The Palestine Disorders The account Mr. Ormsby-Gore, making his first
appearance before the House of Commons as Colonial Secretary on Tuesday, was able to give of the situation in Palestine was not reassuring, and there will be general approval of his declaration that there could be no question of the appointment of the projected Royal Commission till order had been restored_ At present the disorders are continuing, i)oliee are being shot and military reinforcements are arriving in the country. An attempt to find some basis for a truce was made unsuccessfully in the course of conversations on SundaV between the Arab leaders in Palestine and the Emir Abdullah of Transjordania, the breaking-point being the refusal of the High Commissioner to suspend Jewish immigration during the investigation by the Royal Commission. The Arabs themselves had made con- cession on this point difficult by their earlier and funda- mental demand that immigration shall be stopped per- manently. There might nevertheless he the possibility of a compromise on the basis of the issue of the hatch of immigration licences recently authorised by the High Commissioner and a temporary suspension after that. An annual immigration which approaches 50.000 may well alarm the Arabs. But a change of policy extorted by lawless violence would be fatal. There must be peace first, discussion afterwards. * * *
