{"id":206576,"date":"1929-12-31T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-03-12T19:12:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/?p=206576"},"modified":"2019-03-12T19:12:33","modified_gmt":"2019-03-12T19:12:33","slug":"auto-insert-206576","status":"publish","type":"document","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/document\/auto-insert-206576\/","title":{"rendered":"Mandate for Palestine – Report of the Mandatory to the LoN for 1929"},"content":{"rendered":"
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REPORT<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

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by His Majesty's Government in the United<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

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Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

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Ireland to the Council of the League of<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

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Nations on the Administration of<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

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PALESTINE AND TRANS-JORDAN<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

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FOR THE YEAR<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

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1929<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n


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Report by His Majesty's Government in the United<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

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Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

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Council of the League of Nations on the Administration<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

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of Palestine and Trans-Jordan for the year 1929.<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

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SECTION I.<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

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PALESTINE.<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

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I.–INTRODUCTORY.<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

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\t<\/span>1.\t<\/span>The events in Palestine and the activities of the Administration in the year 1929 are overshadowed by the disturbances that occurred during the week from the 23rd to the 29th August.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\t<\/span>2.\t<\/span>The events of that week have been investigated by a Commission of Enquiry appointed by His Majesty's Secretary of State for the Colonies, which was composed of Sir Walter Shaw, formerly Chief Justice of the Straits Settlements, as Chairman, and Sir Henry Betterton, M.P., Mr. R. Hopkin Morris, M.P., and Mr. Henry Snell, M.P., as Members.  Their Report has been published as Command Paper No. 3530 and submitted to the Council of the League of Nations.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\t<\/span>Consequences of the disturbances, August,<\/i> 1929.–It is unnecessary, therefore, to make further observations in this Report on the disturbances or their causes.  It is proposed, however, to deal with the more important consequences of the disturbances.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\t<\/span>Generally, the concluding months of the year were characterised by political unrest, the strengthening of the forces of public security and restriction of economic activity.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\t<\/span>3.\t<\/span>The Wailing Wall Dispute.<\/i>–The conflict of claims, Jewish and Arab, as to the rights at the Wailing Wall continued to afford opportunity for disorder.  On the Arab side there is suspicion of any Jewish act in the vicinity of the Wall, coupled with resentment of the provisional regulations (see Appendix I) issued by the High Commissioner, which are interpreted by certain Moslems as giving authority for Jewish devotions of congregational character which, in the Moslem view, have no sanction.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\t<\/span>On the Jewish side resentment is caused by acts of Moslems which are not within the ambit of the provisional regulations of the High Commissioner and which tend to make devotions, either private or public, impossible to fulfil.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\t<\/span>The Administration therefore has been and still is obliged to maintain elaborate precautions to prevent disorder.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\t<\/span>4.\t<\/span>The provisional regulations to which reference has been made were issued as a guide to officers in the discharge of their responsibilities at the Wall and were made known to the public so that there might be no misunderstanding as to the acts which might or might not be done.  They were issued in order that the Palestine Administration might discharge its primary obligation of maintaining order in the Wailing Wall area.  The Regulations are provisional in the sense that they do not purport to decide as between the claims of the interested communities.  No incidents of note have taken place at the Wall since these instructions were issued.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\t<\/span>5.\t<\/span>His Majesty's Government, recognising the importance of obtaining an early and final settlement of the rights and claims of Moslems and Jews at the Wall, and recognising that there was no prospect of a mutual agreement between the claimants, submitted proposals to the Council of the League of Nations for the appointment of a Commission to study, define and determine the rights and claims connected with the Wailing Wall.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\t<\/span>The Council, having considered those proposals, decided that steps should be taken to assist the Mandatory in his task of maintaining order and, in January, 1930, adopted the following resolution :–<\/p><\/div>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>"The Council, being anxious to place the Mandatory Power, in accordance with its request, in a position to carry out its responsibilities laid upon it by Article XIII of the Mandate for Palestine, under the most favourable conditions for the safeguarding of the material and moral interests of the population placed under its Mandate, wishing not to prejudge in any way the solution of the problem relating to the question of the Holy Places of Palestine which may have to be settled in the future.\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>"Considering, however, that question of rights and claims of Jews and Moslems with regard to the Wailing Wall urgently calls for final settlement,\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>"Decide that\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>"(1)\t<\/span>A Commission shall be entrusted with this settlement;\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>"(2)\t<\/span>This Commission shall consist of three Members who shall not be of British nationality and at least one of whom shall be a person eminently qualified for the purpose by the judicial functions he has performed;\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>"(3)\t<\/span>The names of persons whom the Mandatory Power intend to appoint as Members of the Commission shall be submitted for approval to the Council whose members shall be consulted by the President if the Council is no longer in session;\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>"(4)\t<\/span>The duties of the Commission shall cease as soon as it has pronounced on the rights and claims mentioned above."\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

