Coll 6/8(1) 'Printed Series: 1929 to 1938.' [228v] (461/1062)
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. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
KKMWJW’T'i flag f r n
no
reduce expenditure, select a Reorganisation Committee, create a Treasury
Department, and appoint a Treasurer, and meanwhile to employ the Director-
General of Finance and the Vice-President of the Hejasi Legislative
Assembly in an mspectional tour of the other side of Nejd.
2. I now have the honour to enclose a translation of a leading article
from the “Umm-al-Qura” of the 4th December entitled) “Between two
Epochs; Memorable Deeds of His Majesty” as well as a more restrained but
not very illuminating announcement on “The New Budget”.
3. The two epochs are, of course, the evil past, relieved only by the
King’s good deeds, and the radiant future in both this world! and the next.
The memorable deeds of His Majesty are five in number. First and fore
most is his constitution of a Council of four Under-Secretaries of State,
having collective and individual responsibility under the
presidency
The name given to each of the three divisions of the territory of the East India Company, and later the British Raj, on the Indian subcontinent.
of bis
Viceroy; the second is his establishment of a Budget; the third the assessment
of the Government’s assets and liabilities; the fourth the concentration of all
revenue in a central Treasury and its allotment to various defined objects;
and, fifthly, measures of economy in the personnel and expenditure of
Government departments. These are not the first proofs which His Majesty
has given of his Islamic sincerity, his Arabic zeal, and his devotion to his
people, but they now effectively discharge his conscience of his obligations
towards Allah and the country. In another extract which is also enclosed,
from the “Umm-al-Qura” of the 27th November, the editor deems it worthy
of glorification and praise that His Majesty has also commanded the reduc
tion of his personal expenses to an exceeding degree as a further proof of
his democratic principles.
4. All this has meant a lot of work for the only Under-Secretary of
State in action, Faud Bey Hamza, Sheykh Yusuf Yasin having returned! to
Riadh. He is naturally elated by the success of his efforts to break the
Abdullah Suleyman regime, create a budget, and constitute a central organ
of responsibility and control. It is still too soon to say that the reforms will
work, however. There is such a remarkable lack of adequate men and money,
and so little prospect of supplementing either deficiency, that they will cer
tainly have a hard struggle to survive. Pessimism is general. Few believe
that the creation of a budget and the establishment of a Treasury under a
bankrupt of 35, whom there was not enough money to send as first Secretary
to the Hague, offer any guarantee of honest or capable financial management.
Various and curious arrangements are being come to with the more pushing
of the Government’s creditors. The budget is to date from the 12th December
(the 1st Sha-ban) but no figures are given, promised!, or even surmised. When
the dust of all this unwonted activity settles, it will probably simply be
seen that the landmarks have shifted but the desert is much the same.
Enclosure 2 to S. No. 10.
Frandation of extract from t( Umm-al-Qura'\ No. 36£, dated December
1931 (24-7 L 1350).
“Between Two Epochs”.
“Displaying Fresh Improvements”.
“Memorable Deeds of His Majesty”..
The second half of last month and the twenty days which have elapsed
of this month have been full of great deeds, which should be registered in
golden letters on the forehead of the age in favour of His Majesty who is
situing on the throne, they should be added to his noble deeds and great
services to this country, which has tasted no comfort and prosperity for ages,
except during his happy golden days.
About this item
- 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 View the complete information for this record
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/12/2071
- Title
- Coll 6/8(1) 'Printed Series: 1929 to 1938.'
- Pages
- 47r:47v, 58v, 132v:133r, 154v, 158v, 166v, 167v, 174v, 185r:185v, 189v:190v, 200r, 204v:205v, 207v:209v, 220v, 225r:225v, 227r:227v, 228v:230r, 235r:235v, 258r:258v, 261v, 263r:263v, 276v:277r, 323v, 346r:346v, 352v:353r, 376r
- Author
- Um al-Qura xx Ummul Qura
- Usage terms
- Public Domain
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