Skip to item: of 792
Information about this record Back to top
Open in Universal viewer
Open in Mirador IIIF viewer

File 3666/1925 'ARABIA: PRINTED CORRESPONDENCE 1924-28' [‎354r] (718/792)

This item is part of

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.

Apply page layout

1
79
20. Jeddah.— There is no change in the situation, nor does any seem pro
bable for some time.
21. Hussein is reported to be sending his treasure from Akaba to Egypt
though it is very unlikely that he himself will be allowed to land in that country.
22. One of the Hedjaz steamers, the " Rushdy ”, recently arrested three
Italian dhows from Massowa in the course of the so called blockade and brought
them to Jeddah.
23. The Commanding Officer of the Italian Destroyer " Antonio Mosto ”
did not hear of this for some hours, but when he did, he boarded the dhows and
demanded, and obtained, the immediate release of dhows and crew.
24. Unfortunately the cargo was already landed and he is very wroth with
his Consul for negotiating and wiring home instead of demanding the immediate
and unconditional release of this cargo.
25. I foresee possibly serious trouble over this question of blockade and
arming steamers and dhows as reported in my submission No. S. 0./D./10,
dated the 10th March 1925 and I would submit that a decision may be come to
as to whether Arabian Coastal Potentates are to be allowed armed craft and
to conduct maritime operations which will obviously degenerate into piracy.
26. Future Movements.—On arrival of H. M. S. " Cornflower ” I propose to
go to Aden to meet he new Resident and then to operate in the Southern Area
against the Slave Trade, etc.
Med. No. 700/123.
Secretary of the Admiralty.
Forwarded for information.
Malta, 16th April, 1925.
II.
(Sd.)
Admiral, Commander-in-Chief.
(105)
(Received' on 15th June 1925, with Political Seer etar y's letter No .22, dated 28th May
1925.)
Enclosure in Foreign Office Covering letter dated 23rd May 1925.
Letter from His Excellency the High Commissioner for Egypt, to the
Foreign Office, No. 340, dated the 9th May 1925.
With reference to my telegram No. 157 of April 21st, regarding the proposed
Russian pilgrimage, I have the honour to report that H. Van der Plas, the Dutch
Consul General in Jeddah, who called at the Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. on his way to Holland con
firmed my suspicion that the 5,000 Russian pilgrims for whose passage to the
Hedjaz the Soviet Government are attempting to arrange, are destined for Ali’s
reinforcement. Their advent is discussed in Jeddah primarily from this point of
view.
Bin Saud, apparently turned a very cold shoulder towards the overtures of
the Soviet Representative, and Bolshevistic methods find no sympathy from him.
At the same time as he expressed himself contemptuously tcwards the Russian
Mission in the Hedjaz, he spoke very highly of British methods and government..
This was in the presence of M. Van der Plas’ (Javanese) A ice Consul.
M. Van der Pias informs me confidentially that he has had occasion to report
fully to his Government on the mainly anti-British activities of the Soviet Mission
in Jeddah, but that he has no instructions to put all his information at the disposal
of Mr. Bullard. He has, however, urged his Minister for Foreign Affairs to com
municate a memorandum on the subject to His Majesty s Government, and it
is to be hoped that this will be done.
I would suggest for your consideration the possibility of coming to some arrange
ment with the Netherlands Government for the exchange of information dealing
with such subversive movements from which both Governments are liable to suffer,
A copy of this despatch has been sent to Jeddah.
MC306FD

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

Use and share this item

Share this item
Cite this item in your research

File 3666/1925 'ARABIA: PRINTED CORRESPONDENCE 1924-28' [‎354r] (718/792), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/1155, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100145454965.0x000077> [accessed 13 July 2026]

Link to this item
Embed this item

Copy and paste the code below into your web page where you would like to embed the image.

<meta charset="utf-8"><a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100145454965.0x000077">File 3666/1925 'ARABIA: PRINTED CORRESPONDENCE 1924-28' [&lrm;354r] (718/792)</a>
<a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100145454965.0x000077">
	<img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000466.0x00011d/IOR_L_PS_10_1155_0718.jp2/full/!280,240/0/default.jpg" alt="" />
</a>
IIIF details

This record has a IIIF manifest available as follows. If you have a compatible viewer you can drag the icon to load it.https://www.qdl.qa/en/iiif/81055/vdc_100000000466.0x00011d/manifestOpen in Universal viewerOpen in Mirador viewerMore options for embedding images

Use and reuse
Download this image