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Coll 6/8(1) 'Printed Series: 1929 to 1938.' [‎255r] (514/1062)

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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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97
TriDolitan translator h^f iC and there are man y blanks wh ere the
Iripolitan translator has boggled at the technology. As a whole the reoort is
disappointing, except m the matter of water, gtud, and petroleum fh^
asked the Hejazi Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs to show me the report
itself now that it is published, hut I am not sanguine about receiving^.
H Mr TlitVu m w 6 hands 0f Khalld Be y al Qarqani, who acfom-
pained Mr. Twitchell as interpreter and is now with the King at Itiadh.
2 t ^^ r ---Continuing from the point where Sir A. Ryan left it,
Part II (1) of the report enumerates the existing and possible water-points
along the coast from Rabigh northwards through Wejh as far as Muweyla
which is some live hundred miles North of Jedda. It is on exactly the same
lines and advocates the same treatment as that prescribed for the area iust
North of Jedda, foretelling similar results in the matter of crops and culti
vation. This water section of the report ends with the following summary :
All the observations which I have made during this journey prove that
there is a great quantity of water close to the surface of the ground which
can be utilised in proportion as the ground is brought under cultivation.
If this area is large, it will support many families and will develop this
part of Hejaz.
If cotton can be sown, ginned, spun and weaved by hand in quantity
sufficient for the needs of the country, mnoh money will be saved and retain
ed in the country instead of being sent abroad for the purchase of imported
cotton goods. Similarly with dates, corn, etc. If maize and wheat are
sown over smaller areas (than cotton) they will effect a large saving in the
country’s budget.
The way to improve and strengthen the general health of the nation is
to increase the planting of fruit trees and vegetables. Excess products can
be exported to Egypt and thus assist the national exchequer.
3. Minerals .—Part II (2) deals with minerals. It opens with a dis
sertation on the geological process through which gold, platinum, diamond
and tin bearing quartzes pass into alluvial beds, from which most of the
world’s supply of these minerals is obtained. Mr. Twitchell states that he
found large areas of alluvial quartz in the following places, but is unable to
pronounce on their value without further expert examination. He thinks
that only gold may be expected, an expectation fostered by the old gold mine
at Al Qarayat on which he reports later : j
Alluvial Beds.
1. Marbad, 15—24 Km. N. E. of Yanbuh
2- a wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows. , Km. N. W. of Yanbu’ an-Nakhal.
3. on road to Yanbu’ an-Nakhal, 26—27 Km. N. W. of Yanbu’.
4. on road from Yanbu’ to Umm Lajj, 5—20 Km. N. of Yanbu’.
5. on road from Umm Lajj to Wejh, 44—48 Km. N. of Umm Lajj.
6. on road from Umm Lajj to Wejh, 98 Km. N. of Umm Lajj.
7. on road Wejh to Dhaba, 8—10 Km. N. of Wejh.
8. on road Wejh to Umm Lajj, 19 Km. S. of Wejh.
9. on road Wejh to Dhaba, 35 39 Km. N. of Wejh.
TO. on road Dhaba to Al Muweyla, 6—9 Km. N. of Dhaba.
Xl, on road Dhaba to Wejh at Daffa, 26—29 Km. N. of Wejh.
12 . a wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows. from Wejh to Al Qaria and ash-Shaweyta, 20—27 Km.
(old mines alongside the wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows. ) E. of Wejh.
13. on road from Wejh to Al’Asib, 18—29 Km. S. E. of Wejh.
14. on road from Yanbu’ an-Nakhal to Salwar, 40-41 Km. E of
Yanbu’.
15 Tn his water report Mr. Twitchell also mentioned the possibility
of quartz-bearing alluvial deposits in a wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows. 28 Km. N. o'
Umm Lajj.

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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.' [‎255r] (514/1062), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2071, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100061765165.0x000073> [accessed 13 June 2026]

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