"ملف ٣٢/١١ اللجنة الملكية المعنية بفلسطين" [ظ‎‎١‎١‎٠] (٣٠٨/٢٢٠)

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8
His Majesty’s Government will also require to be satisfied
that the interests of certain foreign countries in Palestine,
for the preservation of which they are at present responsible,
are adequately safeguarded.
( 8 ) His Majesty’s Government will do everything in
their power to create conditions which will enable the
independent Palestine State to come into being within ten
years. If, at the end of ten years, it appears to His
Majesty’s Government that, contrary to their hope,
circumstances require the postponement of the establish
ment of the independent State, they will consult with
representatives of the people of Palestine, the Council of
the League of Nations and the neighbouring Arab States
before deciding on such a postponement. If His Majesty’s
Government come to the conclusion that postponement is
unavoidable, they will invite the co-operation of th*N
parties in framing plans for the future with a view 10
achieving the desired objective at the earliest possible date.
n. During the transitional period steps will be taken to
increase the powers and responsibilities of municipal corpora
tions and local councils.
II.—Immigration.
12 . Under Article 6 of the Mandate, the Administration of
Palestine, “ while ensuring that the rights and position of other
sections of the population are not prejudiced ”, is required to
“ facilitate Jewish immigration under suitable conditions ”.
Beyond this, the extent to which Jewish immigration into Pales
tine is to be permitted is nowhere defined in the Mandate. But
in the Command Paper of 1922 it was laid down that for the^
fulfilment of the policy of establishing a Jewish National Home
“it is necessary that the Jewish community in Palestine
should be able to increase its numbers by immigration.
This immigration cannot be so great in volume as to exceed
whatever may be the economic capacity of the country^"
the time to absorb new arrivals. It is essential to ensure
that the immigrants should not be a burden upon the people
of Palestine as a whole, and that they should not deprive
any section of the present population of their employment.”
In practice, from that date onwards until recent times, the
economic absorptive capacity of the country has been treated
as the sole limiting factor, and in the letter which Mr. Ramsay
MacDonald, as Prime Minister, sent to Dr. Weizmann
in February 1931 * it was laid down as a matter of policy
that economic absorptive capacity was the sole criterion.
This interpretation has been supported by resolutions of
* Hansard, Vol. 248 , 13 / 2 / 31 , Cols. 751 - 7 .