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File 1707/1924 ‘Arabia:- Jeddah Situation Reports. (1924-1930)’ [‎339r] (682/898)

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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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j This Document is tfie Property'©n
ic Majesty's Government. 1
EASTERN (Arabia).
CONFIDENTIAL.
v
[June 15, 1925.]
Section 2 .
[E 3520/10/91]
No. 1.
Consul Bullard to Mr. Austen Chamberlain.—{Received June 15.)
(No. 51. Secret.)
Sir,
Jeddah, May 29, 1925.
I HAVE the honour to enclose a report on the situation covering the period the
or>4-U TV/T.— n ^
22nd-29th May.
2. Copies of this despatch and of its enclosure are being sent to India, Egypt
Khartum (through Port Sudan), Jerusalem, Bagdad, Beirut (for Damascus), Aden’
Singapore, Bushire, Koweit, Bahrein and Muskat.
I have, &c.
R. W. BULLARD.
Enclosure in No. 1.
Report for the Period May 22-29, 1925.
(Secret.)
KAIMAKAM SALIH BEY ABDUL RAHMAN, who has been appointed
vice-consul for Egypt in Jeddah, arrived on the 26th May. He will relieve this agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent.
of one of its most thankless tasks—applying to the Egyptian authorities for permission
for Hedjazis, penniless students, Russian refugees, &c., to go to Egypt.
The Egyptian Government gave the Hedjaz Government no intimation—official or
unofficial—of their intention to establish a consular post at Jeddah, nor did they
authorise their representative to enter into official relations with the authorities here.
The Hedjaz Government heard privately of his approaching arrival and made special
arrangements to greet him fittingly, but he made some excuse and the band and the
guard of honour had to be taken away before he landed. iSalih Bey is now waiting for
instructions from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in Cairo as to whether he may accept
the invitation of King Ali to pay him a visit.
I hear that Habib Lutfullah took with him to Egypt a letter from Ali to
King Fuad, expressing the hope that the misunderstandings engendered in King
Hussein’s reign had been removed, relations in the future would be cordial and so on.
2. The latest number of Ibn Baud’s newspaper, “ Umm-al-Kura” (No. 20), to reach
Jeddah contains a long account of the recent peace move, in winch Sheikh Fuad was
concerned. It states that certain of the consular representatives who went to Mecca
for the “ umrah ” spoke about peace, in their private capacity, and said that Sheikh I uad
wanted to know whether Ibn Saud would receive him. (Two of them—the Russian
and the Persian—have denied this ; the third is on leave.) Ibn Saud said he was readj-
to see anyone. Then follow copies of correspondence between Sheikh Fuad and
Ibn Saud, from which it would appear that the initiative came from Sheikh I uad.
What is not clear is why Ibn Saud should have taken the trouble to send this agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. ,
just at that moment, a secret letter stating, for the information of His Majesty s
Government, that he had never closed the door against peace.
The “ Umm-al-Kura ” then produces what purports to be the minutes of a meeting
of amirs, which Ibn Saud summoned to decide whether he should receive Sheikh Fuad
or not; the amirs are represented as immovably opposed to Hussein and his sons.
Finally there follows an alleged summary of the conversations between Ibn Saud and
Sheikh Fuad. It is a good deal more skilfully put together than Hussein’s propaganda
used to be, and Sheikh Fuad admits that it is correct in the main, though he says that
Ibn Saud promised not to publish anything that was said in the course of their
interviews. Sheikh Fuad is represented as admitting that there is little to be said for
Hussein, Feisal and Abdullah, but maintaining that Ali is a man of a better stamp.
Ibn Saud makes the most of Hussein's continued residence at Akaba and of the
reinforcements which have reached Jeddah from Abdullah. He successfully establishes
Sheikh Fuad’s unimportance by reminding him that—according to the Hedjaz archives
left behind at Mecca—letters were sometimes issued from Mecca purporting to be signed
[976 p—2]

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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)’ [‎339r] (682/898), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/1115, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100084998362.0x000053> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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