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\t<\/span>6.\t<\/span>Public Security.<\/i>–Measures are in hand, under the advice of Mr. H. L. Dowbiggin, Inspector-General of Police in Ceylon, for the reorganisation of the Police Force to ensure that it shall be able to deal more promptly and effectively in future with any similar turbulence; and the protection of exposed Jewish settlements is to be provided for by the establishment of additional police posts, improved communications by road and telephone and signalling facilities.  Substantial increases in the British personnel have already been made.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\t<\/span>7.\t<\/span>The strength of the garrison.<\/i>–At the end of December the garrison in Palestine and Trans-Jordan was:–<\/p><\/div>\n

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\t<\/span>Army.<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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\t\t<\/span>2nd Battalion, the South Staffordshire Regiment.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\t\t<\/span>1st Battalion, the Northamptonshire Regiment.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\t<\/span>Royal Air Force.<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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\t\t<\/span>One Squadron Day Bomber Aircraft.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\t\t<\/span>One Squadron Army Co-operation Aircraft.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\t\t<\/span>One Company (4 Sections) Rolls Royce Armoured Cars.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\t<\/span>Trans-Jordan Frontier Force.<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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\t\t<\/span>Four Companies and 4 Troops Reservists.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\t<\/span>8.\t<\/span>Breaches of the peace.<\/i>–Other consequences of the disturbances were a series of attacks upon individuals of a grievous character during September and October, and the formation of a gang of brigands in the Huleh Salient.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\t<\/span>Combined operations by police, military, the Trans-Jordan Arab Legion, assisted by the forces under the French authorities in Syria, who closed the northern frontier, were successful in breaking up the gang, eighteen members of which are now in prison awaiting trial.  Evidence that another gang proposed to operate in the Plain of Sharon was forthcoming in time to permit the Administration to arrest the organisers and the gang was not formed.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\t<\/span>The country was, notwithstanding, outwardly tranquil by the end of the year and the tourist season opened and has continued without untoward incidents.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\t<\/span>9.\t<\/span>His Majesty's Government take the opportunity of acknowledging with gratitude the ready help given by the French authorities in Syria in arranging during the critical week of the disturbances and for some time after such tactical dispositions as made it impossible for lawless persons to enter Palestine from the north with hostile intent.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\t<\/span>They also desire to acknowledge the services of His Highness the Amir of Trans-Jordan who by his influence and readiness to help the Palestine Government was able to maintain tranquillity within his own domain.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\t<\/span>10.\t<\/span>Prosecution of cases arising out of disturbances.<\/i>–The disturbances naturally added a large number of serious offences to the list of crimes committed.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\t<\/span>For the expeditious hearing of criminal charges arising out of the disturbances, the Commissioner of Lands was appointed a Special District Commissioner to hear cases under the Collective Punishments Ordinance.  British officers from various Departments were vested with magisterial powers to undertake the preliminary hearing of charges of crimes committed during the outbreaks.  An Ordinance was passed to vest the powers of a District Court in a single British Judge, and the powers of the Court of Criminal Assize in two British Judges; and providing that appeals from a British magistrate should be triable by a single British Judge.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\t<\/span>11.\t<\/span>At the end of December the number of cases arising from the riots which had   been decided by the Courts was:–<\/p><\/div>\n

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                                                          Arabs.         Jews<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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(a<\/i>)\t<\/span>Tried summarily by British Magistrates                791         66     857<\/p><\/div>\n

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(b<\/i>)\t<\/span>Sentenced by District Courts……                    165         26     191<\/p><\/div>\n

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(c<\/i>)\t<\/span>Sentenced by the Court of Criminal<\/p><\/div>\n

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Assize                                                       39          1      40<\/p><\/div>\n

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(d<\/i>)\t<\/span>Capital sentences passed                               17          1      18<\/p><\/div>\n

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(e<\/i>)\t<\/span>Death sentences confirmed by Court of<\/p><\/div>\n

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Appeal                                                        7          –       7<\/p><\/div>\n

