THE BALFOUR DECLARATION sm,—Anow me to say that you were
fully justified in stigmatising as indiscreet and impracticable the proposed demand of the Republican party in the United States for unrestricted immigration and land owner- ship in Palestine. Your citation of the full terms of the declaration was also opportune, seeing how generally its important qualifying clause is overlooked or ignored.
Palestine is a small country, not much larger than Wales. It averages about 140 inhabitants to the square mile, so that it may be said to be fairly densely populated if account be held of its extensive tracts of barren land or land that can only be developed by the extension of artificial irri- gation. Unfortunately the natural water supplies for this purpose are scanty and have already been heavily encroached upon by the demands of industrial power plants in the handi of Jewish concessionaires. The idea that this little country, with its poor natural resources, offers a field for the settlement of millions of distressed Jews is simply fantastic and seems to be inspired by well-intentioned but uninstructed feelings of sympathy for the Jewish cause.
The Arabs, who still form the majority of the population of the country and whose homeland it has been for centuries, are naturally bitterly opposed to a further vast influx of immigrants completely alien to them in nationality, language, culture, social customs and religion. The unrestricted land ownership, which is also advocated, could only be given effect to by dispossessing them of their ancestral lands, with the result of adding largely to the class of landless and impoverished labourers which has come into existence since the introduction of Jewish immigration.
As for the conversion of Palestine into a Jewish State, a proposal regarding which Jewish opinion itself is by no means unanimous, it is evident that to place the Arabs in subjection to an alien government of this nature is incompatible with the preservation of their civil rights which the declaration undertakes to observe. It would also constitute a violation of the promise of ultimate Arab independence whereby they were induced to revolt against the Turks and support the Allies in the last war.
The proposed intervention of the United States in the administration of Palestine would be a most unusual step for which there could be no justification. On behalf of the Zionists it has been contended that Pales- tine is still subject to the League mandate and that consequently the British Government is not entitled on its sole authority to decide the question of future Jewish immigration and land ownership. But even if this were conceded, it would not validate intervention by the United States who are not members of the League.
If the Republican party is so keen on providing for the settlement of distressed Jews, .let them persuade the United States Government to relax their present stringent control over Jewish immigration into their own territories. There is probably more scope for such immigration thin
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