Abstract: The volume comprises telegrams, despatches, correspondence, memoranda, and notes for the period of February 1925 to December 1927 relating to the Najd-Transjordan boundary.Topics discussed include:The Najd-Transjordanian boundary and raiding between Iraq and Najd.The mission of Sir Gilbert Clayton Mission to Ibn Sa`ud.Najd-Iraq Frontier Agreement (Bahra Agreement), signed in 1925.Included in the volume is a copy of the English version (folios 36 to 37) of the ten articles of the Bahra Agreement signed by the Sultan of Najd and Dependencies and Sir Gilbert Clayton on behalf of the 'Mesopotamia Government' to regulate raiding. The file also includes letters in Arabic from Ibn Sa'ud to British officials.The principal correspondents include: the Secretary of State for the Colonies, London; the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, Bushire (Francis Beville Prideaux); the High Commissioner, Baghdad; the Political Agent, Kuwait; HM Consul, Jeddah; and the Sultan of Najd and Dependencies (Ibn Sa'ud).Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 177; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 5-173; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
Abstract: The file contains a note by George Stewart Symes (Political Resident and Commander-in-Chief, Aden) written to the Secretary of State, 22 October 1928, which introduces three enclosures.Enclosure 1: A note drawn up by Major Trenchard Craven William Fowle (First Assistant Resident, Aden) with a précis of the history of Yemen AD 600-1928, to refute the dynastic claims of the Imam of Sana'a [Ṣanʻā'] to the Aden Protectorate. This is based on two reports by Captain Munshi Fazluddin (Enclosures 2, and 3). It covers the reliability of Fazluddin as a source, outlines the lack of 'dynasty' in Aden, and argues against the basis of the Imam's claims.Enclosure 2: A brief outline of the history of Yemen during the Moslem period, by Captain Munshi Fazluddin, I M S, Political Office, Hodeidah, 1922.Enclosure 3: A note on the Zaidi Imamate of Sanaa [Ṣanʻā'], by Captain Munshi Fazluddin, I M S, Political Office, Hodeidah. It covers Sunnism, Shiaism and their teachings on succession, and divides the Zaidi Imamate in Yemen in to two periods for analysis: 902-1630, and 1630 to the time of writing.Printed for the use of the Colonial Office, March 1929.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at f 94, and terminates at f 99, as it is part of a larger physical volume; these numbers are written in pencil, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. Pagination: the file also contains an original printed pagination sequence.
Abstract: Enclosures nos. 3-11 to a dispatch from the Secret Department, Bombay Castle, dated 29 February 1840. The enclosures are dated 6 November 1839-28 February 1840. The enclosures consist of copies of correspondence relating to affairs in Aden, including:The perceived continued threat from the Abdalee [Abdali] and Fouthelee [Fadhli] tribes after their attack on Aden on 11 November 1839Reports of an offer made by Mahomed Alli Pasha [Muhammad Ali, Wali of Egypt] to the Imaum of Sennaa [An-Nasir, Abdallah, Imam of Yemen] to ‘drive the English from Aden’The abdication of M Housein Fudthel [Sultan Muḥsin bin Faḍl al-'Abdalī] as Sultan of Lahedge [Lahej] in favour of his son Hamed M Houssain Fudthel [Aḥmad bin Muḥsin al-'Abdalī].The primary correspondents are: the Political Agent, Aden; the Government of India; the Superintendent of the Indian Navy; the Native Agent, Mocha; the successive Sultans of Lahedge; and various officers serving at Aden.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 585, and terminates at f 623, as it is part of a larger physical volume; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: The file contains a telegram from Sir Reginald Champion, Governor of Aden, to the British Embassy in Cairo regarding Ahmad bin Yahya, Imam of Yemen. It includes a reference to a request by the Imam to King Farouk of Egypt for assistance in selecting a new Foreign Minister.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 3; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: This item comprises copies of enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay [Mumbai] Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 28 of 1844, dated 30 March 1844. The enclosures are dated 22 January-30 March 1844.The enclosures chiefly comprise correspondence between: Captain Stafford Bettesworth Haines, Political Agent in Aden; John Pollard Willoughby, Chief Secretary to the Government, Bombay; the Government of India; and Captain Sir Robert Oliver RN, Superintendent of the Indian Navy. (There are also some minutes confirming the transfer of certain documents to the Marine Department).The following subjects are covered:The general state of affairs at Aden, including the growth of trade and efforts to make the Sultan of Lahidge [Lahej, also spelled Lahedge in this item] swear an oath of alliance to the British Government in return for a monthly salaryThe death of the Imaum of Sana [Imam of Sana'a] on 8 January 1844 and the disputed succession to the chiefshipOperations to rescue the crew of the late steamer
