The Palestine Conference Some idea of the Government's hopes regarding
the impending conference on Palestine is conveyed by Mr. R. A. Butler's speech to the League of Nations Council on Tuesday. Recalling what the existing position is, since the Peel Commission's recommendation of partition has been superseded by the Woodhead Committee's recom- mendation against partition, Mr. Butler mentioned the coming conference and the Government's declared intention of formulating a scheme of its own if the conference fails, and asked that if necessary a special meeting of the Permanent Mandates Commission might be held in time to consider the new plan and report on it to the League Council in May. That suggests that after interminable delay the Government intends now to move with expedition— though there is nothing to indicate that it has its own plan ready for production if needed. The likelihood is that it will be needed, for the Palestinian Arab delegates appointed in consultation with the exiled Mufti of Jerusalem appear to be coming to London in a completely uncompromising mood and determined among other things to insist on the final cessation of Jewish immigration. But they will not, of course, be the only Arabs at the conference, and there is still room for the hope that men of proved capacity and balanced judgement like General Nuri Es Said, the Prime Minister of Iraq, may yet imbue the Palestinians with wiser counsels. The Government is perfectly right to set its face against interminable discussions.
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