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Coll 6/11 'Hejaz-Nejd Affairs: Economic Development in the Hejaz' [‎44r] (88/504)

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The record is made up of 1 file (250 folios). It was created in 23 Dec 1929-12 Aug 1937. 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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THIS DOCUMENT IS THE PROPERTY OF HIS BRITANNIC MAJESTY’S GOVERNMENT
EASTERN (Arabia).
CONFIDENTIAL.
[E 601/271/25]
February 3, 1936.
Section 2.
Sir A. Ryan to Mr. Eden.—(Received February 3.)
(No. 21.)
Sir, Jedda, January 13, 1936.
WITH reference to Mr. Calvert’s despatch No 339 o f the 26th November,
I have the honour to state that, in view of the great development of the operations
of the Saudi Arabian Mining Syndicate (Limited) during my absence from Jedda
last year, I requested Mr. Calvert to prepare a general memorandum on the
position reached by the end of 1935. Although this memorandum includes
certain information which has already been reported to your Department, it
adds a good deal that has come to the knowledge of the Legation since the date
of the despatch under reference and gives a useful comprehensive picture of
what has become the most important industrial enterprise in the west of Saudi
Arabia. I therefore enclose a copy of it.
2. Most of the information collected hy Mr. Calvert is fairly generally
known here, but I would ask that section (c) should be regarded as confidential,
especially as the map mentioned in the third sentence was shown privately to
the member of my staff concerned by a subordinate employee of the syndicate,
who thought afterwards that he had committed an indiscretion. The Legation
has to reckon with the fact that Mr. Twitched, the general manager, is a somewhat
secretive person, who might easily make it more difficult to obtain information,
if he thought it were likely to be made public.
3. Work on the road from Jedda to the Mahd is still in progress, and i
understand that as far as approximately 72 miles from Jedda the road may be
described, from the point of view of light motor transport, as good. The central
portion of the total distance still presents difficulty, but the syndicate are now
equipped with modern road-making machinery. Activity also continues at the
Jedda “ terminal ” of the road, where the construction of the compound referred
to in paragraph 4 of the despatch under reference, on an area now stated to be
300 by 150 yards, is proceeding steadily.
4. I am sending copies of this despatch and enclosure to the Department
of Overseas Trade and to his Excellency the High Commissioner for 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 .
I have, &c.
ANDREW RYAN.
Enclosure.
Memorandum respecting the Saudi Arabian Mining Syndicate, {Limited),
Mining Concession.
(Confidential.)
(a) Areas being worked, or about to be worked {or prospected in the near future).
THE operations of the Saudi Arabian Mining Syndicate commenced in
March 1935 at the Mahd-adh-Dhahab (position according to latest estimates at
23 degrees 30 minutes north by 41 degrees east) and near Yanbu’. The latter
workings, where Mr. Shanks was engaged, were abandoned in the early summer,
but the former have continued and have been developed with considerable
prospects of success.
Under the terms of the original concession reported to the Foreign Office by
Sir Andrew Ryan's despatch No. 56 of the 24th February, 1935, by which areas
which it is desired to prospect further should be designated within one year, and
areas for exploitation must be fixed and subsidiary exploitation companies
[631 c—2]

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Content

This file mostly consists of copies of Foreign Office correspondence, which have been forwarded by the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs to the Under-Secretary of State for India. The correspondence, most of which is between Foreign Office officials and either the British Minister at Jedda (Sir Andrew Ryan, succeeded by Sir Reader William Bullard) or His Majesty's Chargé d’Affaires at Jedda (Cecil Gervase Hope Gill, Albert Spencer Calvert, and Alan Charles Trott), relates to the economic development of the Kingdom of the Hejaz and Nejd (later Saudi Arabia). Other correspondents include the Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. (Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Trenchard Craven William Fowle) and officials of the Government of India's Foreign and Political Department.

The opinion expressed by British correspondents near the beginning of the file is that the unsatisfactory state of the country's finances is a result of its complete dependence on the pilgrimage for income. Much of the file is concerned with various projects (such as water and mineral surveys) sanctioned by Ibn Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd] in order to explore other sources of revenue.

Items of discussion include the following:

  • News that Ibn Saud intends to establish a power station for the purpose of providing Mecca and Jedda with electricity.
  • Ibn Saud's wish to establish a state bank, preferably a British bank, to improve the financial situation in the country.
  • Four reports on the country's water and mineral resources, produced by American engineer and geologist Karl Saben Twitchell in 1932 (copies of three of the four reports are included).
  • The British Minister at Jedda's thoughts on how the economic unification of the newly-formed Saudi Arabia will progress.
  • Proposed improvements to Jedda's water supply.
  • The establishment of an 'Arabian Steam Navigation Company' by the Saudi Government.
  • Details of the Saudi Arabian Mining Syndicate's concession with the Saudi Government for the exploitation of gold and other minerals, which was negotiated by Twitchell, signed in December 1934, and ratified by Ibn Saud in February 1935.
  • Reports of anti-Ibn Saud propaganda in the Indian Muslim press.
  • Details of the Saudi Arabian Mining Syndicate's activities in Saudi Arabia.
  • The history of the Ahrar movement in India, its political party, Majlis-i-Ahrar-i-Islam, and its reported condemnation of the recent Saudi mining concession.

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 (250 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 inside front cover with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 251; 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 2-251; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.

Written in
English in Latin script
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Coll 6/11 'Hejaz-Nejd Affairs: Economic Development in the Hejaz' [‎44r] (88/504), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2077, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100038032899.0x000059> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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