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Coll 6/8(1) 'Printed Series: 1929 to 1938.' [‎93v] (191/1062)

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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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44
5 Tho Mahd-adh-Dhaliab gold mine, which is situated at 24° 15' N,
and 41° 10' E. at a height of 3,550 feet above sea level, is said to have been
worked by Harun-ar-Rashid and perhaps even earlier in the times of the
Jahilfya. The extensive workings and the large area covered by ruined build-
ino-s show that a great number of workmen were employed in those times.
Mr. Twitched is now seeking to prove that the workings were not exhausted
of their gold, but were abandoned either through the lack of engineering
equipment and the knowledge how to mine deeper, or through the failure
of the water-supply or from political reasons.
6. Mr. Twitched has been working at this mine himself and says he
is very gratified with the results so far obtained in the mining of gold.
There' are, I believe, also subsidiary metals. _ He foreshadowed early
developments and hoped to start diamond drilling, the machinery for
which was on its way. Mr. Twitched is, however, faced with many pro
blems. I am not competent to judge the scheme from a technical mining
point of view, but engineering problems may well be small compared with
other factors such as the supply of water and communications with Medina
and the coast.
7. Mr. Twitched confessed to me in conversation that the water
supply was indeed a problem and said it might be necessary to sink a well.
At present water is found in the surrounding-districts at Maden (3 kilom.),
Jiraisiya (10 kilom.), and Suwaijiya (50 kilom.), while at the mine itself
Mi. Twitched has discovered a shaft containing water, estimated at about
7,000 gallons, which he intends to reserve for use in connexion with the
diamond drilling.
8. With his usual energy and with Mr. van de Pod’s local knowledge
in support, Mr. Twitched has set to work to solve the problem of communi
cations. Mahd-adh-Dhahab lies, as the crow flies, some 100 miles from
Medina and 240 from Jedda. The original plan was to use Yanbu as a
base, being only 200 miles from the mine, but during these four months
the road has been found very difficult. Non-Moslems have to leave the
beaten track from Yanbu to Medina and circle the forbidden area to the
north, making the road distance about 315 miles, and mostly over abomi
nable ground of Harat lava, where in the winter the trucks were once
or twice held up by rain floods. This combined with the abandonment
of the workings at Yanbu-an-Nakhl have induced the syndicate to consider
the possibility of a load from Jedda, which will be a little longer than the
Yanbu road, and which would give the advantages of quicker external
communication through the larger port. They are accordingly now occu
pied m prospecting three alternate routes:—'
(1) Jedda-Asfan-Al Birka-Mahd-adh-Dhahab.
(2) Jedda-Rabigh-Madh-adh-Dhahab.
(3) A route between these two.
pvji 6 °1 t ' ilese 1 routos if. at all practical at the moment; to quote Mr. van de
tfip prwK made f' a P rellminar y prospecting journey through to the mine on
haol- if , /v r ° U e ’, e OIli y went forward because he knew he could not go
‘ r mams to be seen which, if any, of these three routes are chosen.
treat rnpnT°!I road making and the provision of food and medical
argues a wealth of 1 r Un ! vn °T n d eser t can only be a costly affair; it
undertaking lmism m promoters in the possibilities of the
seas 'Trade^^an^to the despatch to the Department of Over
seas trade and to the High Commissioner foi 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 at Jerusalem-

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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.' [‎93v] (191/1062), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2071, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100061765163.0x0000c0> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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