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Coll 6/11 'Hejaz-Nejd Affairs: Economic Development in the Hejaz' [49r] (98/504)
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. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
THIS DOCUMENT IS THE PROPERTY OF HIS BRITANNIC MAJESTY’S GOVERNMENT
EASTERN (Arabia). December 16, 1935.
CONFIDENTIAL. Section 2.
[E 7322/602/25]
Mr. Calvert to Sir Samuel Hoare.—{Received December 16.)
(No. 339.)
Si 1 , ^ Jedda, November 26, 1935.
WITH reference to my despatch No. 277 of the 8th October, relative to the
activities of the Saudi Arabian Mining Syndicate (Limited), I have the honour
to inform you that the operations of this concern appear to be making steady
progress. Mr. Twitched recently informed me that diamond-drilling, carried out
by six Swedish employees of the syndicate, was now proceeding night and day, and
that a depth of some 80 feet had been attained.
2. Since my despatch under reference the personnel of the syndicate has
been further increased by the arrival of two British employees, Messrs. Dunckley
and McDermott, the former as manager of the Jedda office and the latter, a son of
a director of the syndicate, as a surveyor; of two Americans, one Dutchman, one
German and one Greek. Mr. C. L. W. Bindloss, the engineer on the Jedda stafT
of Messrs. Gellatly, Hankey and Co. (Sudan) (Limited), also has now taken up a
similar post under the syndicate.
3. A large quantity of stores, vehicles and machinery, including the
diamond drills, have arrived since my despatch under reference, and a great
proportion has been successfully transported to the mine, in spite of difficulties
over one stretch of the road Jedda-Asfan-al-Birka- Mahd-adh-Dhahab, on which
work is still proceeding.
4. Work is also going on in the construction of houses, built of local stone,
at the mine, whilst at Jedda it is reliably stated that the syndicate have acquired
an area of some 300 or 400 yards square, about 1 mile north of the town close to
the shore, where it is proposed to erect houses for the staff, workshops, store
rooms and garages, and it is also projected in due course to construct a pier out
to deep water to facilitate the loading and unloading of their materials.
5. According to revised estimates, I should now be disposed to place the
mine at roughly 23° 30' N. by 41° E. An unconfirmed statement has reached me
that an area of 1 square mile has been granted by the syndicate to a company,
perhaps a subsidiary company, formed to prospect and exploit that area.
6. I am sending a copy of this despatch to
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
and the Department
of Overseas Trade.
I have, &c.
A. S. CALVERT.
[581 q—2]
About this item
- 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 View the complete information for this record
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Coll 6/11 'Hejaz-Nejd Affairs: Economic Development in the Hejaz' [49r] (98/504), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2077, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100038032899.0x000063> [accessed 24 April 2024]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/12/2077
- Title
- Coll 6/11 'Hejaz-Nejd Affairs: Economic Development in the Hejaz'
- Pages
- front, front-i, 2r:35v, 38r:38v, 40r:115v, 117r:119v, 139r:140v, 143r:148v, 160r:162v, 188r:210v, 213r:213v, 215r:223v, 225r:244v, 247r:251v, back
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence