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Coll 6/8(1) 'Printed Series: 1929 to 1938.' [‎244v] (493/1062)

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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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/
Hejaz is the victim of a double drain on its meagre -resources, owing to the
amount of money expended abroad on extravagant requirements, of which
motor cars are the favourite example, and the amount which is devoted to
expenditure proper to Nejd, notably subsidies to the tribes there; (b) the
country has no budget in any true sense, and almost unlimited power in the
financial domain is exerted by the Director-General, Sheikh Abdulla Sulei
man, whose unpopularity increases by leaps and bounds, but whose position
with the King seems to be unimpaired. Certain members of the conference
had the courage to criticise Abdullah Suleiman and to proclaim the necessity
for a budget. The King’s reply is said to have been in effect, “le budget
c’est moi.”
4. The trouble.has become concrete in two forms, viz., (a) the failure of
all efforts to maintain the riyal exchange, and (b) the necessity for finding
new money to carry Ibn Saud over a very lean period. Unless assistance
can be obtained, it may be confidently anticipated that this period will be
one of complete indigence for some months, that the next pilgrimage season
will bring some temporary relief, and that, if the pilgrimage is again small
the position a year hence will be at least as bad as it is now.
5. The silver currency has entered on a new phase of depreciation
during the last few weeks. The riyal stands now at about 14-| to the
pound. The wonder is that it has not gone lower. The King has his own
cure, which I described when reporting on my audience of the 17th June
[cf. S. No. (65)]. I may repeat myself in order to make this despatch self-
contained. All that is necessary, says Ibn Saud, is to bring the Hejazi
silver and nickel currency into use throughout his dominions, and he has
taken measures with that object. He may succeed, but I doubt whether he
realises how difficult it may be to secure acceptance in countries like Nejd and
Asir, of a currency which has been so blown upon in its country of orimn.
He has, however, discovered one practical device. He left Mecca for Neid
on the 28th June, intending to make a long stay. I understand that this
time he is going to meet the tribal demands on his generosity by presents in
6. But the need for new money has now become the maior problem. I
have reported elsewhere Fuad Bey Hamza’s broad hint to me on the 12th
June, that His Majesty’s Government might come to Ibn Baud’s help
nancially as well as m other ways. The King himself was more guarded
on the 17th June, but he broached a definite request, which I submitted for
your consideration m my telegram No. 170 of the 19th June FS. No. (65)1,
Majesty’s Government might help him to enlist the ser-
thJfh h ? ri !f h ^ ^Goned an my telegram the King’s statement
W anH h n d t? her °S rS - * have not been able to find out. much on the sub-
.i , o ■ ■ lr j? W ' 1 certainty. I understand that the Amir Lutfullah,
n rmrv.i'ir.li/.o W1 ° bad a financial past in this country, has made
P n , , , e , all '! l,c ^tisr is also said to be interested. I have heard
d mhtUv; and , a f, uuuaped fourth, possibly the Eastern Bank, but I
to b e ring m Jn Indian Moslem tenk herT JUne ' 1 With ^
manakr (UtiheTl If Yl, tIle ab A° Ve in formation, such as it is to the
ernm£t ?• 4 h h® 1 * here - According to Mr. Jacobs, what the Gov-
£900 0(10 in !ir mS f at IS 1° - get a t ore ’S 11 fianh to produce something like
lions and 7 ln P rivl T le ? es Hke a monopoly of banking opera-
the storv ahont f ii S u 3 ' tbou ^ b t there-might be something in
and ha?on hiabond r 11 u ?>^’ f 8 4bab ff eT, tleman runs a one-man show,
bnhad n7d h • h dS 11 C,ullDt } t y 5 >f v ^ T y fl ue notes, all ready printed, which
of kl hllhiU/• X ' 0n l 1lS f nancial ventures here" in the last days
mor mm in v/'V "'P 13 j ^aud, however, would 1 prefer to interest
W 7 ld al T’ 1 tWnk - hate to have to borrow in
Iw^wAnld f ld T T W,lat the He i azi Government could offer
Would be sufficient to attract a senous concern with responsibilities to

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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.' [‎244v] (493/1062), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2071, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100061765165.0x00005e> [accessed 16 April 2024]

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