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Coll 6/8(1) 'Printed Series: 1929 to 1938.' [‎154r] (312/1062)

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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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29
(31)
■'N

““ “ AaJSL
Enclosure in Foreign Office covering letter dated 17th July 1933
Letter erom His M^esxv’s MmrsxER Jedda, to the Foreigk oLce No 147
dated the 20th May 1933 * ^ 147 ’
i, rfttEKtatspasaar ■« ^ «■>
Legation to M. van Leeuwen the Dutch evnert v ^ e . 11 , 1 re P orts from this
Saudi Government in April 1932 as financial adviser ' 'I V ' ! 116 service °f the
final departure from Jedda on the 18th May. ' ’ aVe n ° W to reeorcl his
2. ii. van Leenwen returned from sick leave in or about October last Tin's
leave interrupted what was to have been a year of continuous seMce to be
to lowed by a period of leave on full pay before his contract finally ScpTre 1 I
believe it was agreed that he should draw no salary for the period of his absence
mmiths a at a thl f ’en 0 d'nf^ 6 UP ^ ' th ' e l0St by servin S for “ additional three
montns at the end of the year originally contemplated.
rr u ^ lf( ! rtunatel 7i van i , Leeuwen’s health has continued to be precarious.
He has had several bouts of illness during the spring, and this has been the
immediate cause of his leaving for good. It must be attributed in part, however
to the hopelessness of his position in the Administration here. I do not think
that he has at any time been allowed «o do more than write academic reports and
it has been increasingly evident of late that he could play no effective role’in a
department dominated by the personality and methods of Sheikh Abdullah
Suleiman.
4. Things were not improved by M. van Leeuwen’s condemnation of the
National Bank scheme (F. 85-N.|33) projected by the ex-Khedive and his asso
ciates. By the time this was launched he had lost patience to such an extent that
he abandoned his previous attitude of discretion and expressed his adverse
opinion to outsiders like myself. Saudi circles were very ready to think that his
hostility to the scheme was due to apprehension lest it should damage the posi
tion of the Netherlands Trading Society, which is, as you know, the only orga
nised bank here and in which he was formerly employed. The suspicion may
have been increased by the fact that, for reasons of health, he had gone to stay
indefinitely with the Netherlands Charge d’Affaires.
5. It was to be foreseen that no adviser could reorganise the finances of this
country in a year, least of all in a year so inauspicious as one beginning in April
1932, when they were already in a desperate condition and the whole world as
well was in a mess. It is, however, lamentable that M. van Leeuwen, of whose
capacity I cannot judge, but who was an honest and industrious man, should not
have had a chance of doing anything at all. He had no axe to grind, and I do
not think that the Netherlands authorities made any attempt to use him l or their
own purposes. The Dutch Charge d’Affaires has assured me that since he
presented M. van Leeuwen to the King he has scrupulously refrained from
meddling in his affairs, and has not seen his reports. I believe this to be true,
and I shall be all the sorrier for M. Adriaanse if, as is possible^ he has to concern
himself with the final settlement of account between the Saudi Lovernment and
their late adviser.
(32)
leceived on 5th August 1933, with Political Secretary’s letter Am 29, dated
20 th July 1933.)
Enclosure in Foreign Office covering letter, dated 18th July. 1933.
;tter ntoit His Majesty's Minister, Jedda to the Foreign Office, No. 185
(1734!161.|5), dated the I7tH June idoo.
I have the honour to transmit to y° u herewith, with translation
lice despatch No. 289 (JO. 35381527125) of the 22lld m h V ;n firearms and their
a further Regulation of the Sa’udi Arab Gov ern al-()ura No. 442, of
.portation into this country which appeared m the Umm-al Qura,
L 2^1'am tending copies of this despatch and enclosure to the Department of
mrseas Trade. —'
57tI '’ D f” enclosure in
I , N DIA FOREIGN secrete
Mo
Letter
Dated

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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.' [‎154r] (312/1062), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2071, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100061765164.0x000071> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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