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\t<\/span>12.\t<\/span>Sixteen of the persons sentenced to death applied for special leave to appeal to the Privy Council.  In no case, however, was leave to appeal granted.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\t<\/span>13.\t<\/span>The question of amending the law relating to murder in Palestine, which is at present that laid down in the Ottoman Penal Code had been under consideration for a considerable time.  A new Penal Code is now under consideration in which the provisions relating to murder and manslaughter are based upon the law of England.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\t<\/span>14.\t<\/span>Seditious Offences.<\/i>–An important enactment, the Criminal Law (Seditious Offences) Amendment Ordinance, 1929, which is an instalment of the draft Penal Code, was promulgated in October, 1929.  It is designed to bring within the law persons who act in any way in a manner that may threaten the stability of the Government or the public peace.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\t<\/span>15.\t<\/span>Collective Punishments.<\/i>–The Collective Punishments Ordinances were applied to the towns and villages whose inhabitants were guilty of participation in the concerted attacks on Jews at Hebron, Safad, Motza, Artuf, Beer Tuvia, and heavy fines were inflicted.  At the end of the year four cases had been heard.  The total of fines imposed in these cases is £P.17,840.  The payments will be extended over a period of years calculated according to the capacity of the villages to pay, having regard to the number of inhabitants, the area of their holdings and the amount of their annual taxes.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\t<\/span>16.\t<\/span>The Boycott.<\/i>–Jewish indignation in Palestine at the disturbances led for a short time to a sporadic boycott of Arab produce.  Subsequently, the revival of Arab nationalist and anti-Jewish feeling led to an organised boycott of Jewish products.  This boycott was accompanied by acts of intimidation.  In the early stages the offenders could not be prosecuted owing to the concerted withholding of evidence by the Arabs.  Gradually, as the public slowly regained faith in the forces of law and order, evidence became available and offenders were summarily punished by British Magistrates.  The precise effects of the boycott are not known.  For a time there was remarkable unanimity among Arabs in avoiding economic transactions with Jews: but the conditions were so artificial in a small country where inevitably there must be economic intercourse between the two sections of the population, that it soon became apparent that the boycott involved the Arabs as well as the Jews in losses.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\t<\/span>Nevertheless the boycott has had serious results for individuals, and it is possible that these results may be reflected in the public finance, particularly in the revenue derived from duties on imported goods.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\t<\/span>At Jerusalem, many Jewish merchants are setting up business in a new commercial centre, abandoning the Old City; the Jewish shopkeepers at Jaffa are moving to Tel-Aviv.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\t<\/span>It is of interest to record that since the boycott was directed against products of Jewish resource and industry an early effect was the stimulation of the import trade to make good the deficiency in local products.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\t<\/span>17.\t<\/span>Press control.-<\/i>-A stricter surveillance has been instituted over the Press, and the Government are prompt to take action against any newspaper which contravenes the provisions of the Ottoman Press Law by publishing articles calculated to provoke enmity between communities or endanger the peace.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\t<\/span>18.\t<\/span>Relief.<\/i>–Immediately following the disturbances, relief measures were organised by various Jewish authorities and a central relief committee was established.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\t<\/span>The Government undertook to assist this committee in regard to feeding of refugees and, where necessary, the provision of transport for those who had homes to which to return when the conditions permitted.  The cost to Government of these forms of assistance was £P.10,000.  In addition Government exempted all relief consignments from Customs duties.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\t<\/span>Grants are being made by the Jewish Agency out of the special fund, amounting to about £P.520,000, which was raised by public appeal for this purpose, to enable Jewish sufferers to rehabilitate themselves in business or in farming and for the reconstruction of buildings which were destroyed.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\t<\/span>19.\t<\/span>Compensation.<\/i>–The Palestine Government have set aside the sum of £P.100,000 from which to pay compensation on certain scales as an act of grace.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\t<\/span>20.\t<\/span>The total amount of the claims submitted was £P.1,200,000.  