Memnonwhich was ship-wrecked near Ras Assyr [Cape Guardafui], including: the use of the HC (Honourable Company’s) schooner of war
Constanceto transport rescued crew and supplies respectively to and from Aden; arrangements for monetary and other gifts to be distributed by the Assistant Agent, Lieutenant Charles J Cruttenden, to local chiefs who assisted the stranded crew and protected the ship and the camp valuables for five months between September 1843 and January 1844; and arrangements to pay the last month’s salary of the crew brought back to AdenThe Political Agent’s arrangements with Bombay and the Superintendent of the Indian Navy for sending the HC brig of war
Tigrisand the
Constanceback to the Bombay Presidency once they have fulfilled certain duties as their tenure in the Persian Gulf and Red Sea has been exceeded, and the Superintendent’s intention to send the HC brig
Euphratesto the Red Sea stationAuthorisation by the Government of India for the publication of Lieutenant Willmott Christopher’s journal of his proceedings whilst employed on the north east coast of Africa, commanding the
Tigris, in the Proceedings of the Bombay branch of the Royal Geographical Society, including a letter from Willoughby to George Buist LLD, Secretary to the Geographical Society of Bombay (f 565)Notice by the Military Department to the Superintendent of the Indian Navy of plans to despatch the 47th Regiment Madras Native Infantry to Aden to relieve the 10th and 16th Regiments of Bombay Native Infantry currently at Aden.Physical description: The enclosure numbers 3-17 are written on the verso of the last folio of each enclosure, which also contain an abstract of the contents of the enclosure.
Abstract: This item comprises copies of enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 26 of 1847, dated 15 March 1847. The enclosures are dated 4 January-13 March 1847.The item chiefly comprises communications between Stafford Bettesworth Haines, Political Agent at Aden; the Secretary to the Government, Bombay; and the Secretary to the Government of India. Also included are several minutes of the President and Governor in Council, Bombay, concurred with by members in Council or the Board.The papers cover the following matters:The general peaceful state of affairs in the vicinity of Aden and the resulting good communications with the interior and well stocked marketsReports that the Imam of Sana [Sana‘a ] has marched to Taaez [Taiz, also spelled Taez in this item] since the Sherriff [Sharif] of Mocha has made peace with Sheik Ali Homeida [Shaikh ‘Alī Ḥumaydah], that he is levying contributions from the ‘mountain chiefs’, and that his force is reputedly 7000 men strongAffairs concerning the tribes of the neighbourhood, including: a recent disturbance between a number of tribes caused by a ‘misunderstanding concerning transit duties’ (f 574); and an apparent attack by the Azeibies [‘Uzaybī?] on Futhel ibn Hyder [Faḍl bin Ḥaydar] of Seyla and his return attackA report that the Sultan of the Ourlghi tribe has issued orders for his tribe to march westward, causing great concern to the ‘agriculturists’ (farmers) surrounding Lahidge [Lahej] and the Sultan of Lahidge, and Haines’s hope that an invasion will not happen as this would affect the Aden marketThe return to Aden of the HC [Honourable Company’s] Schooner of War
Constancefrom Mussowah [Massawa, also spelled Mussowa in this item] and a copy of the commander’s report to Haines (ff 592-594), of his proceedings regarding settlement of the dispute between the Banian merchant and the Turkish [Ottoman] Governor of Mussowah to the satisfaction of both parties. Also included is Haines’s justification for sending the
Constanceto Mussowah (f 599), following a request for further particulars from the Bombay GovernmentHaines’s report that he has requested the HC Schooner
