Loan RAGLANMy Lords, I beg to ask His Majesty's Government what reasons exist for the continuance of a system of permits for travel between Palestine and French Syria and Palestine and Egypt. Syria has been for hundreds of years, indeed for thousands of years, one country. Three years ago, in circumstances with which your Lordships are familiar, it was divided into two, as England may be divided into two by a line drawn from London to Bristol. The two areas are the French mandated zone of Syria and the British mandated zone, otherwise Palestine. There are naturally a very large number of persons who reside in one zone and have property, relatives and business interests, in the other. These persons, if they wish to visit the other area, have very often to travel considerable distances to the places where passports are issued.
They have to hang about for two or three days in the offices from which they are issued, pay considerable sums for the passports themselves, and the various visas, and in addition may have to spend considerable sums in bribing doorkeepers and other officials. Any able-bodied man who really wishes to cross the frontier can do so by the simple method of 420 taking a short cross country walk. But there are persons, however, who wish to use the high road and the railways, especially infirm persons and traders, and they have to suffer this great inconvenience. I shall be glad to know from the noble Earl whether the Government are taking any steps in the matter. As regards the Egypt and Palestine frontier the British Government has control on both sides, but, nevertheless, passport restrictions are more stringent there than, perhaps, on any other frontier in the world. What the reason for this is I do not know, and I shall be grateful if the noble Earl will inform me.
THE FIRST COMMISSIONER OF WORKS (THE EARL OF CRAWFORD)My Lords, as the noble Lord was informed on the first of this month there is no special system of passports between Palestine and French Syria and Palestine and Egypt other than the ordinary passport and visa system which is in force in each of these countries. The only difference is that persons leaving Egypt are required to obtain an extra visa, which, however, it is hoped to discontinue or modify in the near future. The French visa charges for Syria are higher than the visa charges for Palestine and Egypt, on which point His Britannic Majesty's Ambassador at Paris has been invited to make representations to the French Government.
§ House adjourned at five minutes past seven o'clock.