Of this sum £P.400,000 was struck out as being claims by persons against whom there was evidence of unlawful activity at the time of the disturbances.  The balance was assessed to a total of £P.180,000.  Since the sum available for compensation was £P.100,000, the amounts to be paid to individual claimants in respect of claims admitted were reduced under various heads so that the total payment would not exceed £P.100,000.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\t<\/span>21.\t<\/span>Political Development.<\/i>–The Palestine Arab Executive lost no time after Sir John Chancellor's assumption of office in December, 1928, in seeking to establish direct relations with the High Commissioner with the object of securing a form of government in Palestine in which the people of the country could participate.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\t<\/span>The High Commissioner granted an interview to the Arab Executive in January, 1929, in which he promised to give consideration to the request that negotiations should be inaugurated with the Government for the constitution of a Representative Assembly.  The High Commissioner reminded the delegation that Government had already made a beginning in the direction of popular representation in the shape of elective Municipal Councils, and reminded them further that offers of elective representation on a Legislative Body had been made on previous occasions by the Government and rejected by those on whose behalf they spoke.  Nevertheless he recognised the question to be one of paramount importance, to which he would give earnest and careful study.  It was obviously one of such importance and complexity that an immediate answer on his part was entirely out of the question; but he expected, after the necessary study and consultations, to have arrived at conclusions upon the subject by the time that he went to England on leave in the summer so that he might be able then to discuss the question with the Secretary of State for the Colonies.  When he had reached his conclusions he would communicate again with the Committee.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\t<\/span>22.\t<\/span>Shortly before his departure to England on leave in June, 1929, Sir John Chancellor again received the Palestine Arab Executive.  As a result of the meeting an announcement was made through the medium of the Press to the effect that the High Commissioner had given anxious consideration to this question.  It was stated that the High Commissioner was leaving for England on the following day and that he intended to discuss this important matter with the Secretary of State for the Colonies and to consult with him as to any proposals that Government might be able to formulate on the subject.  The assumption was made that the Delegation would readily understand that, pending full discussion with the Secretary of State, the High Commissioner was unable to give a more definite reply.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\t<\/span>23.\t<\/span>The disturbances of August had the effect of postponing further conversations on constitutional questions.  Nevertheless, Arab leaders, in framing their case before the Palestine Commission of Inquiry, raised questions connected with the policy under which Palestine is administered and with the participation of the people in the government of the country.  They next summoned an Arab Congress who decided to send an Arab Delegation to London with a view to initiating as soon as possible after the publication of the Report of the Commission of Inquiry direct negotiations with the Secretary of State.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\t<\/span>During the year, therefore, there was no change of constitutional character in Palestine; but the Palestine Arab Executive were in more intimate contact with the Palestine Government than they had been for some years.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\t<\/span>24.\t<\/span>Jewish political development in relation to Palestine consisted of the reorganisation of the Jewish Agency.  After ten years of protracted and patient negotiation between Zionist and non-Zionist Jews, agreement was reached which was expressed in an exchange of letters in November, 1928, between Dr. Chaim Weizman on behalf of the Zionists, and Mr. Louis Marshall on behalf of non-Zionists.  The agreement was expressed and consolidated in formal manner at the Zionist Congress and the first meeting of the enlarged Jewish Agency held at Zurich in July and August, 1929.  At Zurich, Jews as a whole were united and pledged to assist in the upbuilding of Palestine in which the Jewish National Home is established and is to develop, without prejudice to the civil and religious rights of the existing inhabitants of the country.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\t<\/span>25.\t<\/span>In general terms, both Arab and Jewish nationalism in Palestine received new impulses during the year 1929.  On the Arab side, nationalism, which had never been dead, was given a renewed vitality through an appeal to religious sentiment.  On the Jewish side, nationalism, which, in its economic aspects, had suffered reverses during the economic depression of the years 1926, 1927 and part of 1928, found renewed strength in the union of<\/p><\/div>\n

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Jews for the development of the Jewish National Home.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\t<\/span>26.\t<\/span>Public Revenue.<\/i>–In spite of the general uneasiness in Palestine in the earlier part of 1929 which culminated in the disturbances of August, the economic development of the country was not impaired as gravely as might have been apprehended.  Having regard to the series of economic hindrances which have been reported in past years, the country shows not only powers of sustained endurance but also of recuperation.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\t<\/span>The year closed with an excess of revenue over expenditure amounting to £P.183,540.  The greatest source of revenue continues to be that derived from Customs duties.  The actual amount realised under this head was over £P.917,000 while the estimate for 1929 was £P.900,500.  It is certain that had there not been disturbances in August, the amount realised would have been greater.  It may also be stated that the effects of the disturbances and the economic dislocation caused by the Arab boycott of Jewish goods and products will probably be visible in the revenue returns for 1930.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\t<\/span>In considering the financial situation of Palestine regard must also be had to the fact that in 1929 a sum estimated at £P.54,000, being interest on the unexpended portion of the Palestine Loan and on surplus balances, was paid to revenue.  As the loan is expended on the works for which it was approved, that head of revenue will diminish until it disappears.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\t<\/span>27.\t<\/span>Land Taxation.<\/i>–The inland revenue system remained unchanged, but the staff of the Commissioner of Lands was fully engaged in obtaining data<\/i> upon which, in the future, it may be possible to devise an equitable system of land taxation, and experimental measures are proceeding to this end.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\t<\/span>The Survey of Palestine is steadily progressing and, marching now with it, Land Settlement is in progress in nineteen villages.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\t<\/span>The allotment of areas to cultivators under the Baisan Land Agreement of 1921 is nearing an end.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\t<\/span>The application of the Commuted Tithes Ordinance, 1927, has now been extended to the whole of Palestine with the exception of a group of sub-tribes in the Beersheba area.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\t<\/span>Unfortunately the fixed redemption prices of the tithe calculated on the natural tithes for the previous three years exceeds the present market prices of cereals, with the result that taxation is higher in relation to income than it was in the previous year.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\t<\/span>Assessments to house tax under the Urban Property Tax Ordinance, 1928, were made in the urban areas of Jerusalem, Jaffa (with Tel-Aviv), Tulkarem, Baisan, Gaza, Ramleh and Lydda.  The valuations made may also be utilised by municipal authorities for purposes of assessment to municipal house rates when local authorities are empowered to rate their towns for the general purposes of the towns.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\t<\/span>28.\t<\/span>Public expenditure.<\/i>–Expenditure on public works extraordinary fell considerably below the estimate.  A heavy building programme, imposed on the Department of Public Works, made it necessary to engage additional staff.  The earlier part of the year was occupied in the detailed preparations of the several projects, and it was hoped that rapid progress would be made in the autumn months with actual construction.  The disturbances of August, however, intervened; the officers of the Public Works Department were occupied in assisting to supply the requirements of the enlarged military and Air Force garrisons; and, in consequence, the execution of approved works was unavoidably postponed until 1930.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\t<\/span>29.\t<\/span>Progress was, however, made in the construction of the Palestine Museum, for which Mr. Rockefeller made his gift of $2,000,000, and also of Government House, the new residence of the High Commissioner.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\t<\/span>30.\t<\/span>Haifa Harbour.<\/i>–The most important public work in Palestine at present is the construction of Haifa Harbour.  A beginning of the work was made in February, 1929, when a new and temporary department of the Government was established as the Haifa Harbour Works Department.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\t<\/span>Under the Palestine Loan, for which authority was granted, under guarantee of His Majesty's Treasury, in the Palestine and East Africa Loans Act, 1926, a sum of £P.1,000,000 has been set aside for the work.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\t<\/span>It is one of the conditions of the Loan that fair conditions of labour shall be observed in all works done by means of the loan.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\t<\/span>The actual work at the Athlit quarries from which stone for the breakwaters is being taken, began in October, 1929.  At the end of December, 517 Arabs and 80 Jews were employed on the works and a length of one hundred and forty metres of the main breakwater had been completed.  The last three months of the year were experimental in character, there being little organisation of unskilled and semi-skilled labour in relation to economic output in Palestine.  The organisation had to be created, and the output of work gradually increased so that at the end of December, unskilled labour for which a wage of 120 mils per diem <\/i>had been paid in October was earning a daily wage of 130 mils.  It may be anticipated that early in 1930 a daily wage of 150 mils will be paid for unskilled labour, and, consequently, piece work rates which are gauged on daily wage rates will be proportionately increased.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\t<\/span>31.\t<\/span>Agriculture.<\/i>–Weather conditions were exceptionally favourable, the amount and distribution of rainfall being the best recorded for several years.  Cultivation of larger areas was also stimulated by the commuted tithe system.  In consequence, the aggregate production of winter and summer field crops, fruits and vegetables exceeded all previous figures.  Unfortunately, prices remained at a low level.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\t<\/span>The 1928-1929 orange season was satisfactory and citrus plantations are still increasing.  The appointment of a Citrus Fruit Specialist assures the constant improvement of methods of cultivation, grading, packing and despatch.  The uncertainty of loading facilities in the open roadstead of Jaffa is leading to the diversion of an appreciable part of the orange export to Haifa; and this movement, encouraged by the provision of special stores by the Government and reduced railway charges, is likely to grow.  The additional traffic from this source and an exceptionally good melon season are reflected in the revenue of the Palestine Railways.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\t<\/span>The olive crop was good; the output of tobacco increased and the heavy rains in November gave promise of excellent cereal crops.  Wider cultivation was stimulated by the commuted tithe system and agricultural machinery and fertilisers are increasingly used.  The problems of irrigation are being scientifically studied, and legislation to control the available supplies of water and to regulate their use for irrigation is being prepared.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\t<\/span>32.\t<\/span>Constant liaison has been maintained with the Empire Marketing Board in connexion with the marketing of perishable fruits and other products; the Palestine Government owes a debt of gratitude to the Board for its advice and financial assistance in this direction.<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n

