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Coll 6/8(1) 'Printed Series: 1929 to 1938.' [‎218r] (440/1062)

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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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13
equivalent)—the informal committee of notables which the King consults on
important decisions. As a result of their deliberations, Suleyman Gabil as
spokesman approached the King with the offer to double the Royal allowance
(which v;as fixed in 1926 at about £300,000, according to him) and to adjust
the other items of expenditure accordingly. The King agreed and instructed
the Committee to consult with Abdullah Suleyman ; which they did at a
second meeting held at the latter's house. In the course of this, however,
it emerged that the King intended not only to take the doubled allowance
but to reserve for himself all the Koshan receipts, which amount in ail to
some £7 per pilgrim, or £280,000 last year. Seeing the main item of their
anticip ited revenue thus abstracted, the Committee decided that the budget
scheme was vitiated beyond remedy, and accordingly submitted a loyal
address withdrawing the suggestion, affirming that the King was the father
of his country, and advising that the status quo ante he maintained. Since
that date the Committee h as had no sort of a voice in the financial arrange
ments.
2. The budget published last January is pure Qusuf Y&sin, with a
possible flavouring of Abdullah Suleyman. It was arrived at as follows,
according to Suleyman Gabil:—
(а) The two items of £60,000, Royal allowance, and £235,000, Military
have been copied from the grants made to the King in 1926,
which, as noted above, were nearly £300,000. (Jedda reported
in 1926—Eastern Affairs, Part XVIII, pages 100 and 107—that
the grant was £2-1,000, hut this may have been wrong).
(б) The other three round-figure items (Debts, Communications, and
Princes, Palaces, etc..) were put down at random, in order to
look pretty.
(c) The remaining items, Administrative expenditure, were copied
from the cash-hooks for same past year, probably 1927, when
expenditure was at its highest. This explains their meticulous
X—piastre accuracy. The division of revenue into percentages
announced in November has simply been forgotten.
3 The whole production is so much eye wash. Expenditure under (c)
above*is confined to items of immediate urgency with a consequent ermrmous
discrepancy between actual expenditure and jihe pubhshed figures, w c
represented the amounts expended m an exceptional y eai ^ e , _ j
merit was really endeavouring to run the country ^
its debts. Expenditure under \b), except the Pnnces-Pal ce it. , p y
that
the King,
al Fadhl)
nil. And (ct), U., the King, gets the rest K a PF ar L
Abdallah Suleiman, and the Treasurer (Abduilah bm Ibrahm ^
have a secret code between them ; that each day - , enough silver
the value of the day’s takings; that of these a an^ y ^ ^ mon th
riyals to meet urgent expenses »re retarn^^ ^ sienifioant
the balance of riyals, and all the gold, is romn et o ‘ ^ Royal
that the “ Treasury ” expenditure m budgetted with that ottneKoya
Diwta, Princes, etc.; and is separated from that of the Finance Department
II. Revenue— ,
I have had a further talk with Khan Bahadur- ttsanullah ^ the
possible revenue of the country. It is all fP , 1 ^ telegrap h, receipts
work. Two items which maybe important p way : the latter is
and zikat (religions tithe), cannot he determ: ) riass throuoh the
collected directly by ‘ Abdullah Suleyman and does nor pass
Finance Departmen.
Of the items at which a guess may bo made,
A.
B.
Customs receipts are popularly reok °” a ?|i oOOWode 2 " 5 °*
two years ago, when they were about £1,000,0UU,
Ca 't K °T V '-el daily
It is said that .300 cam ^ ith a consequent
from Jedda to Mecca and Medina, wixm
yield of £66 gold per day, or per year.
£ gold.
400,000
24,000

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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.' [‎218r] (440/1062), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2071, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100061765165.0x000029> [accessed 20 July 2026]

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