Tigristo convey Lieutenant Charles John Cruttenden, Assistant Political Agent at Aden, on a tour around the different ports and within the gulf of Aden, whom he has instructed, amongst other things, to: proceed to Berbera and Bulharr [Bulhar] to visit the ‘feuding’ Somali tribes on the African coast and to persuade the Elders into amicable settlements since the feuds are impeding the coastal trade with Aden; investigate obtaining supplies from Maculla [Makalla] in case of an emergency; obtain the property of the late Reverend Thomas Brochman at Shahr [ash-Shihr]; visit Socotra to enquire into the movement of French vessels which have apparently surveyed the island in detail recently; and enquire into the trade in enslaved persons in the region (ff 587-589)The view of the Governor-General of India that the stipend of the Sultan of Lahidg should be forfeited as he was the ‘leader and fomenter of the recent hostilities at Aden’, and should only be renewed after ‘a period of approved good conduct’ (f 581)Soundings taken, by the commander of the
Constance, on two sides of the Zebaya [Zubayr] Islands and confirmation that no change in the depth of water there has been found (subsequent to the recent volcanic eruption there) (f 597)The ‘Proposed Draft of Instructions for the guidance of the Political Agent at Aden’ (ff 607-609) regarding police rules, and their transmission to Haines to report how far, in his opinion, they can be made applicable to AdenIn response to Haines’s request for instructions, the Bombay Government’s agreement that the Johannese Chiefs [ruling princes of Anjouan] who are expected to return to Aden next July should be entertained at government expense, but that Haines should arrange a ‘Bugla, or other country craft’ (f 613) to return them to their country as there is no justification for using a government vessel.Physical description: 1 item (45 folios)
Abstract: This item comprises copies of enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 22 of 1847, dated 16 February 1847. The enclosures are dated 2-4 February 1847.The item comprises two reports by Stafford Bettesworth Haines, Political Agent at Aden, to the Secretary to the Government, Bombay, on the state of affairs in Aden. The reports cover the following matters:The arrival of a French Corvette, the
Voltigeurbark, on 1 February, bringing despatches for France from Bourbon [Réunion island] ‘in charge of a Capitaine de Vasseau “Boudet” who will proceed by the next mail steamer’, and on his departure the apparent intention of the
Voltigeurto sail to Pondichery [Puducherry], including details of the vessel's tonnage and guns, and the reported total number of French vessels in the Indian OceanThe peaceful state of affairs between the local tribes and the consequent ‘unmolested’ inland trade with Aden and well supplied marketsReported peace between Sheik Ali Homeida [Shaikh ‘Alī Ḥumaydah] and the Sherriff [Sharif] of Hodeida [Al Hudaydah] and MochaReports, about which Haines is sceptical, that the Imam of Sana [Sana‘a] has retired to Taez [Taiz]Reports that the ‘Chief’ of Lahidge [Lahej] has not fully recovered from his illness and that government is in the hands of his eldest sonLosses in the 2nd European Regiment due to ‘old fever and liver cases’ (f 464).Physical description: 1 item (6 folios)
Abstract: This item comprises copies of enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 6 of 1847, dated 15 January 1847. The enclosures are dated 26 September 1846-8 January 1847.The item chiefly comprises communications between Stafford Bettesworth Haines, Political Agent at Aden; the Secretary to the Government, Bombay; and the Under-Secretary to the Government of India. Also included is a minute of the President and Governor and the members in Council, Bombay, and a letter to the Government of Bombay from Charles Augustus Murray, HM Consul-General in Egypt.The papers cover the following matters:Haines’s report on Aden and the vicinity including: relations between the Abdali [‘Abdalī] and Foutheli [Faḍlī] chiefs; a battle between Sheriff Hussain ibn Ali Hyder [Sharif Ḥusayn bin ‘Alī Ḥaydar] and Sheik Ali Homeidah [Shaikh ‘Alī Ḥumaydah]; the Imam of Sana [Sana‘a], his force of 3000 men at Taez [Taiz] and his possible intentions with respect to either Hodeida [Al Hudaydah] or the treasury of the Sultan of Lahidge [Lahej]; and the reduction of scurvy and the number of sick in the 2nd European RegimentSubmission, to the authorities in India, of a bill for the expenses incurred on account of the recent visit to Aden of the ‘Princes of Johanna [Anjouan] with their followers’ (f 72) (including the approval of the Civil Auditor, Bombay, f 71), authorisation to Haines to furnish them with a passage to their country should they visit again, and report of their departureGuidance to be followed with regard to passengers by steamers to Suez landing at Aden during the prevalence of cholera or any other unusual epidemic there.The last two enclosures, the