\t<\/span>33.\t<\/span>A serious invasion of locusts into Trans-Jordan, which threatened Palestine as well, was driven back after a strenuous campaign waged during January, February and March in the foothills on the east shore of the Dead Sea.  It is fitting to pay a tribute to the voluntary services rendered in this campaign by the inhabitants of the villages in the Jerusalem Division.<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n

\t<\/span>There were no epidemics of plant disease, and the ravages of black scale in the orange groves of the North are slowly being repaired by fumigation.  The country was free from any widespread disease of animals, but it was necessary to forbid the entry of Lebanese livestock at the end of the year owing to the appearance of foot-and-mouth disease in Syria.  It has, however, to be reported that dourine largely infected the pedigree stock in the Government Stud Farm; several valuable animals died as a result, or had to be relegated to other than breeding purposes.<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n

\t<\/span>34. Commerce and Industry.<\/i>–In spite of a temporary set-back after the August disturbances, local factories continue to increase the sales of their products in neighbouring countries.<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n

\t<\/span>On the recommendation of the Standing Committee for Commerce and Industry the Government further extended the schedule of exemptions from Import Duty in respect of the raw or partly manufactured materials of local industries and revised the Customs Tariff in the direction of further specification of duties.<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n

\t<\/span>The commercial interdependence of Palestine and Syria was strengthened by a Customs Agreement, clarifying and extending the provisions of the Convention of 1921, which it replaced, in such way as to provide for the reciprocal grant of exemption from import duty for the genuine produce and manufacture of either territory.<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n

\t<\/span>The Mandatory announced the accession of Palestine to the Commercial Treaties between the United Kingdom and Hungary and Spain.<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n

\t<\/span>35.\t<\/span>Labour.<\/i>–Continued improvement of economic conditions has resulted in the creation of openings for employment in industry, in the building trade and in agriculture.  These absorbed most of those persons who were unemployed at the end of 1928.  The tide of emigration turned and the demand for labour, notwithstanding the set-back of the disturbances, was greater than the supply.  Government authorised the entry of 2,300 Jewish working men and women for whom the Jewish Agency guaranteed employment mostly in connexion with the planting of orange groves.  In 1928, Jewish immigration and emigration balanced one another; in 1929 the immigrants exceeded the emigrants by 3,503.<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n

\t<\/span>36.\t<\/span>Government Concessions.<\/i>–The Agreement for the grant of the Dead Sea Concession was signed by the Crown Agents for the Colonies on behalf of the Palestine Government on the 1st January, 1930; the text is given in Appendix II to this Report. The Concessionaires have registered an operating Company in Palestine, the Concession Area has been delimited and the preliminary constructions of the Company were about to begin at the end of the year.<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n

\t<\/span>Negotiations for the readaptation of the Lighthouse Concession remained inconclusive but a settlement of outstanding issues was in sight at the end of the year after a series of meetings in London between a representative of the Concessionaires and the Director of Palestine Customs.<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n

\t<\/span>As regards the Concession for the drainage and reclamation of the swamps of Lake Huleh, the Concessionaires, having failed to implement the agreement for a revised concession, fell back on their rights under the Ottoman instrument and entered into possession of the Huleh Area in January, 1929.<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n

\t<\/span>In June plans of the drainage works were submitted and were under consideration by Government at the end of the year.<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n

\t<\/span>A lease of the Tiberias Baths was granted to the group of pre-War concessionaires and their associates in the form shown in Appendix III to this Report.  The Concessionaires have eighteen months in which to form a new company for working the enterprise and to raise the prescribed capital.<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n

\t<\/span>37.\t<\/span>Health.<\/i>–There was no serious epidemic in 1929, and malaria the incidence of which has for centuries been heavy was kept within steadily contracting bounds.<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n

\t<\/span>The measures taken in Government and private hospitals and clinics and in schools and villages to control ophthalmia are showing good results.<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n

\t<\/span>The rates of natural increase of the population continued to be a remarkable phenomenon, and is the strongest indication of the success that has attended the introduction into Palestine of measures of public hygiene.<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n

\t<\/span>38.\t<\/span>Education.<\/i>–The draft Education Ordinance was further discussed during the year with the interested authorities and certain amendments introduced to meet the objections raised on various points.  It is hoped that the draft will pass into law in 1930.<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n

