Coll 6/19 'Arabia: (Saudi Arabia) Hejaz-Nejd Annual Report.' [‎219r] (438/540)

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Its
international concern, especially (though subject to some doubt as to the
advisability from a British point of view of stressing the international aspects
of the Arabian air route and the sanitary control of the pilgrimage), in connexion
with communications, more particularly aerial communications, and health
^ control; and still more its advantages in connexion with the eventual relations
between Hejaz-Nejd and Iraq. Mr. Henderson went on to express some doubt, on
the other hand, as to whether the League itself would be strengthened by the
admission of a country so primitive. He dwelt, in this connexion, on the difficulty
created by Ibn Saud’s attitude as regards slavery, which might cause other
Powers to object, and thereby place His Majesty's Government in an invidious
position were they too active in encouraging the King to seek membership. He
glanced next at the awkwardness which might result from the requirement of the
League that an applicant State must possess established frontiers, having regard
to the uncertainty of the frontier between Asir and the Yemen, and the
provisional character of that between the Hejaz and Transjordan Used in three contexts: the geographical region to the east of the River Jordan (literally ‘across the River Jordan’); a British protectorate (1921-46); an independent political entity (1946-49) now known as Jordan , matters the
discussion of which at Geneva would be inconvenient. The despatch then dealt at
length with the legal questions arising out of the inclusion of the Hejaz, then a
separate country under King Hussein, in the list of original members of the
League referred to in article 1 of the Covenant and its subsequent incorporation
in Ibn Saud’s dominions. The general conclusion reached on a balance of
arguments was that the nature of the union between the Hejaz and Nejd was so
much in the nature of a “ real ’ ’ union, that both must be held to have disappeared
as separate international units, and to have been replaced by a new single State.
It was deduced that, while the effects of such a union would not involve an
extinction of all the international obligations of the component States, it would no
longer be open to the Hejaz to ratify the Treaty of Versailles, or to become
separately a member of the League; and that the only possible procedure would
be for the new joint state of Hejaz-Nejd to apply for election as a member.
Sir A. Ryan was authorised to convey His Majesty’s Government’s views on the
legal situation to the Hejazi authorities, if they again approached him, and to
discuss the matter generally in the light of the considerations set forth in the
despatch; but he was informed in a concluding paragraph that they were all
subject to the general principle that His Majesty’s Government desired to see
membership of the League as universal as possible. “ They cannot, consistently
with this principle,” said Mr. Henderson, “do anything to dissuade a State
which is now outside the League, but wishes to come in, from applying for
membership. If, therefore, the Hejazi Government express such a wish, you
should say that His Majesty’s Government welcome their decision and will
support their candidature at Geneva.”
108. On the 8th July, Fuad Bey reverted to the subject in conversation with
His Majesty’s Minister. He seemed anxious to obtain a written statement of the
conclusions which His Majesty’s Government had formed from their study of
the question as broached in 1930. Sir A. Ryan was unwilling to give him one, in
view of the delicacy of many of the matters discussed in the Foreign Office
despatch, but, on the 15th July, he made an oral statement based principally on
the portion of it dealing with the legal situation, which Fuad Bey admitted to
be indeterminate so far as the relations between the Hejaz and Nejd were
concerned The Minister refrained from any reference to the possibility that
the question of frontiers might give rise to difficulty; nor did he revert to the
question of slavery, as Fuad Bey had been acquainted with the views of His
Majesty’s Government on that subject in other conversations. He asked
Fuad Bey in the course of the conversation whether his Government had made
up their minds to seek admission to the League, and, having been told that they
were merely looking into the matter, he withheld the statement contemplated in
the passage quoted at the end of the preceding paragraph. The Hejazi
Government did not pursue the matter further with the Legation up to the end
of the year.
109. The two preceding paragraphs give a sufficiently accurate general
view of what passed in 1931. It is, however, so condensed that anyone specially
interested in the matter would do well to peruse the actual correspondence,
especially the full text of Mr. Henderson’s despatch. The exchange of views
with His Majesty’s Government may have slightly influenced, but did not
determine the action of the Hejazi Government in connexion with certain