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Coll 6/8(1) 'Printed Series: 1929 to 1938.' [‎359r] (722/1062)

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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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a ratlier sorry spectacle, compared with a few wild horsemen and a picturesque
contingent of about two hundred men on gaily caparisoned camels who followed.
Idie artillery was represented by the four saluting guns which were drawn by
mules commandeered from the market place for the purpose. The review was
preceded by sea at the palace at Kandara to which some three hundred guests
had been invited.
4. In the evening an official banquet was held at Kandara at which about a
hundred and fifty guests were present including the foreign representatives and
a number of representatives of the leading Egyptian newspapers who had been
invited by the Hejas Government to attend the celebrations. The banquet was
the occasion for a number of complimentary speeches extolling the virtues of
the King and the progress made under his reign. There had, I am told, been
a sharp dispute between the Acting Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Gov
ernor of Jedda as to who should deliver the Government’s address. The matter
had been referred to the Emir who had decided as a compromise that Sheikh
Fuad’s speech should be read by a citizen of Jedda.
5. Sheikh Fuad ’s speech was in the main also a eulogy of the King and his'
works. He enumerated the objects which the King has set out to achieve since
his accession and commented on the results obtaiifed. I enclose a resume of his
speech.
6. For the following day a lunch had been organised fey the Municipality of
Mecca at Wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows. Falun, about fifteen miles from Mecca where tents had been
erected among palm groves. The foreign representatives and the Egyptian
journalists were again invited. Lunch was served to two hundred and fifty
guests at a long table in one tent. The arrangements for lunch were excellent,
although the superabundance of food was calculated to daunt all but the hardiest
treacherous, and the guests in spite of appetites sharpened by a two hours drive
across country, managed to make very little impression on it. The time was
occupied both before and after lunch by speeches and poems delivered in a re
ception marquee by selected orators who vied with one another in showering
fulsome praise on the King and his representative, the Amir.
7. The celebrations were organised I am told on an unprecedented scale for
Arabia and were obviously intended to impress both the foreigners and the Arabs.
No expense was spared and the organisation was on the whole good.
8. The invitation extended to the Egyptian journalists was a clever more
on Sheikh Fuad’s part. They were treated with assiduous courtesy and were
loud in their praises.
9 The celebrations marked I think a definite departure from the rigid pre
cepts which the Akhwan had succeeded temporarily in imposing. Photographs
were taken freely ; an official photographer had in fact come from Egypt and
photographed the Amir on every possible occasion. Smoking was indulged m
openly or with only a pretence at concealment. In fact there seemed to be a
general relaxation of regulations and a desire to get away from the irksome
restrictions which, in Jedda at any rate, have never been popular.
10. I am sending copies of this despatch and its enclosure to His Majesty’s
High Commissioners for Egypt, Iraq and Palestine, ^ J R
eminent of India in the Foreign and Political Department the Political
dent in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. and 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. at Koweit.
Enclosure 2.
Resume in English of speech delivered by ^HFuadHar^aatme ceremony
of the commemoration of the Accession of K g
Sheikh Fuad Hamza, after praismg f f
given for celebrating, for the fust ect of ( he celebra ti 0 ns has been
sion, begins his speech by stating . 3 t p eir g ra cious and beneficient
awysss wsss&wratt
He then deals with the King's ^ to
country and he enumerates as lollows tne oujee
ac neve ' , . , „„ f r ; P nrllv relations.with all Govern-
The establishment and maintenance of friendly relations.
ments and Powers. . —

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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.' [‎359r] (722/1062), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2071, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100061765166.0x00007b> [accessed 25 April 2024]

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