49. Lieut.-Colonel TODDasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies why the Irak Petroleum Company and the Palestine Potash Company have been carrying out surveys and exploring in the region at the south end of the Dead Sea in spite of the fact that His Majesty's Government announced in October last that no permits would be granted until the mining legislation had been revised and enacted?
§ Sir P. CUNLIFFE-LISTERPermits to explore for oil were granted in 1933 to the Iraq Petroleum Company, in certain areas of Palestine and Transjordan, and to the Palestine Mining Syndicate in certain areas of Transjordan. I have no reason to think that any such permits have been granted since the decision announced in October, 1934, to which my hon. and gallant Friend refers.
Lieut.-Colonel TODDWill the right hon. Gentleman make inquiries as to whether the representatives of these two 1001 companies had been working in these areas from mid October till the November rains with drilling apparatus and under police supervision?
§ Sir P. CUNLIFFE-LISTERThat may be so, but what I said was that no new permits have been granted during the period of the concession, but, of course, permits granted before are still in operation.
Lieut.-Colonel TODDIs it not a fact that a British group under Dr. Homer has been refused a permit although they were the original applicants and that they understood that no one is to be allowed to work these concessions?
§ Sir P. CUNLIFFE-LISTERThe hon. and gallant Member is quite wrong. In granting the original permits for exploration, I have no doubt that the Government of Palestine and Transjordan exercised their discretion in granting permits to those they thought most qualified, but there has never been any suggestion that permits already granted should not continue in operation.
Lieut.-Colonel TODDIs it not a fact that the information given to the British company was that until the Palestine mining laws were revised and re-enacted no one would be granted a permit to explore or survey?
§ Sir P. CUNLIFFE-LISTERNo, Sir. They were told that no new permits would be granted to anybody until the new law was in operation.