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Coll 6/8(1) 'Printed Series: 1929 to 1938.' [‎140r] (284/1062)

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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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Enclosure m J oreign Office covering letter No. E. 1848|72|25, dated 24th
1934.
VrM - m ** £r '*»” »»■ -*■»-
l™ no., ™. 0™ t No. MO
With reference to Mr. Yencken’s dp^r^nin nr, £ T
[Enclosure to Serial No (18)] and to Sir Andrew By!’s D^patelf vo^ogwil
10 of the 13th instant | Enclosure to Serial No. (31)1 cony of wllYn r 11
warded to you, on the subject of Saudi debts to Polish afms mwfff for ;
have the honour to inform you that the First Secretary of the“h Wiou
in the course of conversation with a member of mv in-rr if o J 1 ® gaU ° 11 ’
stated that the Saudi Government’s ofW S l * f 0n + ^ e 2 ^ nc } instant »
Jeddah customs for two thousand pounds (£2 000) ’ waT conditional ' p 1 ° n tl 1 10
by the Polish consortium of a further scveW th^d^M^)
of arms and animum ion making the total debt to be liquidated in thYe month y
instalments one hundred thousand pounds (£100,000) Ibn Sand l, ,.! .0 , , j
the Polish consortium to supply hL with aeroplanes td to reorg u isf [he
Government tvorkshop. ^ cUU ° e lJ i e
2 ; JJr- B ® nis agan1 asked whether the Polish consortium would do well to
accept his offer and was again informed that the matter was not one in which
we could advise him. 1 NUU cn
3. He professed anxiety, to do nothing which might' embarrass His Majesty’s
Government whose paramount interests in Arabia he recognised, and said that
it His Majesty s Government preferred that no arms or aeroplanes should be
supplied to Ibn Sand the Poles .would not supply them. Was there he en-
?Jimi < s d, 4i liy A 11 ? lh lf the Tn 0lish arms " manu facturers accepted the Saudi
teims, Sn Andrew Kyan would oppose the settlement? Mr. Benis was re-
nmided that Sir Andrew Ryan had a certain number of British debt claims
against the Saudi Government to sponsor, the settlement- of which he would not
wish anything to prejudice.
4. Mr. Benis took this point at once and stated that he would recommend
tns Government to enquire of your Department whether Polish acceptance of
me Saudi Government’s conditions would in any way embarrass His Majesty’s
Government. If so, the consortium would be advised against acceptance.
Jeddah 1 ^ SenC ^ n ^ a copy Bl] ' s despatch to His Majesty’s Minister in
(39)
Enclosure in Foreign Office covering letter, dated 24th March 1934.
(Received on 4th April 1934, with Political Secretary’s letter No. 13, dated the
29th March 1934.)
Telegram from the Foreign Office, to His Majesty’s Minister, Jedda, No. 29,
DATED THE 16TH MARCH 1934.
Cairo despatch No. 180 of the 24th February [Serial No. (38)], Saudi
Government’s debts to Polish arais-manufacturers.
If Polish Government approach His Majesty’s Government, it might
provide opportunity to ensure that Saudi Government’s debt to Poles for these
arms is not more favourably treated than Saudi debt to His Majesty’s Govern
ment. We might ask Poles to agree to our informing Ibn Sand that His
Majesty’s Government could not acquiesce in proposed arms transaction with
out assurance that they will receive debt-payments due to them pari passu
with those due to Polish firm and on at least similar scale.
On the other hand such attempted pressure on Ibn Sand even if Poles agreed
might be open to political objections outweighing any advantage. Please
telegraph your observations.
LcIOSFD

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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.' [‎140r] (284/1062), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2071, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100061765164.0x000055> [accessed 19 April 2024]

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