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'File 61/11 IX (D 159) Nejd-Hejaz Miscellaneous' [72r] (154/391)
The record is made up of 1 volume (192 folios). It was created in 4 Apr 1939-16 Jan 1942. It was written in English. 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.
THIS DOCUMENT IS THE PROPERTY OF HIS BRITANNIC MAJESTY'S GOVERNMENT
~ ^
ARABIA. January 15, 1940.
CONFIDENTIAL. ) d • S ection 1.
■ i |\) CXA^OL aaa,
y ^i~| uxp
[E 183/183/25] Copy No. J Q ^
Mr. Trott to Mr. BaggaLlay.— {Received Jcmuary 15, 1940.)
(Secret.)
My dear Lacy, Jedda, December 26, 1939.
I SEND you herewi th a copy of an interesting letter dated the 16th December
received from de Gaury. In telegraphing to me two days later about Ibn Sand's
apprehensions concerning rumours of tension between Iraq and Iran de Gaury
referred to this letter and said that Ibn Sand was pressing him for a reply
to his recent declaration and his offer to co-operate with us, emphasising the
need for early preparations against coming events. So I hope the letter will
enable you to form a clearer idea of what Ibn Sand really had in mind in his
recent long statement, on which Bullard commented in his despatch No. 160
of the 13th November, 1939.(')
2. Perhaps the truth of the matter is, as Yusuf Yasin says, Ibn Saud
regards himself as always at war, and wants to do his bit in the present conflict,
without quite deciding what that bit is or ought to be. At any rate there is
a good deal of material for you and our new Minister to think over.
3. The state of the Saudi finances seems to be worse than we had thought,
and, with a small pilgrimage inevitable, the immediate outlook is not rosy. It
is a good thing that Bashir as Sadawi, a man of increasing importance, has been
instructed to go into the question of cutting down expenditure.
4. As for the methods in which we might help the King, there is one which
de Gaury does not mention : it is the formation of a National Bank. You will
remember that the Minister of Finance raised this difficult question with me
as recorded in my despatch No. 135 E. of the 22nd August, 1939. No doubt
what he was really contemplating was getting British help in straightening out
accounts which it is impossible to balance, so that the onus of failure could
be cast on someone else. The functions and the powers of the bank would have
to be very carefully thought out ; but it may be possible, with goodwill on the
Saudi side, to devise some means of British assistance in getting order out of
chaos in Government finance. One great difficulty would be the control of the
expenditure of the court.
5. As for the provision of meteorological data, we have already endeavoured
to get the permission of Ibn Saud for the importation of meteorological instru
ments offered us by the Sudan Government, without much success. Yusuf Yasin
seemed to think that instruments erected on our roofs would be liable to misinter
pretation. However, de Gaury's proposal to train the Saudis to record their
own meteorological data is on a different footing. The difficulty might be to
^ persuade the Saudis of the necessity of having such data at all : perhaps when
some of their ancient aeroplanes crash in bad weather (which God forbid) they
might see the need more clearly.
Yours sincerely.
ALAN C. TROTT.
Enclosure.
Mr. de Gaury to Mr. Trott.
(No. 8. Secret.)
My dear Trott, Riymdh, December 18, 1939.
I HAVE had, as you will have supposed, many audiences of the King since
I have been here. Some of them have been very long, and Sheikh Yusuf told
me that His Majesty had spoken at greater length than usual. He himself said
that he had not talked to anyone so much since his talks with Sir Percy Cox.
(') Eastern (Arabia), December 4, 1939, Section 2.
[805 p—1]
About this item
- Content
The volume consists of letters, telegrams, and reports relating to the affairs of Saudi Arabia. Most of the correspondence is between the British Legation in Jeddah, the Political 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. in Bushire, the Foreign Office in London, the Political Agencies in Kuwait and Bahrain, 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. in London, and the Government of India.
The volume covers the build up to and outbreak of the Second World War and thus much of the correspondence focuses on this subject. Topics include:
- the activities of the Germans, Italians, and Japanese in the region;
- Ibn Sa'ud's allegiance to Britain and the Allies;
- Ibn Sa'ud's anxiety about Hashemite dominance in Syria and potential attack from hostile Arab nations;
- anti-Allied sentiment in the region;
- the financial and political contribution of the United States of America.
Other subjects covered by the volume are:
- the maintenance of law and order in the Kingdom;
- the presence of community feeling and national identity;
- Captain De Gaury's journeys in Saudi Arabia, including a report on agricultural development at Kharj, and the objection to his proposed tour of all of Arabia;
- Amir Sa'ud's trip to India for medical treatment;
- the anti-British activities of St John Philby and his subsequent arrest in India.
At the back of the volume (folios 177-186) are internal office notes.
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (192 folios)
- Arrangement
The volume is arranged chronologically.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: The sequence starts on the first folio and continues through to the inside back cover. The numbering is written in pencil, circled, and located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. of each folio. The first three folios are marked 1A, 1B, and 1C respectively, then the sequence continues from 2 as normal. There is one other foliation system, written in pencil and inconsistent.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/R/15/1/572
- Title
- 'File 61/11 IX (D 159) Nejd-Hejaz Miscellaneous'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, 1r:1v, 1br:1cv, 2r:43r, 44v:58v, 60r:166r, 166r:189v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence