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Coll 6/21(2) 'Saudi Arabia: Relations with H.M.G.: Saudi Legation in London and British Minister in Jeddah. Prolongation of Treaty of Jedda.' [314r] (627/761)
The record is made up of 1 file (379 folios). It was created in 14 Jan 1935-12 Apr 1947. It was written in English and Arabic. 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).
April 29, 1935.
CONFIDENTIAL.
Section 4.
[E 2704/318/25]
Sir A. Ryan to Sir John Simon.—(Received Afril 29.)
of the draft note which Fuad Bey handed to me on the 30th March. This
document is intended as the basis of an eventual exchange of notes providing
for a prolongation of the validity of the treaty for ten years from the date of
signature, subject to certain provisos. If the principle of the extension were
agreed to, I presume that there would be no objection to effecting it by an exchange
of notes, but the drafting would, I think, require considerable amendment. In
particular, it would be necessary to define the position when the end of the
ten years was approaching.
2. I had conversations in general terms with Fuad Bey Hamza on the
3rd and the 5th April regarding his draft. I expressed personal sympathy with
the idea of a prolongation of the treaty for ten years, subject to agreement being
reached on the specific matters mentioned in the draft. I now submit the
following observations, based on my study of these matters and partly on my
conversations with Fuad Bey.
3. Fuad Bey wishes to reaffirm the position as regards traffic in arms, &c.,
created by letters (5) and (6) attached to the treaty. I suggested that this might
require careful consideration, not because His Majesty’s Government would wish
to prevent the Saudi Government from purchasing arms, &c., from British sources
in normal circumstances, but because the situation to-day was different from that
in 1927. Bearing in mind the correspondence ending with Foreign Office
despatch No. 120 of the 25th March, 1931, I observed that the Arms Traffic
Convention of 1925 had never come into force, and that there was now practically
no chance of its ever doing so. I observed, also, that the question of the purchase
of arms in abnormal circumstances, i.e., by belligerents, had of late attracted
great attention.
4. Fuad Bey’s proposal regarding the estates of pilgrims relates not to
letters (7) and (8) attached to the treaty, but to article 4 of the treaty itself. I
see no objection to the principle of the proposal, which would appear to have been
suggested by the correspondence regarding the sale of certain effects at Medina,
to which I referred in my telegram. It is for consideration whether the
opportunity should not be taken of getting rid of the inconvenient definition of
international practice in letter (8). This formed the subject of correspondence
ending with your despatch No. 332 of the 22nd August, 1931 (see paragraph 8
below).
5. I do not think that exception can be taken to the proposed reservation
regarding Aqaba and Ma’an. It would be hopeless in present circumstances to
attempt to get the Saudi Government to waive their claim, and its maintenance
in the form proposed might, if anything, be advantageous in the sense that the
exchange of notes would imply, even if it did not legally establish, the preservation
of the status quo for ten years.
6. The proposal that His Majesty’s Government should renounce the right
of manumission is crucial. My own view is that, if it were decided to abandon
this right in consideration of the promulgation of regulations on slavery, which
satisfied His Majesty’s Government, it would be a very good plan to provide for
the renunciation in the proposed exchange of notes, provided that the regulations
had been made public at some earlier date. When discussing the subject of
slavery with Fuad Bey, I put it to him that this would be the proper order of
two transactions which it was not desired to connect publicly with each other,
lest the Saudi Government should appear to have adopted the regulations under
[381 ff—4]
About this item
- Content
This file, like the previous volume (IOR/L/PS/12/2087), concerns relations between the British Government and the Government of Saudi Arabia.
The file largely consists of copies of Foreign Office correspondence, mainly between His Majesty's Minister at Jedda (Sir Andrew Ryan, Sir Reader William Bullard, Hugh Stonehewer Bird, and Stanley R Jordan successively) and officials of the Foreign Office. Other prominent correspondents include the following: the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs; His Majesty's Chargé d’Affaires to Jedda (Albert Spencer Calvert, succeeded by Alan Charles Trott); His Majesty's Ambassador in Baghdad (Sir Kinahan Cornwallis); Ibn Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd]; Amir Faisal [Fayṣal bin ‘Abd al-‘Azīz Āl Sa‘ūd], Minister of Foreign Affairs for Saudi Arabia; officials of the Colonial Office and the War Office.
The correspondence documents the progression of negotiations for a general settlement between the two governments, which would result in the initial prolongation of the validity of the Treaty of Jedda (the treaty signed between Britain and Ibn Saud in 1927, which initially expired in September 1934) for a period of seven years from 1936 (and for another seven years from 1943).
In addition to discussing matters relating to the proposed general settlement (e.g. the eastern and south-eastern boundaries of Saudi Arabia, slavery regulations, arms traffic, and Saudi debts), the correspondence also documents various visits and meetings, including the following:
- The visit of Amir Saud [Āl Sa‘ūd, Sa‘ūd bin ‘Abd al-‘Azīz, heir apparent of Ibn Saud] to Britain (17 June-1 July 1935), accompanied by Fuad Bey Hamza, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs for Saudi Arabia.
- Further meetings at the Foreign Office between Fuad Bey Hamza, Hafiz Wahba (Saudi Minister in London), Sir Andrew Ryan, George William Rendel (Head of the Foreign Office's Eastern Department), and other Foreign Office officials, in July 1935, following on from meetings in September 1934.
- Sir Andrew Ryan's meetings with Ibn Saud in Riyadh in December 1935 and in Jedda in February 1936.
- Four interviews held between Ibn Saud, Sir Reader William Bullard and George William Rendel, in Jedda, during March 1937.
Also discussed are matters relating to the Second World War, including:
- An exchange of letters between Ibn Saud and the British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, in early 1939, which principally relate to Ibn Saud's concerns regarding his country's security in the event of the beginning of general hostilities.
- German radio broadcasts in Jedda during the first few weeks of the Second World War and their possible effect on the Jedda population.
- The possibility of Iraq and Saudi Arabia formally joining the Allies in the Second World War.
In addition to correspondence the file includes the following: a copy of a programme for Amir Saud's visit to Britain (ff 339-348); exchanges of notes (in English and Arabic) between the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the British Legation at Jedda, confirming the prolongation of the Treaty of Jedda, dated 1936 and 1943 respectively (ff 189-192 and ff 4-5); a sketch map showing air routes over Saudi Arabia and Iraq (f 31v).
Although the material in this file falls inside the date range of 1935-1943, the final document in the file does include an additional date stamp which is marked '12 April 1947'.
The file includes two dividers which give a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. These are placed at the back of the correspondence.
- Extent and format
- 1 file (379 folios)
- Arrangement
The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the file.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 380; 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 and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script View the complete information for this record
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Coll 6/21(2) 'Saudi Arabia: Relations with H.M.G.: Saudi Legation in London and British Minister in Jeddah. Prolongation of Treaty of Jedda.' [314r] (627/761), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2088, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100048209026.0x00001e> [accessed 19 April 2024]
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- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/12/2088
- Title
- Coll 6/21(2) 'Saudi Arabia: Relations with H.M.G.: Saudi Legation in London and British Minister in Jeddah. Prolongation of Treaty of Jedda.'
- Pages
- front, front-i, 2r:4r, 5r, 6r:31r, 32r:75v, 77r:77v, 79r:152v, 158r:173v, 175r:180v, 186r:187v, 188v:189r, 190v:191r, 192r:199v, 201r:204v, 206r:266v, 269r:275v, 276v:278v, 280r:286v, 288r:293r, 295r:314r, 316r:380v, back
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence