مجموعة ٣٥/ ٦ "الجزيرة العربية: الحجاز-نجد؛ المحطات اللاسلكية؛ الاتصالات البريدية والتلغرافية مع العالم الخارجي" [و‎‎٢‎٨‎٥] (١٠٣١/٥٦٩)

F'Q . 0 Vl 2 /
THIS DOCUMENT IS THE PROPERTY OF HIS BRITANNIC MAJESTY f S GOVERNMENT
t
EASTERN (Arabia).
CONFIDENTIAL.
[E 6127/74/25]
October 1 , 1934.
Section 5.
No. 1 .
I
External Telegraphic Communications of Saudi Arabia.
. u subject is adverted to in the general records of the conversations
with Fuad Bey Hamza on the 19th September, but it may be convenient to have
a separate comprehensive record of all that has passed up to date, as the matter
falls to be dealt with independently of the more or less political questions which
have been discussed;
2 . Following on huad Bey’s reference to the Eastern Telegraph Company
at the third general conversation on the 21 st September, it was found
impiacticable to bring the Sudan Government into any further discussion during
the short period of Fuad Bey s stay in London. In any case, that Government,
although interested as joint owners of the Jedda-Port Sudan cable,O are much
less effectively concerned than Cable and Wireless (Limited).
3. Marconi s had previously expressed a wish to see me about a report of
mine in July on the alleged intention of the Saudi Government to erect a wireless
station at Makhlaf in Najran. 1 took advantage of this to get into touch,
through Mr. Farrer of the Department of Overseas Trade, with both Marconi’s
and Cable and Wireless (Limited). Representatives of the two companies came
to see me early on the 24th September, Mr. H. C. Van de Velde for Marconi’s
and Mr. A. Sabater for Cable and Wireless (Limited).
4. Mr. Van de Velde told me that, since approaching the Department of
Overseas Trade, Marconi’s had heard from their local agent, Mr. Philby, that
there appeared to be no truth in the press report that the Saudi Government
intended to erect a new wireless station in Najran. All that was intended was
to utilise there one of the existing wireless sets. I told him that I had no
information except what had appeared in the L mm-al-Qura newspaper before
I left Jedda, and that Air. Philby’s report corresponded with what I should
ha\e expected. I also said that, although I had mentioned in the same report
to the Foreign Office, the presentation of automatic telephones by the Soviet to
the haudi Government, I saw no connexion between the two items of information
except that both bore on the general question of Saudi communications. I did
not know to what use the Saudi Government intended to put the automatic
telephones. Air. Van de Velde understood from Air. Philby that thev had been
moved to Riadh.
5. With regard to the general question of Saudi Arabia’s external
communications, Air. Sabater agreed after some discussion that, while no
commitments could be entered into without reference to the board of Cable and
Wireless (Limited), it might be useful for representatives of the company to
have a quite informal and non-committal discussion with Fuad Bey. I need not
record further what passed in my own preliminary conversation 1 with him. as
much the same ground was covered later, except that he seemed inclined to think
that the monopoly given to the Eastern Telegraph Company by article 6 of
their Working Agreement with the joint owners of the Jedda-Port Sudan cable
might be held to extend to the whole of Saudi Arabia, and that Cable and
Wireless might be themselves imperilling their position by agreeing to anv
external wireless service. I reminded him that proposals for such a service
between Hasa and the outer world were already in train. I said that the le°’al
question regarding the scope of the Eastern Telegraph Company monopoly had
never been threshed out, but expressed the purely personal view that the Saudi
Government were justified in considering, as they did. that the monopoly clause
affected the Hejaz only. * ' J
6 . As a result of these preliminaries, Captain N. J. C. Lawson, °'eneral
manager of Cable and Wdreless (Limited), and Mr. Sabater, met Fuad Bev and
Sheikh Hafiz Wahba under my auspices at 11 a.m. on the 25th September, at
231 a—5]
( l ) See Aunex.
B