IOR/R/15/1/570

The volume contains letters, telegrams, and memoranda relating to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Most of the correspondence is between the British Legation in Jeddah, the Foreign Office in London, the Political Residencies in Bushire and Aden, the Political Agencies in Bahrain, Kuwait, and Muscat, the High Commissioner in Trans-Jordan, the British Embassy in Baghdad, the Colonial Office in London, the India Office in London, the Government of India, and Ibn Sa'ud.

The volume covers a wide range of subjects, including:

• the dispute between Saudi Arabia and Yemen, including issues of the translation of the Treaty of Taif;
• the planning, development, and financing of roads;
• the differing characters of two of Ibn Sa'ud's sons, Amirs Sa'ud and Faisal;
• the appointment of new ministers in the Saudi Arabian government;
• the slave trade in the region;
• an Egyptian commercial and financial mission to the country led by Talaat Pasha Harb;
• a general amnesty for all 'political offenders' given by Ibn Sa'ud;
• new regulations on foreign ownership of property;
• Ibn Sa'ud's effort to improve the Saudi Arabian standing army;
• the French upgrade of their Consulate in Jeddah to a Legation;
• the general financial situation in Saudi Arabia;
• the proposal to restore the Hejaz Railway, including the lead up to a conference on the matter in Haifa in October 1935;
• an attempt on Ibn Sa'ud's life in Mecca;
• Saudi-Soviet relations;
• the activities of the Saudi Arabia Mining Syndicate;
• Amir Sa'ud's visit to Europe;
• the death of 'Abdullah ibn Jiluwi, Amir of Hasa;
• the prospect of Saudi Arabia joining the League of Nations;
• new Saudi regulations on the importation, sale, and possession of firearms;
• officer training for Saudis and Yemenis in Iraq;
• the introduction of a special import tax at Jeddah to fund local schools;
• Anglo-Italian relations;
• the proposal to renew the Treaty of Jeddah of 1927;
• unrest in Hasa due to the imposition of a 'jihad tax' on those who did not take part in recent fighting on behalf of the Kingdom.

Notable in the volume is an interview with Fuad Bey Hamza, the Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, extracted from the newspaper Ayyam (folio 34).

At the back of the volume (folios 207-213v) are internal office notes.