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PZ 1115/1938 'Col. Dickson's visit to Riyadh and conversations with Ibn Saud.' [‎15v] (30/96)

The record is made up of 1 file (48 folios). It was created in 18 Aug 1937-26 Feb 1938. 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

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mssm
2
Enclosure.
The Hejaz Railway.
SHOULD the line from Ma’an to Medina be rebuilt, and, if so, should His#
Majesty’s Government pay part or the whole of the cost of rebuilding ?
The main considerations, for and against.
(1) The line is necessary.
The line would be convenient for some pilgrims, but it cannot be considered
necessary, for pilgrims manage very well without it, either sailing from Syrian or
Palestinian ports or going by rail to Suez and taking ship from there. When the
Hejaz Railway was planned motor transport was hardly thought of. To-day
pilgrims can travel from Nejaf to Medina quite easily by car, and although the
journey from Ma’an to Medina by car is at present very difficult, it has been
accomplished, and the route might perhaps be improved for much less money than
would have to be spent on a railway. The passenger traffic on the line would be
seasonal, with a very low level for three-quarters of the year and a rise with two
tremendous peaks in the remaining quarter. The Hejaz Railway would be
particularly useful for pilgrims from Turkey, but for the last ten years the number
of Turkish pilgrims has not exceeded 200, and this low figure, which is due to the
financial and religious policy of the Turkish Government, is not likely to rise
considerably for a long time, if ever. How far a railway is required for transport
ing grain from 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 to the Hejaz must be left for experts. The transport
of grain is effected somehow at present, and it must be remembered that a railway
would deprive of their livelihood many people who now live by animal transport
in that area.
(2) His Majesty’s Government should rebuild the line because it was they who
destroyed, it.
In the first place it must be remembered that the line was built in the teeth
of the Sharif (afterwards King) Husain. He and his tribes did, in fact, prevent
the extension of the line to Mecca. It is no excuse to say that the Hejaz did not
want a railway connecting it with Turkey, but does want one connecting it with
the Arab States to the north. The fact remains that if the Sharif Husain had
had his way the line would never have reached Medina. Then, while it is true to
say that His Majesty’s Government destroyed the line, the destruction was
accomplished with the assent and enthusiastic co-operation of the Arabs in com
bined operations for a common end, and the Arabs gained enormously as the result
of the war, and at extremely low cost to themselves. Besides, what of the other
countries allied to or associated with Great Britain for the purposes of the war ?
To represent the destruction of the railway as effected by His Majesty’s Govern
ment for their own ends is unreasonable and unfair.
(3) His Majesty’s Government would gain credit in the Moslem World if they
faid for the reconstruction of the line.
We do not seem to have incurred blame for the obvious part we took in the
destruction of the line, and discredit is easier to acquire than credit. Our credit
in the Moslem world is likely to rest upon more essential matters, e.g., our policy
in Palestine. We might even be attacked in some quarters for interfering in the
Holy Land, for constructing a railway with strategical and imperialistic aims,
and so on. To meet, or to forestall, such criticisms Ibn Saud would probably have
to minimise any part played by His Majesty’s Government in the business, just as
at present he is carefully keeping the name of Italy out of all references to Saudi
aviation, which is indebted to Italy in many respects for such little activity as it
is showing. To sum up : the credit gained would probably be small, and there
would be criticism which would counteract it, at least to some extent; and his
position in the Moslem world might even compel Ibn Saud to minimise the part
His Majesty’s Government had played in the restoration of the line.

About this item

Content

The file consists of correspondence and other papers mainly relating to the private visit of Colonel Harold Richard Patrick Dickson to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and his three private conversations with King Ibn Saud.

It includes correspondence between John Charles Walton, 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. , and Dickson, including a letter from Walton to Dickson of 2 November 1937 enclosing a summary of Dickson’s three private conversations with Ibn Saud, in which the views of Ibn Saud on Palestine and relations with the British Government are quoted (folios 33-44). The file also includes correspondence between Walton and the following concerning the visit: George William Rendel, Foreign Office; Sir Findlater Stewart, 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. ; and M J Clauson, 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. .

There is also correspondence between 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. and the Secretary of State for India, and between H. Lacy Baggallay, Foreign Office, and M J Clauson, 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. .

Extent and format
1 file (48 folios)
Arrangement

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

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 48; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio.

A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.

Written in
English in Latin script
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PZ 1115/1938 'Col. Dickson's visit to Riyadh and conversations with Ibn Saud.' [‎15v] (30/96), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/245, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100041284252.0x00001f> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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