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File 1707/1924 ‘Arabia:- Jeddah Situation Reports. (1924-1930)’ [‎16v] (37/898)

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The record is made up of 1 volume (445 folios). It was created in 13 Mar 1924-18 Mar 1931. It was written in English. 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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8
A solitary attempt at co-operation followed and failed. On the 27th October
His Majesty’s Charge d’Affaires received and passed on at once to Amman a
telegram Horn Mecca" stating that a raiding party had started m the d^ection of
Trnnsiordan and invitinp 1 the co-operation of the authorities there to deal with
it. As a matter of fact, the party had made two large raids on the 26th October,
and were already safe home again with the loot. . _ . a # •
In a note, dated the 19th October, the Acting Mimster for Foreign Affairs
transmitted a message from Ibn Sand to His Majesty’s Government whichr
dealt chiefly with the MacDonnell investigation but also made a somewhat
pointed reference to the dangers which he expected would arise from the meeting
of 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 and Hejaz-Neid Bedouin when they went eastward and mingled
in search of autumn pasture.
11. Iraq.
[а) A reply is still awaited by the Hejaz-Nejd Government to its note of the
27th July to the Iraq Government inviting them to send a plenipotentiary to sign
the “ Bon-Voisinage ” Treaty, and negotiate an extradition agreement. His
Majesty’s Government asked the Acting High Commissioner for Iraq, on the
9th September, for a report on the Iraq Government’s attitude, but his enquiries
of the 11th September and the 30th October have apparently not yet disclosed the
reasons for the untoward delay.
(б) On the initiative of the Hejaz-Nejd Government, notes have been
exchanged with the Iraq Government providing for the collaboration and periodic
meetings of their frontier officials in order to deal with camel thefts and other
incidents not to be dignified by the name of raids. The director of police in the
Iraq Southern Desert has been authorised to meet for this purpose with the
mamur of the Nejd Desert. Ibn Arfaj is at present at Riadh, probably to be
relieved of that post, to which another appointment is expected.
The Hejazi Acting Minister for Foreign Affairs’ note of the 29th August to
Bagdad on the matter of claims for past raids (August report, section 8 (b)) had
mentioned the payment to His Majesty’s Minister at Jedda of £10,000 on this
account (ibid). For fear that the Iraqi Government should therefore claim the
whole of the sum, whidh really was paid in pursuance of Ibn Baud’s letter to
Colonel Biscoe of the 27th June, and fell to be divided between Iraqi and Koweit
sufferers, His Majesty’s Charge d’Affaires was instructed in September to
obtain a confirmation to this effect from the Heiaz-Nejd Government, and a
corresponding rectification of the relevant passage in their note of the
29th August. Fuad Bey wrote a personal letter to Mr. Hope-Gill on the
9th September, unequivocally stating that this sum was that promised by
Ibn Saud in January, but it proved impossible to induce him to write to Bagdad
in the same sense. Personally, he seemed willing enough to correct his first
misleading statement, but the King or Yusuf Yasin overrode him. The only
likely explanation was thought to be that the matter of Ibn Mashhur still stuck in
their gizzards (June report, paragraph 13, and (d) below).
In comment on the Hejaz-Nejd claim for £4,000 in respect of damages by
aircraft (August report, section 8 (b)), the Air Council opined that the claim
should be emphatically repudiated, there being verification of only two of the
claims, in both of which cases the casualties were inflicted in Iraq or Koweit
territory on hostile parties engaged in raiding Iraq tribes, and after fire had
been opened on the aircraft.
f (^ A further reply was received from the Hejaz-Neid Government and
transmitted to Bagdad about the alleged activities of Ibn Sand’s agents on the
frontier marches of Iraq (August report, section 8 (<f)). No comment on either
answer has been received.
GO The Ibn Mashhur affair is still unsettled (August report, section 8 (d) )
The certain hope held m June that it would be disposed of in the near future has
now been quite belied. At the end of August it was uncertain whether
q Feisal would accept Ibn Saud s letter of pardon, but by the beginning of
September this difficuity was tided over and news was received on the
3rd September that arrangements for Ibn Mashhur’s journey via Damascus were
nearmg completion. His Majesty’s Government, however, at once minted^out
fWf? 11 S n ud i5 1 ^ lsfc i^ consulted before the arrangements were completed and
that these should include proper steps to ensure that Ibn Mashhur wrmlr! +
reach the Hejaz. Thereupon Nuri Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. telegraphed on the 10th
Fuad Bey that Ibn Mashhur had been guaranLd! absXte paldon fn^ct of

About this item

Content

The volume mostly contains printed copies of despatches from HM Agent and Consul, Jeddah, to the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, enclosing reports on the situation in the Hejaz (also spelled Hedjaz in the file) [now a region of Saudi Arabia], from January 1924 to December 1930, and related enclosures to the reports. These despatches were sent to the Under-Secretary of State for India by the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. The volume also includes 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. Political and Secret Department minute papers, which include comments on the reports, and indicate that the reports had been seen by the Under-Secretary of State for India and the Political Committee of the Council of India.

The reports are monthly for January to August 1924, May 1925, September 1925 to March 1927, June 1927 to June 1930, and December 1930. Reports between these dates cover shorter periods, except July and August 1930, which are both covered by one report, and September, October and November 1930, which are also covered by one report.

The reports discuss matters including the actions of King Hussein ibn Ali al-Hashimi of the Hejaz, including his attempts to gain recognition as Caliph, and the military and financial situation in the Hejaz during the war between the Hejaz and the Saudi Sultanate of Nejd [Najd]. They report on events of the Hedjaz-Nejd war including: the capture of Taif (September 1924) and Mecca (October 1924) by Nejd; the departure of the ex-King Hussein from Jeddah; the fall of Medina and Jeddah and the surrender of the Hejaz to Sultan Abdul Aziz of Nejd [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd, also known as Ibn Saud] (December 1925); and the formal assumption of the title of King of the Hejaz and Sultan of Nejd and its Dependencies by Ibn Saud (8 January 1925).

The reports following the annexation of the Hejaz by Nejd cover internal affairs, including prohibitions introduced for religious reasons, the Hejaz Railway, the financial situation of the Hejaz-Nejd Government, and the Hejaz Air Force. They also report on foreign relations, including: the publication of an agreement, dated 21 October 1926, between Ibn Saud and Sayyid Hassan-el-Idrisi, establishing the suzerainty of Ibn Saud over Asir; relations between Ibn Saud and Imam Yahya of the Yemen; the situation on the frontiers between Nejd and Iraq, and Nejd and 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 ; and the Treaty of Jeddah between Hejaz-Nejd and Great Britain (20 May 1927). They also report Ibn Saud being proclaimed King of the Hejaz, Nejd and its Dependencies (4 April 1927).

In addition, other frequently occurring topics in the reports are: the Pilgrimage [Hajj], including the arrival of pilgrims in the Hejaz, from India, Java and elsewhere, arrangements for the pilgrimage, the welfare of pilgrims, and the repatriation of pilgrims; and the slave trade and slavery in the Hejaz, including the manumission and repatriation of slaves.

The volume includes a divider which gives the subject number, the year the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.

Extent and format
1 volume (445 folios)
Arrangement

The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume.

The subject 1707 (Arabia:- Jeddah Situation Reports. (1924-1930)) consists of one volume only.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 447; 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. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 4-444; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.

Written in
English in Latin script
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File 1707/1924 ‘Arabia:- Jeddah Situation Reports. (1924-1930)’ [‎16v] (37/898), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/1115, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100084998359.0x000026> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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