"ملف ٨٢/٢٧ III (F 84) شركة النفط الأنجلو فارسية أ.ب.و.ك: نفط قطر" [و‎‎١‎٦‎٤] (٦٣٨/٣٢٩)

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to Ibn Sauti. He v/as then anxious about the future of his
independence snci 116 se6nis "to I18.V6 sot) t»ji8 wind up ci^'ciin in
1932, when he asked for a guarantee ot British protection
against landward aggression. I have not got the papers
regarding this request and the answer to it, so I do not
know whether he renewed his intimation that, "If I cannot
be helped, I shall have to seek some other way." I do not
recall any further mention of the suosidy as such out in
1933 attention was drawn several times to a financial
transaction involving a sum of 10,000 rupees or pounds.
AH the versions in 1953 represented this as money owed hy
Ibn Saud to the Sheykh. Now we have well-informed Holmes
-coming along (enclosure in your P.L.No.53) and saying that
the Sheykh is well off out has to pay sums estimated at
£10,000 a year to Ton daua and that the reason for his
being summoned to Riyadh was that he had neglected the
payment for two years.
I suggest for consideration the following questions:-
(a) Has the 3heikh of % atar been for some time before
1930 a tributary of Ibn Saud?
(h) Was his journey to Riyadh the result of his seeking
•the other way 11 , which he foreshadowed in 1930, and which
have appeared to him all the more necessary after the
refusal of British protection in 1932, if he was in arrear
with his tribute?
(c) Is it not at least possible that, when at Riyadh,
^he Sheykh agreed to some territorial settlement with Ibn
S^ud, even though it is hard to believe that he csn have
gone so far as suggested in the report in Fowled Express
Letter, No. 1957S of December 22?
(d) Are any of the other Trucial Sheykhs in similar
r elations to Ibn Saua, as might be inferred from the
P a ssage quoted above from Laithwaite's memorandum?
(Yours ever),
.ANDREW RYAN.