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THE CHINA MAIL, MARCH 7, 1940
Commons Debates Palestine Land Regulations MR. MALCOLM MACDONALD PROHIBITION GIVEN WARM OVATION AFTER MASTERLY SPEECH
LONDON, TO-DAY.
AN OPPOSITION VOTE OF CENSURE ON THE GOV- ERNMENT IN CONNECTION WITH THE ISSUE OF LAND REGULATIONS IN PALESTINE WAS MOVED IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS YESTER- DAY.
BY NO MEANS COMPLETE
London, To-day. Mr. Macdonald added they were to encourage the close settlement of Jews on the land right up to a point where no settlement prejudiced the rights of Palestine the Arab population, and then they
were to stop.
withdrawing troops from was to-day far more important than 10 months ago.
Dealing with the problem of landiese Arabs, Mr. Macdonald said they were raw material for the anti-Jewish agitator and when it came to trouble these lovies who were recruited. Arab bandit bands.
were Into
The motion expressed regret that, acting without the authority of the League Council, regulations controlling the transfer of land were issued which discriminated unjustly against one sec- the present time of allowing the tion of the inhabitants in Palestine.
Mr. Philip Noel-Baker (Lab.. Der- by), moving the resolution, recalled that the Opposition held last May that the Secretary of State's White Paper of May 17 was inconsistent with the Palestine Mandate.
concerned with making concessions to Arab. political' olalms they would have gone very much fur- ther than they had.
EVEN SCALES
For the last 20 years the Adminis- tration in Palestine had been encour- aging the settlement of Jews on the land. That remarkable people had wrought something of a miracle. They had made barren places bear fruit and where places were fruitful they had multiplied their fruitfulness.
It was not true that it would be al- most impossible for future Jewish im- migrants to settle on the land. There was a great deal of room for addition- al Jewish settlement on agricultural land Jews Had already bought.-Reu-
ROOM FOR THOUSANDS Mr. Malcolm Macdonald pointed out that during twenty years 350,000 Jews found a happy National Home under the guidance and protection of Britain.
STERN WARNING They could not take the risk at
problem to grow from strength to strength. They had had a most stern warning from Palestine in recent weeks that despite the appearance inter. Palestine there was beneath the sur- face growing unrest among the Arabs,
the growing suspicion that
British Government was not sincere in their professions that they would protect "Our whole problem in Palestine is the interests of the Arab cultivator These land regulations, which the to hold the scale even and fairly be and labour, and that they had become Opposition now opposed, were part tween the Jewish and Arab claims, more critical and hostile to the man- of the polloy of that White Paper.which is not an easy
task but ex-datory power. They believed these regulations | tremely difficult.”
Mr. Macdonald maintained that if would damage the interests both of After quoting. from the Report of they now destroyed confidence
the Peel Commission, Mr. Macdonald British promises the whole mood of The Secretary of State's White said they were not introducing this the Arab population in Palestine might Paper did not say any Arabs were I measure as the result of political landless and dispossessed at present. I pressure from the Arabs but because The Jews only sought to buy surplus land. Existing safeguards against the landless Arab problem strong.
Arabs and Jewe.
well change.
in
The regulations did not cut short Jewish development nor would Jewish immigrants find it impossible. to settle on the land.
In the first place, development on agricultural lands the Jews had already bought would find room for
thousands of additional cultivators under the very
Jews
and, furthermore, terms of these land regulations, land transfers from the Arabs to
municipal areas and over a great part of the best agricultural land in Palestine.
this was a great weight of evidence from impartial and authoritative opin-
continued unrestricted in were pretty ion that unless they did something in the near future they would be defeat- Ing the purpose of the Mandate itself (Cheers).
VIOLATING OBLIGATIONS Mr. Noel-Baker declared the Jews had not decreased. the land available to Arabs but had notably increased it.
He continued that the Jewish ac- tivities had resulted in great benefit to the Arabs and argued that the Co- lonies Secretary's proposed course was deliberately violating British obliga- tions and striking a blow at the great principle for which we were at war.
"MADE NO SENSE"
|
IMPROVED SITUATİON
Mr. Macdonald said it was certain-. ly true that the situation in Pales- tine, which 12 months ago was ex- fraught with ceedingly grave and danger to this country and other peo- ple, had greatly improved.
years.
was
In fact, Palestine greater quietness than that for four "Hitler is not quite so grateful. He has been profoundly disappoint ed."
-A
They might find that our troops in Palestine, who were just completing the work of restoring law and order, had to remain in Palestine and start all over again that painful work, and they might even find that the troops recently taken away would have to come back to lend a hand.
If there was trouble in Palestine there would be
in repercussions Trans-Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and India.
- NATIONAL HOME
"That state of affairs will continue practically throughout the length and breadth of the maritime plains.
"Over a great deal of the rest of Palestine there will be no prohibi- tion on sales of land from Arabs to Jews. There will be no prohibition
Mr. Macdonald added if there had in the areas of the plains. In those areas, transfers from Arabs to Jews enjoying been a recrudescence of the trouble will be allowed but controlled.
in Palestine, the House and the League The High Commissioner will allow itself would have to come to the con-them and
encourage them under clusion that we had made an error of certain conditions, of which perhaps judgment and neglected our duty to the most important and most signi- maintain peace and order and proficant is that the land transfers -- to Mr. Macdonald said he did not gress in Palestine (Cheers),
be allowed in these important areas seek to deny the great effect the Mr. Macdonald concluded that un-will be in furtherance of a more outbreak of war had had in bring- der the benevolence and powerful special scheme of development- in ing about the greater pacification of protection of Great Britain, a Jewish the joint interest of both Arabs and Palestine. It had made a deep im- national home had been established in Jews.-British Wireless. pression.
