مجموعة ٦/ ٢١(٢) "المملكة العربية السعودية: العلاقات مع حكومة بريطانيا: المفوضية السعودية في لندن والوزير البريطاني في جدة. تمديد معاهدة جدة." [و‎‎١‎٧‎٦] (٧٦١/٣٥١)

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THIS DOCUMENT IS THE PROPERTY 0}
— 1
f HisYiHlTTONlC MAJESTY’S GOVERNMENT
EASTERN (Arabia).
'' o n
April 12, 1937.
CONFIDENTIAL.
1 1^3 7 j
Section 1.
[E 1960/92/25]
Copy No.
Mr. Bullard to Mr. Eden.—(Received April 12.)
(No. 40.)
Sir, Jedda, March 23, 1937.
Mr. RENDEL’S tour in the Near and Middle East brought him to Jedda
on the 17th March, a few days after Ibn Sand’s first appearance in Jedda since
my arrival at this post last September, and when I presented Mr. Rendel to him
I had myself only seen him once, a few days before, and that only for a short
call such as was paid by all the foreign representatives in Jedda. It was to be
expected that Ibn Saud would wish to use this opportunity to speak of various
matters affecting the relations between His Majesty’s Government and Saudi
Arabia, and after we had had two meetings on current questions with Sheikh
Yusuf Yasin and Sheikh Hafiz Wahba we were invited to call on His Majesty
for a conversation on matters of mutual interest. This resulted in three meetings
lasting some two hours or more each, and a fourth which might have lasted as
long had not Mr. Rendel been obliged to leave to catch his steamer for Egypt.
2. Fuad Bey had left Jedda unexpectedly a few days before Mr. RendeTs
arrival. The alleged reason for his departure at a moment when the presence of
the Deputy Foreign Minister might have been regarded as essential was the
health of his little boy, about whom he professed to be exceedingly anxious, but
information from other quarters does not bear out the plea that the child was
seriously ill, and it may be that his jealousy of Sheikh Hafiz Wahba, the Saudi
Minister in London, who would naturally be present at any interviews accorded
to Mr. Rendel, made him glad to leave, and that the King, who perhaps does not
trust him fully, was glad to let him take a holiday. During one of our
conversations the King mentioned with emphasis as the three men he trusted
Sheikh Hafiz Wahba, Sheikh Yusuf Yasin and his son Faisal, the Minister for
Foreign Affairs. The Amir joined the group on two occasions, the other two
were present throughout. From statements made during the conversations, I
am forced to conclude that I have been misled by Fuad Bey on one or two points,
and for this reason, and also because of the general pro-Italian reputation which
he has acquired, it is impossible to believe that conversations such as we had
could have been as full and as frank had Fuad Bey been present.
3. The lavish hospitality which Ibn Saud always displays to guests
threatened to assume an alarmingly public character in Jedda. We were
embarrassed to discover that not only were dinners to Mr. Rendel to be given by
the King and the Amir Faisal—festivities which might be taken as a reasonable
return for hospitality enjoyed by the Amirs Saud and Faisal in England—-but a
dinner was to be given by Sheikh Abdallah Sulaiman, the Minister of Finance.
At our request the third dinner was cancelled, but it was replaced by a tea-party,
which was attended by the King. The personal character of the party was,
however, emphasised by the presence of Mrs. Rendel. The King made a very
rare exception to his rule not to receive European ladies, and had her placed m
the seat of honour on his right.
4. Not only did we endeavour to avoid some of the external signs ot an
official visit, but Mr. Rendel was careful to explain, both at the beginning of his
visit to Jedda and also just before his departure, that his journey was personal
and private. It was undertaken, he explained, in response to the generous
invitation of His Highness the Amir Saud. Nevertheless, he had taken the
opportunity to study carefully on the spot various mattei s affecting Aaiglo-Saudi
relations, in particular the Qatar boundary, and he would be glad if he could
assist in arriving at a settlement of this or of any other outstanding question.
5. At my urgent request Mr. Rendel took the leading part whenever there
was a question of explaining the point of view of His Majesty’s Government on
matters of importance. This was not only reasonable in that he was merely
going again over ground covered on many occasions with the Saudi representative