"ملف 61/11 IV (D 77) مسائل متنوعة خاصة بالحجاز ونجد" [و‎‎٢‎٤] (٣٦٦/٥٥)

this document is the property of his britannic majesty 's government.
Bl
EASTERN (Arabia)^ ft** „ jr 0 August 29, 1930.
£ 'Sllb
• - ■...♦iriri
CONFIDENTIAL. Section 1.
IE
\
4657/4309/91] No. 1.
Sir A. Ryan to Mr. A. Hen'derson.—(Received Auqust 29.)
(No. 218.) ^
^ lr > Jedda, August 11, 1930.
IX my despatch No. 184 of the 28th June I recorded a personal conversation
with the Acting Minister for Foreign Affairs regarding the conditions governing
diplomatic work in this country. One of my various reasons for choosing the
moment of that conversation for a strong expression of views was that since the King
went to Taif he was known to have been giving much of his time to questions of
reorganisation of the administration of the Hejaz as well as to the revision of legis
lation. Comparatively little information had, however, been made public regarding
his new administrative plans except as regards changes in the personnel of various
departments, like Customs, municipalities, law courts, and certain committees,
matters of considerable local interest, but not important enough to record in a
despatch.
2. \\hen Fuad Bey came back to Jedda early in August he himself returned
to the subject of arrangements for foreign affairs/ He told me on the 3rd August,
by way of a personal though not very confidential statement, that the long-talked-of
decision to make the Amir Faisal Minfster for Foreign Affairs had been definitely
taken. He, Fuad, would remain as second-in-command. The Ministry would be
really organised in four sections as soon as men could be found to act as their heads.
When they were complete, the heads of sections responsible for relations with the
foreign missions would be either resident or constantly accessible in Jedda, it was
not clear which. He himself would carry on the Jedda work until this could be
arranged. The reorganisation would soon be publicly announced.
3. I welcomed this statement, provided it did not mean that I should be thrown
back on heads of sections for the handling of important affairs. Fuad Bey reassured
me on this point, and said that he expected to play much the same role vis-a-vis of
the foreign representatives as before. I said that, as a personal matter, I should
have preferred not to have had another intermediary besides himself between me
and the King.
4. On this Fuad Bey made the most interesting part of his statement. The
King, he said, was over-tired. He was at last listening to "his doctors and trying to
ease off, with a view to being able to reign rather than to rule. It was therefore
proposed to delegate extensive powers to the Amir Faisal, who is to remain Viceroy
of the Hejaz, and who will now take over much of the King's work in respect of
foreign affairs.
5. It is hardly credible that Ibn Saud, masterful and restless as he is, should
abdicate so much of his real power as the foregoing suggests, but it will be interesting
to see what balance is achieved under the new arrangements.
6. It had already been announced in the " Umm-al-Qura " of the 18th July
that one of the decisions taken during the recent conferences was to constitute in
the Diwan a political department under Sheikh Yusuf Yasin. I asked Fuad Bey
whether this new department would also be concerned with foreign affairs. He
replied that it was being created to provide a single channel in the King's Palace
system, through which matters dealt with in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs would
pass. This is as it may be, but it is obvious that Yusuf Yasin will be in a strong
position to ventilate his views, especially as Ibn Saud probably reposes more trust
in him than in Fuad Hamza, to whom he probably clings more because of his utility
and undoubted ability than because he has complete confidence in him. I consider
it an exaggeration to regard Yusuf Yasin and Fuad as so closely united in what has
been called the " Syrian group " as to see eye to eye on all matters, and Ibn Saud
might well use the former as a check on the latter.
I have, &c.
ANDREW RYAN.
[193 ff—1]