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Coll 6/10 'Hejaz-Nejd Affairs: Financial Situation and Internal Situation' [‎515r] (1036/1310)

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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 BRITANNIC MAJESTY’S GOVERNMENT
EASTERN (Arabia).
CONFIDENTIAL.
[E 4167/1600/25]
No.
6918
August 12, 1931.
Section 4 .
» Sir A. Ryan to Mr. A. Henderson.—{Received August 12.)
(No. 280.) ^ t.xMHli
^ ir ’ Jedda, July 12, 1931.
Irsl my despatch No. 200 of the 28th May I attempted to review the general
situation in this country with special reference to the Hejaz as distinct from
Nejd and its dependencies. Now that Ibn Saud has gone to Riadh and I myself
am about to go on leave, I should like to bring the review up to date.
2. It is generally felt that the King, having concentrated his attention on
the affairs of the Hejaz for over a year, his first prolonged stay in this part of his
dominions since he completed his conquest of it, has left those affairs in a hopeless
mess. It is even suggested by some that he has run away from them. I under
stand that the situation has given rise to extravagant rumours abroad, one of
them being that His Majesty had decided to abdicate in favour of his son Feisal,
presumably in the Hejaz, of which that Prince is Viceroy, or in favour of both
his elder sons, Saud and Feisal. A report in the latter sense, published in a Cairo
newspaper, was formally contradicted in the Umm-al-Qura ” of the 10th July.
3. The feeling one has at present is a sense, not of greater apparent trouble
than in May, but of a lack of central direction. The Hejaz has been left like a
waterlogged and half-dismantled ship without any particular signs of a wind to
blow it either into port or to destruction. It is hard to say who is governing the
country. The King is too far away and probably too fed up not to be glad of
a rest from the Hejaz. The young Viceroy has been too much in the background
of late to make it possible to judge of his capacity for affairs. Among the
‘‘statesmen” the two most important factors are Sheikh Abdullah Suleiman,
who is strong, and Fuad Bey Hamza, who is active and industrious. It remains
to be seen whether this not very happily assorted triumvirate can carry on until
next pilgrimage.
4. I can add nothing to what I said in paragraph 3 of my despatch under
reference regarding the situation in the interior. There is the same anxiety
about it in the towns. The same rumours float about, occasionally perhaps a little
more precise, but usually fantastic. In the imagination of the quidnuncs of
Mecca and Jedda, Jauf “falls” periodically, no one knows into whose hands.
A recent rumour has filled the lacuna in the case of Tebuk, which was said to have
fallen “to the rebels.”
5. In paragraph 4 of my previous despatch I referred to the King’s
religious position. There has been an interesting development in this connexion.
It became known towards the end of June that he had made concessions to his
extremists. He allowed to be published in the “ Umm-al-Qura ” of the 26th June
a long remonstrance addressed to him by the Ulema of Nejd regarding the
repetition this year of the Accession Day celebrations instituted in January 1930.
The writers claimed politely but firmly that it was their right and duty to call the
King’s attention to the irreligiousness of celebrations, which they had condoned
in 1930 as there might be political reasons for them, but the perpetuation of
which could not be tolerated. The King’s reply, which was also published,
expressed his delight at being thus counselled. He deferred to the judgment of
the ulema, and asked the forgiveness of God for his offence.
6. About the same time steps were taken to tighten up the regulations
against vicious practices, like abstention from prayer, the public use or sale of
tobacco (the importation of which is nevertheless still tolerated) and the use ol
gramophones, &c. These regulations had been considerably relaxed and the
special courts or committees for the enforcement of them had disappeared, ihese
have now been reconstituted, and the task of enforcing the restrictions has been
divided between them and the civil authorities. Stocks of gramophone needles
were seized, and it is said that they can now only be bought from the police; but
I will not vouch for this libel on the public service of a friendly Power. It is
too soon to say whether the recent measures mark a definite change of poke}
[219 m—4]

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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' [‎515r] (1036/1310), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2074, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100050632229.0x000025> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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