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Coll 6/8(1) 'Printed Series: 1929 to 1938.' [‎186v] (377/1062)

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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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101
Sl^vkh Muhammad Surur as-Sabban has become the director (Mudir) of
the Administration of the Ministry of Finance in accordance with this
reorganization.
Sheykh Abdullah Macci will be the Director (Mudir) of the correspondence
section of the said ministry.
( 106 )
(Rrrpivfd on 22nd October 1932, with Political Secretary's letter No. 40, dated
1 6th October 1932.)
P. Z.-6023|32.
Despatch prom His Majesty's Minister, Jedda, to the Foreign Office, London,
No. 374, dated the 30th August 1932.
With reference to paragrpah 6 of my telegram No. 165 of the 21st August,
I have the honour to state that Ibn Saud came to Jedda to-day for the inside of
ti ie day—“ to take leave of the foreign representatives before proceeding to
Nejd ” was the formula used. He received the representatives in a series of
formal audiences in the forenoon. His graciousness, when my turn came, left
nothing to be desired. I had not seen His Majesty for fourteen months and had
in the interval heard very varying accounts of his physical state. On this occa
sion both Mr. Wikelev, who accompanied me, and I myself were struck by his
appearance of good health, though Mr. Wlkeley thought he had put on a good
deal of flesh in a part of his anatomy which I was not noticing. He was quite
lively in the backchat of compliment.
2. I had not intended to seek a further audience as I felt that I could neither
avoid nor usefully discuss the situation between Hejaz-Nejd and 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
until you had considered it further. Fuad Bey Hamza, however, was keen on
my doing so, and I authorised him to say that, although I had nothing to lay
before the King, I should be grateful if His Majesty would receive me in case
he had anything to say before we left for Nejd and England respectively. The
audience was arranged for this afternoon. At the outset, I presented to the
King Commander A. R. Farquhar, of H. M. S. “ Penzance,” which, by an
unintended coincidence, arrived at Jedda on the same day as Ibn Saud.
3. After Commander Farquhar had retired, the King and I, with Fuad Bey
interpreting, engaged in a general conversation on the present situation ; but
one so very general that it would be useless to weary you with its details. The
King reaffirmed all his familiar principles, his friendship for and belief in Great
Britain, his desire to receive and to be guided by her advice, etc., and proclaimed
his unshakable fidelity to them, subject only to the qualifications that she must
safeguard his honour and his interests. I gave all the usual replies, with
illustrations drawn from various sources, including the attitude observed by His
Majesty's Government during the Ibn Rifada affair.
4. The fact is that both Hi’s Majesty and I were talking, and talked for an
hour, platitudes with a purpose. That of the King was to prove that no gentle
man, however reasonable, could feel safe with a person like the Amir Abdullah
over his border ; mine to instil the idea that to the practical British mind the
Ibn Rifada affair appeared a matter which had been finished with, that permanent
enmity was not a practical basis for the relations between rulers and that a
fresh start should be made. We might have come to closer grips with the real
subject of the conversation, if I had not had to make way for the Soviet Minister,
who had already been kept Avaiting a quarter of an hour.
5. As it was neither of us put a name to the Amir Abdullah, Avho so filled
our thoughts, but the King mentioned King Faisal as a most commendable
monarch with whom, thanks to His Majesty's Government, he Avas on the best ot
terms. It is all the rage now in high Hejazi circles to represent the King of Iraq
as a good Arab, un homme serieux, in contrast with his brother Abdullah, who is
regarded as the incarnation of intrigue and untrustworthiness. 6
6. I am sending copies of this despatch to His Majesty’s High CommiS'
sioners at Jerusalem and Bagdad.

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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.' [‎186v] (377/1062), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2071, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100061765164.0x0000b2> [accessed 25 June 2026]

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