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Coll 6/8(1) 'Printed Series: 1929 to 1938.' [‎106v] (217/1062)

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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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informed me in the course of conversation yesterday that his Government now
proposed to raise their mission in Saudi Arabia to the status of a Legation. Budget
ary provision had been made, and he expected, the change to date from the 1st %
January next. He stated, in answer to my enquiry, that the head of the post would
hold the rank of Minister, and that he would remain on in that capacity. On my
congratulating him, he explained that although he understood privately that his
appointment had been contemplated by his Ministry in any case, yet Fuad Bey
Hamza had interested himself with the French Government to secure his selection.
The elevation of the French representation here, and the appointment of M. Maigret,
may well have been, although the latter did not say so, amongst the questions dis
cussed with the French Government by Fuad Bey Hamza during his recent visit to
Europe.
2. M. Maigret, who, as is his wont, has remained virtually invisible during
the summer, is again becoming locomotive, as he proposes to leave Jedda within
a few days for a three weeks’ visit to the Yemen. Upon his return from Sana, he
hopes, before the Haj, to pay a brief visit to Syria to meet the High Commissioner
there.
3. I am sending copies of this despatch to His Majesty’s Chief Commissioner at
Aden and His Majesty’s consul-general at Beirut.
(H)
(Received on 16th February 1935 with Political Secretary's letter No. 6, dated 31st
January 1935.)
Enclosure in Foreign Office covering letter, dated the 24th January 1935.
Letter from His Majesty’s Charge d’affaires, Jedda, to the Foreign Office,
No. 370, dated the 11th December 1934.
Mr. Calvert to Sir John Simon.—(Received December 31.)
I have the honour to refer to my despatch No. 351 of the 5 th December
1933 [Serial No. ( 6 ) in F. No. 17-N./34], in which I ventured to submit a short
review of the general financial situation in this country. I again propose to attempt,
with the modest material available in a country where statistics of any value are
unknown, an appreciation of the general financial and economic condition of Saudi
Arabia at the present time.
2 . Since the despatch under reference was written, the intervening months
have witnessed little real alleviation of the financial difficulties with which Ibn Sand
was then finding himself increasingly confronted. The principal drain on his
resources, due to the long-drawn struggle with the Yemen, the necessity of pro-
vidrng for an army in the field and at the same time of cementing the loyalty
of tnbal leaders in Nejd by subsidies and supplies in kind, can scarcely have di
minished until the operations came to a successful conclusion and the troops
returned to their own country during July and August. Even then demobilisation
involved the grant of gratuities in rials and in kind to each individual soldier, a
process which began at Taif upon the immediate return of the troops and continued
at Kiyadh until mid-November. Mr. Philby estimates the cost to Ibn Saud of these
gratuities alone to be in the neighbourhood of £100,000 gold. Thus the whole
period under review has been one of abnormal military expenditure, in prosecuting
e war an , aJ its conclusion, in paying in hard cash a handsome insurance pre
mium against tribal discontent at a lootless victory.
rv ^ not unnaturally be asked where are the resources upon which the
King could draw so liberally. Mr. Philby is convinced that the explanation lies in
the receipt of a war indemnity from the Imam of the Yemen. I am not alone
has 0 fnim^U 8 V16W t0 acce P t ’ and i nc Lne to the belief that the King
serious Wnpd 186 ^ C0I ?P el ^ d ’ J n order to content his returning soldiery, to make
inroads upon the Royal Treasury, a reservoir of unknown dimensions.
be exneetirf ^ aud i ^ xc i le( l lle ^ could have proved of much assistance can hardly
tionaHox Jiou m ^ re l° ur f ful of the Minister of Finance. Little addi-
and ffi sffiW ee5v P m ¥ t lm ? St ne g% ible ^rm of a stamp duty, was imposed
ascertained, to the exaction of forcedToans^’ n ° WaS ^

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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.' [‎106v] (217/1062), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2071, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100061765164.0x000012> [accessed 10 June 2026]

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