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File 488/1920 Pt 3 ‘Hedjaz:- Relations between H.M. Govt & King Hussein. Question of subsidy. Negotiations for conclusion of a treaty.’ [‎43r] (90/940)

The record is made up of 1 volume (466 folios). It was created in 25 May 1921-25 Aug 1925. It was written in English, French and Arabic. 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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<&
2 .
Feisal and Abdullah, represent a sincere attempt on the part
of Great Britain to satisfy Arab national ambitions,
6. A further attempt to fulfil our pledges is still being
made in uhe negotiations which have now been in progress for
two years and a half for a treaty with the Hedjaz. In
December 1921 Colonel Lawrence and the Emir Abdullah signed a
document, which it was believed would meet with the acceptance
of King Hussein* That ruler, who is of a headstrong,
suspicious and erratic nature, took exception to some of its
provisions and the negotiations were dropped until the autumn
of 1922 when an envoy of King Hussein, Dr. Naji-el-Assil,
arrived in London with a fresh draft of the Treaty signed by
his King. His Majesty’s Government, however, were unable to
accept this draft without certain amendments, and after long
negotiations Dr. Naji-el-Assil left for Jeddah in April 1923
with an amended draft initialled by Lord Curzon. Again King
Hussein insisted on altering the text, and his representative
returned to London to resume the negotiations, which have
dragged on intermittently ever since.
7. The annexed copy of the text of the draft treaty shows
in red ink the amendments which we have agreed with Dr. Naji-
el-Assil to adopt,
8. The main objects which we had in view in framing the
treaty were as follows:-
(1) The protection of the rights and interests of
British subjects in the Hedjaz.
(2) That King Hussein should recognise and respect our
existing treaties with those Arab rulers, whose boundaries
march with the boundaries of the Hedjaz, namely the Sultan of
Nejd and the Idrisi Ruler of the Asir, and that he should
undertake to refrain from all aggression against or interference
with/

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Content

The volume contains papers concerning relations between the British Government and the King of Hedjaz [Hejaz or Al-Hijaz].

Most of the papers relate to negotiations between the British Government and King Hussein ibn Ali al-Hashimi over the terms of an Anglo-Hashimite treaty, and revisions to the draft treaty. These papers mainly consist of correspondence and copies of draft versions of the treaty.

The file also includes correspondence regarding:

  • The proposed subsidy to the King of the Hedjaz
  • The Foreign Office’s objection to the India Office’s suggestion that King Hussein should be persuaded to publicly recognise the religious suzerainty of the Sultan of Turkey as Khalif (Khaliph) over the Holy Places of the Hedjaz
  • King Hussein’s threat to abdicate on 27 February 1922, and the question of whether he should be allowed by the British Government to remain in Mecca in the event of his abdication
  • The Foreign Office’s request for the views of the Secretary of State for India (Viscount Peel) on the advisability of requiring King Hussein to ratify the Treaty of Versailles, as well as to accept the treaty with HM Government, as conditions which would need to be met before Hussein would be invited to visit Great Britain
  • The refusal of the British Government to enter into further negotiations with King Ali ibn Hussein al-Hashimi for the conclusion of the Anglo-Hashimite treaty, following King Hussein’s abdication in October 1924 (after military defeat by Ibn Saud), ‘so long as present unsettled conditions in the Hejaz continue’.

The correspondence (and copy correspondence) is mainly between the following: the 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. , the Colonial Office (John Evelyn Shuckburgh, John Ernest William Flood), and the Foreign Office; the 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. and the Government of India Foreign and Political Department; the Foreign Office and Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Edward Lawrence; the Foreign Office and HM Agent and Consul at Jeddah (Major W E Marshall, Laurence Barton Grafftey-Smith, and Reader (William) Bullard, successively); the Foreign Office and Dr Naji el Assil, agent of King Hussein; the Secretary of State for the Colonies and the British Resident at Aden; and the Secretary of State for the Colonies and the High Commissioner of Palestine (Herbert Louis Samuel).

The volume includes a document entitled ‘Translation of a Report sent to His Majesty King Hussein 1st to Mecca’, signed Habib Lotfallah, Envoy Extraordinary of King Hussein, London, 24 October 1920, which includes translations in French and Arabic (folios 101 to 102).

The file 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 (466 folios)
Arrangement

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

The subject 488 (Pt 1-2 Arabia, and Pt 3 Hedjaz) consists of two volumes, IOR/L/PS/10/880 and IOR/L/PS/10/881. The volumes are divided into three parts, with parts 1 and 2 comprising one volume, and part 3 comprising the second volume.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 468; 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. The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers, nor does it include the leading and ending flyleaves.

Written in
English, French and Arabic in Latin script
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File 488/1920 Pt 3 ‘Hedjaz:- Relations between H.M. Govt & King Hussein. Question of subsidy. Negotiations for conclusion of a treaty.’ [‎43r] (90/940), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/881, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100085520014.0x00005b> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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