Bombay Timessummary of Intelligence and
Bombay Overland Telegraph and Courier, are noted as ‘Missing 29.10.1906’.Physical description: 1 item (19 folios)
Abstract: This part of the volume consists of copies of enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 130 of 1846, dated 2 November 1846. The enclosures, numbered 3-17 and dated 7 October to 2 November 1846, relate to affairs at Aden and within its vicinity.The enclosures consist of correspondence, and minutes of the Government of Bombay, covering matters including:The Political Agent at Aden, Captain Stafford Bettesworth Haines, reporting that the blockade of Shugra [Shuqra] and the bay around Gibul Hassan [Jabal Hassan?] has been ‘manifestly successful’, dissuading those ‘Chieftains’ who intended to unite their tribes at Sheik Othman [Ash Shaikh Outhman] from doing so, and leading Sultan Hamed Foutheli [Sulṭān Aḥmad bin ‘Abdullāh al-Faḍlī] to retire to Shugra to protect his territory, leaving the roads open for kafilas [caravans] to reach AdenHaines pointing out the advantages of a small vessel with a long gun being sent to Aden for serviceThe Imam of Sana [Sanaa] reportedly intending to march to Lahidge [Lahij or Lahej] to subjugate it and the surrounding area; Haines’s belief that the Imam may wish to confer with him about the ‘agitated’ state of the tribes inland; his view that the Imam may easily regain Taaes [Taʿizz] and Ebb [Ibb]; and that if this is the Imam’s intention then the coffee producing area will be open to the Aden market, and Haines requesting the opinion of Government on this possibilityThe French Consul at Mussowah [Massawa] having written to Haines regarding a ‘Banian’ merchant named ‘Woobee’ being (in the Consul’s opinion unjustly) imprisoned and ‘ill-treated’ by the Turkish [Ottoman] Governor for a debt of seventy years standing, and Haines writing to the Governor to request kindness to be shown towards a British subject and that no punishment may be inflicted until the justice of the claim has been enquired into in the presence of a commander of a vessel of war, which Haines will send to Mussowah as soon as practicableThe arrival of the Honourable Company’s schooner
Constanceat Aden, Haines reporting having despatched the vessel to blockade the port of Shugra, and the arrangements made by him to supply the vessel with water and provisionsHaines requesting sanction from the Government of Bombay for having obtained supplies from Maccalla [Mukalla, also spelled Maculla in this item] for the Commissariat at Aden, costing 279 German CrownsHaines reporting on the supply of provisions for the garrison at Aden, and his expectation that there will not be any scarcityMeasures taken to relieve the wing of HM 94th Regiment at Aden.The majority of the correspondence is between the Secretary to the Government of Bombay, Arthur Malet, and the Political Agent at Aden. The enclosures also include: letters from Malet to the Secretary to the Governor-General of India, Frederick Currie; a letter from Malet to the Superintendent of the Indian Navy, Captain Sir Robert Oliver; enclosed letters from Haines to the Secretary to the Secret Committee, and to the officer commanding the Honourable Company’s schooner
Queenand Senior Naval Officer at Aden, Lieutenant John Glen Johnstone, Indian Navy; and an extract from the proceedings of the Government of Bombay in the Military Department, consisting of a copy of a letter to Haines from the Secretary to Government in the Military Department, Peter Melvill Melvill.Physical description: 1 item (30 folios)
Abstract: This item comprises copies of enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 12 of 1847, dated 30 January 1847. The enclosures are dated 1 December 1846-28 January 1847.The correspondents are: Stafford Bettesworth Haines, Political Agent at Aden; the Secretary to the Government, Bombay; and the Secretary to the Government of India.The papers cover the following matters:Haines’s requisition of the HC [Honourable Company’s] schooner of war
Constanceto enquire into the claim made by the Government of Mussawa [Massawa, also spelled Mussowah in this item] against a Banian, enclosing a copy of his instructions to the Senior Naval Officer Aden to urge the commander of the
