§ Mr. Hammersleyasked the Prime Minister whether he will inform the House of the present state of development of the autonomous Jewish home in Biro-Bidjan, as the territory set aside is larger than Belgium, and amongst the richest in Russia, and there is room there for millions of Jewish settlers; and will he co-operate with the Soviet authorities with a view to finding in Biro-Bidjan some amelioration of the pressing Jewish refugee problem?
§ Mr. ButlerAs I informed my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for Hitchin (Sir A. Wilson) on the 19th December last, in the absence of British Consular Officers in the region concerned, my Noble Friend has no detailed reports on the development of the autonomous Jewish Province of Biro-Bidjan. In answer to inquiries which were made at the beginning of this year by His Majesty's Embassy in Moscow, the Soviet Government stated that they were prepared to accept refugees, but that each case must be considered individually and on its own merits.