IOR/R/15/1/568

The volume consists of letters, telegrams, and memoranda relating to the Hejaz and Najd. Much of the correspondence is from the British Legation in Jeddah, with regular reports on the situation in that region sent to Sir John Simon, the Foreign Secretary in London. The rest of the correspondence is mostly between the Political Residency in Bushire, the Political Agencies in Kuwait, Bahrain, and Muscat, the Colonial Office, and the Government of India.

The main subjects of the volume are:

• the change in name from 'The Kingdom of the Hejaz-Nejd and its Dependencies' to 'The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia';
• the announcement of Ibn Sa'ud's eldest son, Prince Sa'ud, as the heir apparent to the throne;
• the territorial dispute between Yemen and Saudi Arabia after the latter's absorption of the 'Asir region into its kingdom.

A copy of the 23 September 1932 issue of the newspaper Umm al-Qura is contained in the volume (folios 57-58). It features the Royal Order proclaiming the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Other miscellaneous subjects covered in the volume include:

• relations between Italy and Saudi Arabia;
• a dispute between Ibn Sa'ud and his agent in Bahrain, al-Quasaibi [‘Abd al-‘Azīz al-Qusaibi], over a debt the former owes the latter;
• a revolt against Ibn Sa'ud by tribes loyal to ex-King Hussein coming from Sinai;
• a request for a loan made by Ibn Sa'ud to the British Government;
• relations between the Soviet Union and Saudi Arabia;
• relations between the USA and Saudi Arabia, including the visit of a Mr Gallant looking for oil concessions;
• concessions for the building of the railway between Mecca and Jeddah;
• the prospect of Saudi Arabia joining the League of Nations;
• the case of two slave girls seeking refuge at the British Legation in Jeddah.

Other documents of note contained in the volume are:

• a copy of a new customs tariff for Saudi Arabia (folios 122-134)
• a 'Who's Who' of Saudi Arabia, produced by the British Legation in Jeddah and covering all those deemed important to know by the British (folios 183-200);
• an envelope containing the torn-out pages of an article in the International Affairs journal (Vol. 12, No. 4, Jul., 1933, pp 518-534) entitled 'Ibn Sa'ud and the Future of Arabia.'

At the back of the volume (folios 245-251) are internal office notes.