§ LORD LAMINGTONasked His Majesty's Government whether any promise had ever been made to a Zionist organisation, officially or privately, for the creation of a Jewish State prior to the appointment of the Royal Commission.
THE PARLIAMENTARY UNDERSECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE COLONIES (THE MARQUESS OF DUFFERIN AND AVA)As my noble friend knows, the promises of His Majesty's Government are set out in the Balfour Declaration of 1917, which was addressed to Lord Rothschild for communication to the Zionist Federation, and in subsequent published papers. No private promises have been made to any body or individual. The terms of the Balfour Declaration did not preclude the possibility of a Jewish State in Palestine.
House adjourned at twenty minutes past seven o'clock.