\t<\/span>39.\t<\/span>Legislation.<\/i>–During 1929 several Ordinances of special interest were passed.  The 1920 law concerning Antiquities was replaced by a measure expressing more definitely the injunctions of the Mandate; the Protection of Cultivators Ordinance was passed with the object of dealing with the difficulties which frequently arise when large tracts of land change ownership.<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n

\t<\/span>The professions of veterinary surgeons and midwifery were regulated, research institutions exempted from payment of tithe on experimental crops, and improvements introduced in the arrangements for collection of taxes and the procedure for registration and survey of lands.<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n

\t<\/span>40.\t<\/span>Local Government.<\/i>–Following a series of meetings between the High Commissioner and officers of the Administration, instructions were issued upon which a comprehensive Bill dealing with local government was drafted.  That Bill is being considered by the departments of Government concerned with the activities of local authorities and will be further considered by municipal councils.  The disturbances of August have been the cause of considerable delay in the consideration of the Bill.<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n

\t<\/span>An outstanding event of importance was the consolidation of the indebtedness of Tel-Aviv Local Council, and a reduction of the total debt by the principal creditors.  A brief statement describing the operation and its effects is given in Appendix IV.<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n

\t<\/span>The Palestine Arab Executive criticised the writing off of £P.75,000 in the indebtedness of the Tel-Aviv Local Council towards the Palestine Government.  It is necessary, however, to point out that the Tel-Aviv Local Council had received in the first seven years of its existence no grants from the Government who had, on the other hand, made grants in aid of the revenues of the Municipal Councils of Jerusalem, Jaffa, Haifa and Nablus, in order to assist them in providing extraordinary works within the areas of their jurisdiction.<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n

\t<\/span>41.\t<\/span>Organisation of religious communities.<\/i>–A Committee of Moslems, which had been appointed by Lord Plumer to make recommendations for a complete revision of the arrangements by which, in the Order constituting a Supreme Moslem Sharia Council, 1921, Moslems are enabled to administer Awqaf funds and to administer their Religious Law, reported and, with certain minority observations, made recommendations of far-reaching import for the creation of a General Moslem Assembly and a Supreme Moslem Council separately elected.  Those recommendations are under consideration.<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n

\t<\/span>The Va'ad Leumi, which is the body acting in the capacity of the constitutional General Council in the Regulations for the Jewish Community, 1927, submitted the draft of an electoral regulation which will enable the Rabbinical Council and offices to be reconstituted, an Elected Assembly and General Council (Va'ad Leumi) to be elected and powers of taxation to be exercised by Local Community Committees.<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n

\t<\/span>42.\t<\/span>Replies to Questions raised by the Permanent Mandates Commission<\/i>.–The Permanent Mandates Commission at its Fifteenth Session expressed a wish for further information in regard to public health matters.  It will be appreciated, however, that the difficulty in the compilation of statistics renders it impossible for a report in the detail desired to be ready in respect of any year by the end of March in the year following; for it is then that the general Report on Palestine is framed.  But the details for 1928 will be found in the separate publication of the Palestine Department of Health which was communicated to the League in December, 1929; and similarly the Health Section of this Report will be amplified, in due course, by a separate publication of the Department for 1929.<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n

\t<\/span>A Note on sick benefits is appended to the Labour Section of this Report.<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n

\t<\/span>43.\t<\/span>The comprehensive review of the measures taken in connexion with education, for which the Permanent Mandates Commission asked, will be found in the relevant Section of this Report.  It traces the development of educational systems in Palestine since the Turkish regime, the changes brought about after the British Occupation, and furnishes accounts of the Arab and Hebrew public systems of education, in elementary, secondary, technical and higher branches, as well as of the private school systems.<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n

\t<\/span>Notes on co-education and on the distinction between Community and religious schools are appended to the Education Section.  The definition of Community school in the draft of the proposed Education Ordinance is as follows: "`Community School' means any school of which the proprietor is a Community or local committee of a Community organised under the Religious Communities Organisation Ordinance, 1926, or exercising jurisdiction in accordance with Article 51 of the Palestine Order in Council, 1922."<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n

\t<\/span>A Community school may then be either a school in which religious instruction is exclusively given, or a school of any other type.  There are no schools in which religious instruction is exclusively given in the Arab or Hebrew public system.<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n

\t<\/span>44.\t<\/span>A statement concerning the amount of the Public Debt of Palestine is given in Section II of this Report, with the general financial statistics for which the Permanent Mandates Commission asked.<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n

\t<\/span>45.\t<\/span>Separate memoranda are appended on the Dead Sea Salts Concession, the Haifa Harbour Works, the Barrat Caesarea Lands, and a list of all International Conventions to which Palestine is a party is also appended.<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