Constanceto settle the matter to the satisfaction of all parties if possible. Later correspondence confirms the settlement of the disputeThe peaceful state of the country and the well supplied marketsThe agreement of the Abdali [‘Abdalī] and Foutheli [Faḍlī] chiefs to a six month truce, and the salaries given to various other ‘chiefs’The serious illness of Sultan M’Houssain Fudthel of Lahidge [Sultan Muḥsin bin Faḍl al-'Abdalī], his apparent improvement, and his enquiry regarding the prospective payment of his salaryNews that the Imaum of Sanâ [Imam of Sana‘a] has reached [‘Raynat Guszab’?] near Zebeid [Zabid] with a force of several thousand men with the possible intention of seizing Zebeid, Mocha and Hodeida [Al Hudaydah], and the Governor-General’s opinion that there is no reason to interfere in the Imaum’s proceedings so long as they do not threaten British interestsConfirmation that the
Constancefound no change in the depth of water around the Zebayr [Zubayr] Islands (subsequent to the recent volcanic eruption there)Progress on the construction of defences at the entrance of Aden harbourThe stalemate between the Sherriff [Sharif] of Mocha and Hodeida’s forces and those of Shiek Alli Homeida [Shaikh ‘Alī Ḥumaydah]Political discord on the Abyssinian [Eritrea] coast and the possible future disruption to trade.Physical description: 1 item (13 folios)
Abstract: This part of the volume consists of enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 52 of 1841, dated 19 June 1841. The enclosures are dated 5 May to 16 June 1841, and relate to affairs at Aden and the surrounding area, and at Mocha.The enclosures consist of correspondence, and resolutions of the Government of Bombay in the Secret Department. The main correspondents are as follows: the Political Agent at Aden, Captain Stafford Bettesworth Haines; the Secretary to the Government of Bombay, John Pollard Willoughby; and the Secretary to the Government of India, Thomas Herbert Maddock.The enclosures concern matters including:The state of affairs at Aden and the surrounding area, including the actions of Sultan M’Houssain Fudthill of Lahidge (also spelled Lahedge) [Muhsin ibn al-Fadl al-'Abdali, Sultan of Lahej]The views of the Political Agent at Aden on the inexpediency of reducing any portion of the European troops at Aden, and the relief of the wing of HM 6th Regiment doing duty at AdenThe Political Agent at Aden hiring a house as the post and police office at Aden, and the appointment of a Cazee [kazi, civil judge]The claim of Abdool Russool [Abdul Rasool], the former British Native Agent at Mocha, for indemnification on account of his property stolen by the Sheriff of Mocha, and the policy to be followed in British negotiations with the Imaum of Senna [Imam of Sanaa].Physical description: There is an abstract of contents of the despatch, numbered 1-18, on folios 107-110. These numbers are repeated for reference on the last verso of each enclosure.
Abstract: The file contains correspondence regarding leave arrangements for Government officials in Aden, including the Resident (later Chief Commissioner, and then Governor), the Assistant Residents, the Protectorate Secretary, the Civil Secretary, and the District Magistrate. The following topics are discussed: the temporary secondment of officials to cover positions; the pay and allowances due to officials assuming temporary positions to cover leave; the proportion of funds to be contributed by the India Office and the Colonial Office; and the suitability of officials for particular posts.The correspondence dated between 1932-1933 also contains references to the treaty negotiations conducted between the Resident (Sir Bernard Reilly) and the Imam of Yemen. Correspondence dated between 1934-1935 contains references to the transfer of the civil administration of the Aden Protectorate from the Government of India to the Colonial Office.The principal correspondents are: the Aden Resident (later Chief Commissioner, then Governor); the India Office Political Department (John Charles Walton, Sir John Gilbert Laithwaite); the Colonial Office (Hubert Russell Cowell, F J Howard, Kenneth William Blaxter), and the Foreign and Political Department, Government of India (William Kerr Fraser-Tytler).The file includes a divider which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the end of the correspondence (folios 1-2).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 442; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.