§ Sir J. BUTCHERasked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies if, in view of the fact that the Mandate for Palestine was conferred upon His Britannic Majesty by the principal Allied Powers in April, 1920, he will inform the House whether the Mandate then conferred is to be administered in accordance with the wishes of the Palestine people or in the interests of a proposed Zionist domination on the basis of the Balfour declaration; and whether he can assure the House that there is no power or intention on the part of this country as the mandatory Power to impose an alien domination on the inhabitants of Palestine as being an occupied enemy territory or otherwise?
§ Mr. ORMSBY-GORE:Palestine is being administered and will continue to be administered in accordance with the terms of the Mandate approved by the Council of the League of Nations on the 24th July, 1922. There is no question of Zionist domination.
§ Mr. HURDasked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies how many Christians and how many Jews are employed in the senior posts of the British administration of Palestine; what are the names of the Jews; and what offices they hold?
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§ Mr. ORMSBY-GORE:Apart from the High Commissioner himself, of the 35 senior posts in the Palestine Administration, 33 are held by Christians and two by Jews. The names and offices of the latter are
Mr. Norman Bentwich, Attorney-General.
Colonel Solomon, Director of Commerce and Industry.
Mr. ERSKINEasked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether Sir Henry McMahon gave a pledge to the Arabs that an independent Arab kingdom which would include Palestine would be set up; if so, whether this pledge was given before the making of the Balfour declaration; and whether Sir Henry McMahon was authorised by the British Government to make such a pledge?
§ Mr. ORMSBY-GORE:For the first part of the question I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for South Derbyshire (Mr. Lorimer) on the 15th March. The remainder of the question does not arise.
§ Mr. LORIMERasked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies what expenditure is incurred by the Palestine administration as a result of Jewish immigration; and whether any assistance is given by the Zionist executive towards any part of the total expenditure?
§ Mr. ORMSBY-GORE:I am not sure that I quite understand the meaning of the question. The estimated cost of the Department of Immigration and Travel, which deals with all immigration into Palestine, was 9,500 Egyptian pounds for the year 1922–23. The estimated receipts of the Department were 4,000 Egyptian pounds from passport fees and 6,500 Egyptian pounds from registration fees. The Estimates thus show an excess of receipts over expenditure of 1,000 Egyptian pounds, or, as I informed the hon. Member on the 13th March last, of over 1,000 pounds sterling. In the circumstances, the last part of the question does not appear to arise.
§ Mr. PETOasked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether the request made by the President of the Council of the League of Nations, that 2388W the Government of Palestine should be carried on in the spirit of the still unratified Mandate, is considered by His Majesty's Government as being a valid legal source of authority for the Palestine Government; if the said request possesses no legal value, by what legal authority is the Government of Palestine entitled to exist or legislate; and, if the said request is said to have legal value, from what statute or enactment of international or other law this legality is drawn?
§ Mr. ORMSBY-GORE:The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. The authority and responsibility of His Majesty's Government for the administration of Palestine originated in the military occupation of that country by His Majesty's forces. The administration was organised upon a civil basis to meet the conditions created by the successive international agreements and proceedings, which were mentioned in my answer to the hon. Member for Harrow on 26th February, to which I would refer the hon. Member. The legal value attaching to the request made by the Council of the League is derived from the authority committed to the League of Nations by the terms of the Covenant and from the other international agreements and understandings on which the request was based, and which are set out in my answer referred to above.
§ Mr. BECKERasked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies what is the aggregate indebtedness of the Palestine Government; what amounts have been advanced to the Government by the Crown Agents and by British banks; and upon what security?
§ Mr. ORMSBY-GORE:The Palestine Government has received advances to the extent of £1,365,000 from the Crown Agents and 15,000 pounds Egyptian from the Anglo-Palestine Company, which will be repaid from loan funds when available. There is also an outstanding sum of 364,000 pounds Egyptian, which was lent by the Anglo-Egyptian Bank to the military administration, and re-lent by them to local cultivators on mortgage. This sum is repayable on demand, but the mortgages are security for the total amount.