File 3666/1925 'ARABIA: PRINTED CORRESPONDENCE 1924-28' [352v] (715/792)
The record is made up of 1 volume (388 folios). It was created in 27 Dec 1924-28 Oct 1929. 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. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
“ O ” copy on File No. 161-N.
76
16. This appears to be piracy.
17. There are now about 16 dhows under arrest in the ha bour of whom our
belong to Asir and the remainder to the Hedjaz.
18. No great effort of imagination is needed to visualise ’he state of piracy
and disorder that will ensue within a very short while in all Arabian waters, if
every Sheikh on the coast is to be allowed to send armed dhows and steamers to
sea at h’s pleasure.
19. I would submit that I may be informed what attitude one of H. M. Ships
should adopt towards one of these craft if met within course of the usual procedure
of searching dhows for s aves or arms.
(101)
Enclosure in Foreign Office covering letter dated the 7th May 1925.
(Received on 1st June 1925 with Political Secretary's letter No.. 20, dated the 14th
May 1925.)
COPY* OF A LETTER FROM THE FOREIGN OFFICE TO THE ADMIRALTY, No. E.-2620-10-
91, DATED THE 6TH MAY 1925.
In reply to your letter No. M.-0931-25 of the 2nd instant (Serial No. 100)
relative to the attempted blockade of certain ports in the Red Sea by the Hejaz
Government, I am directed by Mr. Secretary Chamberlain to transmit to you,
for the information of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, the accompany
ing copy of a letter which he has addressed to the Colonial Office.
2. Mr. Chamberlain is of opinion that as the present conflict between the
Hejaz and Nejd involves religious issues of great importance to the Moslem world,
and as His Majesty's Government have publicly announced their neutrality, it
cannot be regarded as belonging to the same category as quarrels between the
lesser chieftains of the Arabian Peninsula such as that for instance, which is now
in progress between the Imam and the Idrisi. During the great war His Majesty’s
Government recognised the independence of the Hejaz, which received further
international recognition by the admission of its delegates to the signing of the
Treaty of Verseilles. Moreover, as is pointed out in your letter, the Hejaz is
among the original signatories of the Arms Traffic Convention of 1919.
3. It appears to Mr. Chamberlain that if the Hejaz Government were in a
position to enforce an effective blockade of the Hejaz coast, it would be difficult
for His Majesty’s Government to contest their right to do so. It is, however,
clear from the various reports received from His Majesty’s Agent and Consul at
Jeddah that the Hejaz Government are unable to enforce a strict blockade, and
His Majesty’s Government have therefore decided not to recognise the existence
of such a blockade. In these circumstances, interference with ships flying the
British flag should not be tolerated ; but His Majesty’s Ships would not be entited
to prevent the Hejaz patrol vessels from interfering with the native dhows
within Hejaz territorial waters unless these dhows were known to belong to British
subjects or British protected persons.
4. Mr. Cl amberlain trusts that it may be possible for the British naval au
thorities in the Red Sea to be guided by the above ruling, while at the same time
continuing to do all in their power to suppress the slave traffic and gun-running
outside Hejaz territorial waters.
5. Copies of this letter are being sent to the Colonial Office,
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
Air Ministry,
(102)
Enclosure in Colonial Office covering letter No. 20521-25, dated the
7th May 1925.
(Received on 1st June 1925 with Political Secretary’s letter No. 20, dated the 14th
May 1925.)
Telegram P., from the Resident in the
Persian Gulf
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
, to Bushire, THE
Secretary of State for the Colonies, No. 14, dated the 5th May 1925.
(Repeated to BAGHDAD and Jerusalem No. 277).
Your telegram of 25th February sent to Palestine, No. 49, and Baghdad,
No. 82. [File 4 (3)-X.].
About this item
- Content
This volume mainly relates to British policy in Arabia, and specifically concerns British relations with Ibn Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd, also referred to in the correspondence as Bin Saud]. The papers cover the Hejaz-Nejd War of 1924-25 and political affairs in Ibn Saud's Kingdom of Hejaz and Sultanate of Nejd [Najd] (or the Kingdom of Hejaz and Nejd, as it became in 1927).
The volume mainly consists of compiled sections of printed correspondence, with each section closing with a report from the British Agent and Consul at Jeddah. The most prominently featured correspondents are as follows: the British Agent and Consul, Jeddah; the Secretary of State for India; the Secretary of State for the Colonies; 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. , Aden; the High Commissioner, Egypt; the High Commissioner, Iraq; the High Commissioner, Palestine; officials of the Colonial Office, the Foreign Office, the Admiralty, 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 Government of India's Foreign and Political Department. Also featured as correspondents are Ibn Saud, King Ali [‘Alī bin Ḥusayn al-Hāshimī], and British Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin.