Palestine. "It will stay there, it will grow there and it will prosper there."
The Arabs had equal rights to the Jews. We were going to pro- tect those rights as well as we protected the rights of the Jews.
MUTUAL RECOGNITION "If those rights of the Arabs are ig- nored, the Jewish national home will
Until the Colonies Secretary raised a storm a week ago by promulgating the new regulations, Palestine had been forgotten.
He had examined the status of the permanent Mandates Commission and contended that unless it was accepted as a quasi-judicial body whose find-
The Arabs had recognised that Nazi ings questions of interpretation domination of Europe. would
on
be a were accepted, the whole thing made great threat to their prospects of freedom and the freedom of the Arab Kingdom in the rest of Arabia, They had abated their hostility and expressed their complete friendship with us and had offered their help in
no sense.
Mr. Noel-Baker sald 90 per cent. of Jewish eligibles in Palestine had vo- lunteered to fight for the Allied cause.
IF IT HAD BEEN POS8IBLE The Colonies Secretary, Mr. Mal- colm Macdonald, assured the House that if it had been possible to main- tain a firm, healthy and peaceful. Palestine by a policy of masterly in- activity he would have shown him- self a ready master at doing nothing
at 'all.
He contended that control of Jand
tales had become an essen-
part of the obligations to carry out the mandate.
There were two complementary obligations of equal importance **** one to the Jews and one to the Arabs,
CENTRAL PACT
we were accepting in many ways..
LARGER ISSUE
Great
HOUSE DIVIDED
London, To-day.
LIBERAL ATTITUDE
London, To-day. Sir Archibald Sinclair, the
the prosecution of the war which not prosper in Palestine. There can Liberal leader, declared dur
only be peace and progress in Pales-ing the Palestine debate, in tine on the basis of mutual recogni- the Commons yesterday that At the outbreak war the Jewish tion of the rights of the two communi-
the land regulation proposals declared that ties inhabiting the country."
a leaders had also
With- Mr. Macdonald received a prolonged represented a betrayal of the larger issue had been raised. out qualifying their hostility toward ovation from the Ministerial benches. Jews. the White Paper they had offered un--Reutër. `-
He asserted the Government gave conditionally their support to
a pledge that the Council of the Britain and France. The Jews. in.
League would be consulted, and if the Palestine had offered their practical Capt. Victor Cazalet (Cons. Chip Council was of opinion that the White support to our war effort which we penham) declared during the Pales Paper was inconsistent with the man- were accepting to the maximum prac-tine debate yesterday that the land date, the GovernmentTM would consult tical extent.
regulations would frustrate the only Parliament before attempting to put "There has been a detente in Paleg-real hope of permanent co-operation | the White Paper into operation. tine and I should like, on behalf of between Jew and Arab.
Mr. Malcolm Macdonald, the Col- Mr. Macdonald proceeded that the the Government, to express our On the other hand, Mr. R. R. Stokes onies Secretary, Intervened at this central fact of these 20 years was that thanks to both the Jewish and Arab (Lab. Ipswich), who has recently re- point to say the pledge was that the under the powerful guidance and pro-communities for their loyal friend-turned from a visit to Palestine and Government would take the White tection of Great Britain more than ship and support in our war against the Near East, supported the Govern Paper, which was already: operating, 350,000 Jews had found happy settle the common enemy--Nazi Germany," ment and said that from Cairo to to the League Council, and if the ment in their national home in Pales- Mr:- Macdonald contended that if Baghdad all statesmen, native Prime Council took a decision involving an tine.
they had not introduced these land Ministers, High-Commissioners and alteration-of-policy or suggested an regulations the comparative harmony | Ambassadors heaved a sigh of relief alteration in the mandate, the Gov- which had been established would that the present measure had been ernment would not take a decision on certainly have been disturbed before taken.
that issue without a'; discussion.: in long, and these land regulations were Mr. D. L. Lipson (Ind. Cons. Chell Parliament. essential if över a long period this tenham), 'who is a Jewish member, Sir Archibald Sinclair contended harmony was to be maintained.
thought the Government propos, re- that if the Council was not going to grettable but asked what wordt hap-|be invited to meet and the Govern- pan to the Jewish nationer home ifment were to proceed with the policy Kitler won. Sacrifices must be made despite the Merida Comm's the publication of the White Paper to win the war and he believed the advice that the policy was incorulatant last year and the outbreak of war Jews were willing to make a sacrifice, with the mandate, this was not fulni. Mr. Macdonald said the question of ]
ment of the pledge. -- Reuter..::
What war wanted in Palestine was development beneficial to the Jews nich would chable them to continue, possible, their close settlement
land, and development which | same time was beneficial to the nfirmed or enhanced
denied that the
31: they
"the
were
WITHDRAWAL OF TROOPS Referring to the troops already withdrawn from : Palestine / between
a terme m
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