§ 59. Colonel WEDGWOODasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether the new municipal ordinance for Palestine is now in operation why the Tel Aviv Municipality has been deprived of the power to levy rates on unoccupied land as heretofore; and why the women of Haifa and Jerusalem are not to vote while those in Tel Aviv may?
§ The UNDER-SECRETARY of STATE for DOMINION AFFAIRS (Mr. Malcolm MacDonald)I am replying for my right hon. Friend. The Municipal Corporations Ordinance of Palestine was enacted on the 12th of January. In Section 102 (1) it is provided that a municipal council, with the approval of the District Commissioner, may levy a municipal property rate to be assessed, inter alia, upon the rateable value of unoccupied land, and I have no information that power to impose such a rate has been withheld in the case of the Municipal Council of Tel Aviv. The Ordinance provides for the grant of votes to women in Tel Aviv because this is known to be in accordance with the wishes of the local community. In the case of Haifa and Jerusalem, and other municipal areas, the ordinance provides machinery by which an alteration in the qualifications of voters, including the grant of the vote to women, may be made in cases where a resolution in favour of such a step is passed by a two-thirds majority of the Council.