Matters covered in the correspondence include the following:
- Diplomatic relations between Ibn Saud and Britain, Italy, France, the Netherlands, and Persia [Iran]
- Information on developments in the Hejaz-Nejd War of 1924-25, mainly in the form of telegrams and letters from the British Agent and Consul at Jeddah, and British policy regarding the conflict
- British policy in relation to the fate of the ex-King Hussein [Ḥusayn bin ‘Alī al-Hāshimī]
- Reports of Wahabi forces having damaged or destroyed holy sites in Mecca and Medina
- The efforts of King Ali [‘Alī bin Ḥusayn al-Hāshimī] to raise money in Jeddah
- Details of the Hadda Agreement and the Bahra Agreement, concluded between Sir Gilbert Clayton and Ibn Saud in late 1925
- Details of King Ali's surrender and abdication on 19 December 1925, and arrangements for his passage out of Jeddah
- Britain's recognition of Ibn Saud as King of the Hejaz in February 1926
- British concerns regarding the spread of anti-British opinion in the Hejaz
- Public outrage in the wider Muslim world regarding the desecration of holy sites by the Wahabis, and the British Government's refusal to become involved, owing to its stated policy of non-intervention in Muslim religious affairs
- British efforts to ensure the Government of Hejaz's participation in the International Sanitary Convention of 1926
- Arrangements for a private visit to London by Ibn Saud's son Faisal [Fayṣal bin ‘Abd al-‘Azīz Āl Sa‘ūd] in September 1926
- British concerns regarding Ibn Saud's diplomatic relations with Soviet Russia [Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, or USSR]
- A change to Ibn Saud's title in 1927, from 'King of Hejaz and Sultan of Nejd' to 'King of Hejaz and Nejd'
- The conclusion of the Treaty of Jeddah in June 1927
- Relations between Ibn Saud and the Imam of Yemen [Yaḥyá Muḥammad Ḥamīd al-Dīn], and the former's suspicions that the Italian Government has been supplying the Imam with arms
- Profiles of prominent figures in the Kingdom of Hejaz and Nejd
- The number of pilgrims arriving each year for Hajj
- Tense relations between Ibn Saud and the Iraqi Government, particularly concerning the Uqair Protocol.
Also included with the correspondence are the following: minutes of an interdepartmental conference held at the Colonial Office on 20 May 1926, to discuss matters arising out of Clayton's Mission to Ibn Saud (ff 178-179); a Colonial Office memorandum entitled 'British Interests in Arabia', dated 8 December 1926 (ff 111-113).
The volume includes a small amount of correspondence written in French.
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 (f 1).
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (388 folios)
- Arrangement
The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 388; 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. A previous foliation sequence between ff 118-388, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out. The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers, nor does it include the leading and ending flyleaves.
Pagination: each of the various sections of printed correspondence has its own printed pagination sequence.
- Written in
- English and French in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/10/1155
- Title
- File 3666/1925 'ARABIA: PRINTED CORRESPONDENCE 1924-28'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, i-r:ii-v, 1r:2v, 4r, 5v:14r, 15r, 16v:18r, 20v:25v, 26v:45v, 47r:47v, 49r:51v, 54r:55v, 56v:59r, 61r:65v, 67r:70r, 71v:88v, 89v:95v, 96v:103v, 105v:106v, 107v:108r, 110v:113v, 115r:116v, 118r, 119r:120r, 121r:122v, 123v:128r, 130r:136v, 138r, 140r:143r, 145v, 146v:147v, 149r, 150v:153v, 155r:156r, 157r, 158v:161r, 162v:167v, 169v:173r, 174v, 177r:187v, 189r:189v, 192r:193r, 195v, 197v:203r, 204v:213r, 215v:216v, 218r, 219v:220v, 221v, 222v:223v, 225r:227r, 228v:229r, 231r:232r, 233r, 234r:240r, 243r:260r, 261v:267r, 269r:269v, 271v:274r, 276v:280r, 282v:285v, 288r:289r, 290v:291v, 294r, 295v:296r, 299r:300r, 302r:304r, 305r, 306v, 308v:317r, 318v:319r, 320r:321r, 323r:325v, 327v:338r, 339v:359r, 360v:367r, 368v:369v, 371r, 372v:373r, 374v, 375v:376v, 378v, 380r:384v, 387r:388v, iii-r:iv-v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence
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