TABLE OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS FOR THE QUINQUENNIAL PERIOD<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

1925-1929.<\/p><\/div>\n

\n\n\n\n
\n

Year.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Birth-rate<\/i><\/p>\n

per 1,000<\/i><\/p>\n

living.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Number of<\/i><\/p>\n

births<\/i><\/p>\n

registered.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Estimated<\/i><\/p>\n

population<\/i><\/p>\n

(Mid-year).<\/i><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Number of<\/i><\/p>\n

deaths<\/i><\/p>\n

registered.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Death<\/i><\/p>\n

rate<\/i><\/p>\n

per 1,000.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Infantile<\/i><\/p>\n

mortality, i.e., deaths of children under 1 year of age per 1,000 births.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

1925 … …<\/p>\n

1926 … …<\/p>\n

1927 … …<\/p>\n

1928 … …<\/p>\n

1929 … …<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

49.31<\/p>\n

53.47<\/p>\n

50.22<\/p>\n

53.99<\/p>\n

51.15<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

35,479<\/p>\n

40,741<\/p>\n

39,093<\/p>\n

42,899<\/p>\n

41,742<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

719,508<\/p>\n

761,896<\/p>\n

778,369<\/p>\n

794,516<\/p>\n

816,064<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

19,611<\/p>\n

18,620<\/p>\n

21,795<\/p>\n

23,170<\/p>\n

21,634<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

27.25<\/p>\n

24.43<\/p>\n

28.12<\/p>\n

29.16<\/p>\n

26.51<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

188.64<\/p>\n

163.03<\/p>\n

201.27<\/p>\n

188.25<\/p>\n

186.52<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

\n

COMPARATIVE TABLE OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS BY RELIGIONS<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

FOR THE YEAR 1929.<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n
<\/td>\n\n

Christians.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Moslems.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Jews.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Others.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Total.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Population* …   …   …   …<\/p>\n

Deaths…   …   …   …   …<\/p>\n

Deaths per 1,000 of population…<\/p>\n

Births…   …   …   …   …<\/p>\n

Births per 1,000 of population…<\/p>\n

Deaths of Infants under<\/p>\n

  1 year of age   …   …   …<\/p>\n

Infantile Mortality Rate…   …<\/p>\n

Natural Increase per 1,000<\/p>\n

  of the population     …   …<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

80,225<\/p>\n

 1,439<\/p>\n

 17.93<\/p>\n

 3,036<\/p>\n

 37.84<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

   473<\/p>\n

155.80<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

 19.90<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

572,443<\/p>\n

 18,133<\/p>\n

  31.67<\/p>\n

 33,053<\/p>\n

  57.74<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

  6,775<\/p>\n

 204.97<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

  26.06<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

154,330<\/p>\n

  1,820<\/p>\n

  11.79<\/p>\n

  5,257<\/p>\n

  34.06<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

    472<\/p>\n

  89.78<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

  22.27<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

 9,066<\/p>\n

   242<\/p>\n

 26.69<\/p>\n

   396<\/p>\n

 43.67<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

    66<\/p>\n

166.66<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

 16.98<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

816,064<\/p>\n

 21,634<\/p>\n

  26.51<\/p>\n

 41,742<\/p>\n

  51.15<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

  7,786<\/p>\n

 186.52<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

  24.64<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

\n

________________________________________________________________________________________<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

*No figures are included for the nomadic Bedouin population, which in 1922 was estimated at 103,000.<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n

\/…<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

—–<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

REPORT by His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the Council of the League of Nations on the Administration of PALESTINE AND TRANS-JORDAN FOR THE YEAR 1929 Report by His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the Council of the League […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"country":[],"document-category":[1323],"document-source":[1688],"committee-meeting":[],"document-subject":[1857,1749],"entity":[1889],"document-language":[6542],"class_list":["post-206576","document","type-document","status-publish","hentry","document-category-report","document-source-league-of-nations","document-subject-incidents","document-subject-palestine-question","entity-intergovernmental-organization-or-multilateral","document-language-english"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/206576","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/document"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/206576\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=206576"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=206576"},{"taxonomy":"document-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-category?post=206576"},{"taxonomy":"document-source","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-source?post=206576"},{"taxonomy":"committee-meeting","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/committee-meeting?post=206576"},{"taxonomy":"document-subject","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-subject?post=206576"},{"taxonomy":"entity","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/entity?post=206576"},{"taxonomy":"document-language","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-language?post=206576"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}