2085, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100036362872.0x000020> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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