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Coll 6/8(1) 'Printed Series: 1929 to 1938.' [‎64r] (132/1062)

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The record is made up of 1 volume (527 folios). It was created in 6 Jan 1929-15 Jan 1938. It was written in English and French. 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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, , 70
the poiiticaffspeofarishag out o^the'ZesUon of V Wh ° le ' V Part fr ° m
Z Palestine
tion in Syria have no surplus fnmk ^f 11 SeCtWn and the sec -
expenditure for renewals wdP f dS wllatsoever > wlnle heavy
pilgrims, each paying £P i 2 f or ia . Tto n "“/ that lf 7,000
annually by the railwav thl f tlcket ’ were carried
pilgrims put forward by the Saudi delegates is much exaggerated for only
relatively few pilgrims, from Syria, Iraq, Palestine aid Trans-Jordan
\vith a few in transit from India, pass by this route. Consequently I can*
not suppose that His Majesty’s Government, or indeed anyVlie/source,
would be willing to provide a sum of nearly £P. 200,000 for the repair of
a line which could be expected to earn so inadequate a return. And if
restoration of the railway has any value commercially it is almost exclu
sively as a means to develop the northern Hejaz and to revive Medina, and
to that extent any financial liability should rest entirely on the Saudi
Government.
4. I need hardly say that I should be very glad if an agreed means
could be found for the provision of the required capital. Apart from the
incidental benefits which might be expected to accrue to Palestine and
Trans-Jordan, as explained in my despatch Confidential B of the 14th June,
1934, I think that an agreement leading to the restoration of the line would
favourably affect the political relations between His Majesty’s Govern
ment and King Ibn Saud. But His Majesty’s Government are better able
than I to judge what weight should be given to this consideration.
(91)
Letter from the Colonial Office, to the Resident at Aden, dated 7th
December 1936.
I have the honour to refer to Lieutenant-Colonel Lake’s despatch No.
426 of the 2nd of September on the subject of the ownership by foreigners
of immovable property in the Yemen, and to inform you that I have been
in consultation with the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs on the
matter.
2. Under the Treaty of Sana’a, on which the treaty relations of His
Majesty’s Government with the Government of the Yemen are based, Hia
Majesty’s Government have recognised the complete and absolute indepen
dence of the King of the Yemen, who consequently is free to enact any
internal legislation he may wish. There is nothing in that Treaty to pre
vent him from imposing restrictive legislation on British subjects m the
matter of their ownership of real property in his country, provided all
foreigners are treated in the same way.
3 1 am unaware of the legal position of foreigners in the Yemen in the
matter of the ownership of such property prior to the notification from the
Kinn of the Yemen to the Governor of Hodeida enclosed m the despatch
under reference I am advised, however, that it would be contrary to
international law that British subjects and protected persons should suffer
nlrunfarv losX reason of the application of a law compelling them to
rfisnose of real properties which they have acquired with the permission
tZth the toleration of the Government at that time exercising authority.
d Tu this case therefore, I am of the opinion that British subjects and
British sass-*-. “ fir
prop® *
830(S) F&rD

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Content

This volume compiles printed copies of letters, telegrams, memoranda and newspaper extracts relating to Britain's involvement across the Arabian Peninsula during the period 1929-1938. Whilst the correspondence encompasses all matters concerning British interests in the region, much of it relates to Ibn Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd] and the Kingdom of the Hejaz and Nejd (later Saudi Arabia). Matters discussed in the correspondence include the following:

  • Reports of unrest in the Hejaz.
  • Relations between Imam Yeha Hamid-Ud-Din [Yaḥyá Muḥammad Ḥamīd al-Dīn, Imam of Yemen] and Ibn Saud.
  • Reports of raids and arms trafficking on the 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 -Nejd frontier.
  • Reports of the proceedings of British naval ships in the Red Sea.
  • Details of the Akhwan [Ikhwan] revolt against Ibn Saud, including the movements of one of the revolt's leaders, Faisal Dawish [Fayṣal bin Sulṭān al-Dawīsh], and his surrender to the British in Kuwait.
  • Relations between Kuwait and Nejd.
  • Relations between Iraq and Nejd, including a proposed meeting between Ibn Saud and King Faisal [Fayṣal] of Iraq, and reports of a treaty of alliance between Iraq and Saudi Arabia.
  • Objections from the Hejaz Government to Royal Air Force aircraft flying over Nejd territory.
  • The purchase of arms by the Hejaz Government from Poland.
  • Ibn Saud's annexation of Asir.
  • The death of King Hussein [Ḥusayn bin ‘Alī al-Hāshimī].
  • Harry St John Bridger Philby's conversion to Islam, his mapping of Rub-al-Khali, and his reported spreading of Saudi propaganda in the Aden Protectorate.
  • The currency exchange crisis in the Hejaz-Nejd and the financial situation in the kingdom generally.
  • Reports on a survey of the water and mineral content of the Hejaz coastal area.
  • Relations between Soviet Russia and Saudi Arabia.
  • The emigration of Jews from Yemen to Palestine, via Aden.
  • British fears that Italy might harbour ambitions to annex Yemen.
  • Saudi oil concessions.
  • Italian-Saudi relations.

Prominent correspondents include the following: the British Agent (later His Majesty's Chargé d’Affaires) at Jeddah; His Majesty's Minister at Jeddah; the High Commissioner for Egypt; the High Commissioner for Iraq; the 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 ; the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. , Kuwait; 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. (later Chief Commissioner, and later still, Governor), Aden; 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. ; His Majesty's Ambassador to Iraq; His Majesty's Ambassador to Italy; the Secretary of State for the Colonies; the Minister (and Acting Minister) for Foreign Affairs for the Kingdom of the Hejaz and Nejd (later Saudi Arabia); Ibn Saud; King Feisal of Iraq; the Prime Minister of Iraq; various officials of the Colonial Office, the Foreign Office, the Air Ministry, and the Admiralty.

The French material in the volume consists of several items of correspondence and a copy of a treaty between France and Yemen, which was signed in April 1936.

The volume includes a divider which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the volume by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.

Extent and format
1 volume (527 folios)
Arrangement

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

The items of correspondence are divided (roughly) into various sections. Each extract or item of correspondence within these sections has its own number, which is enclosed in brackets. These numbers proceed in ascending (and approximate chronological) order from left to right; however, the sections themselves proceed in reverse, from the rear to the front of the volume, in distinct groups (e.g. for 1929 numbers 1-23, which are located at folios 517-526, are followed by numbers 24-49 at folios 509-516, which are then followed by numbers 50-89 at folios 494-508, and so on).

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 529; 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.

Pagination: each section of correspondence within the volume (as described in the arrangement field) has its own pagination sequence.

Written in
English and French in Latin script
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Coll 6/8(1) 'Printed Series: 1929 to 1938.' [‎64r] (132/1062), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2071, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100061765163.0x000085> [accessed 21 July 2026]

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