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Coll 6/10 'Hejaz-Nejd Affairs: Financial Situation and Internal Situation' [‎271r] (548/1310)

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The record is made up of 1 volume (649 folios). It was created in 21 Jun 1928-26 Aug 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. .

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THIS DOCUMENT IS THE PROPERTY OF HIS BRITANH1C MAJESTY’S GOVERNMENT
EASTERN (Arabia).
CONFIDENTIAL.
[E 2401/2401/25]
May 8, 1933-y
Section 1 .
P. Z.
5523
193?
No. 1.
Sir A. Ryan to Sir John Simon—(Received Man 8 )
(No. 118.)
Sir, Jedda, April 16, 1933.
WITH reference to paragraph 32 of the Jedda report enclosed in my
despatch No. 102 of the 7th April, I have the honour to state that Ibn Sand
arrived in Jedda early yesterday and gave the usual series of formal audiences
to the heads of foreign missions in the forenoon. He is staying at a large
house which has recently been built by the Minister of Finance about a mile
outside the town. It is already rumoured that the so-called “ Green Palace ”
is to be turned into a hotel. Be this as it may, it is interesting to note the
tightening of the connexion between His Majesty and Sheikh Abdullah Suleiman,
who spends but little time in Jedda and may have built his new house partly
with a view to his master’s convenience.
2. I found the King affable, but he did not appear to be in the same good
form as when I last saw him at the end of last August; I cannot say that he
looked ill, but he gave the impression of suffering from nervous worry. He
seemed distrait, and I had to initiate almost every subject of conversation.
The nature of the audience required that the topics should be general. We
discoursed of our respective states of health, the excellent rains that have fallen
in Nejd, the virtues of water and the broader aspects of the recent pilgrimage.
The most striking feature of this last part of the conversation was the King’s
eagerness to assure me of his readiness to entertain suggestions for the
betterment of pilgrimage conditions. He repeated this assurance at least
twice.
3. Mr. Furlonge, who was with me, agrees generally with my impression
of the King’s physical state. He had not seen His Majesty for nearly two
years and would not like to express himself too confidently, but he thought
that Ibn Saud presented the appearance of having aged considerably.
4. The King’s plans appear to be uncertain. If I should have any
conversation with him of an important nature during his stay in Jedda, I will
report separately.
5. I am sending copies of this despatch to His Majesty’s Ambassador
at Bagdad, to His Majesty’s 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 , to the
honourable 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 to His Majesty s
Chief Commissioner at Aden.
I have, &c.
ANDREW RYAN.

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Content

This volume largely 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, succeeded by Albert Spencer Calvert), relates to financial and political matters in the Kingdom of the Hejaz and Nejd (later Saudi Arabia).

The correspondence discusses the following:

  • The history of the Wahabi movement and Ibn Saud's [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd's] attitude towards Wahabism.
  • The currency exchange crisis in the Hejaz.
  • Requests from Ibn Saud for the British Government either to assist in establishing a British bank as a state bank in the Hejaz, or to provide a loan directly to the Hejazi Government (both requests are declined).
  • The British Minister at Jedda's accounts of his meetings both with Ibn Saud and with various Hejazi/Saudi Government officials.
  • A Hejazi-Soviet contract for the supply of Soviet benzine and relations between Soviet Russia and Hejaz-Nejd generally.
  • Tensions within the Hejazi Government.
  • The Hejazi Government's budgetary reforms.
  • The prospect of a new Saudi state bank, possibly backed by the financial assistance of the former ex-Khedive of Egypt [ʿAbbās Ḥilmī II].
  • The death of Emir Abdullah ibn Jiluwi [‘Abdullāh bin Jilūwī Āl Sa‘ūd].
  • Saudi-Egyptian relations.
  • The discovery of oil in Hasa.

In addition to correspondence the volume includes the following:

The volume includes three dividers, which give a list of correspondence references contained in the volume by year. These are placed at the back of the correspondence.

Extent and format
1 volume (649 folios)
Arrangement

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

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the first folio with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 651; 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. The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers. A previous foliation sequence, which is present between ff 563-649 and is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.

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English in Latin script
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Coll 6/10 'Hejaz-Nejd Affairs: Financial Situation and Internal Situation' [‎271r] (548/1310), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2074, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100050632226.0x000095> [accessed 23 April 2024]

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