Notes on the News The Balfour Declaration

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXII, 13 December 1938, Page 9

Notes on the News The Balfour Declaration

The pivot ill point in the present rouble in Palestine between Arabs anil Fews is the Balfour Declaration promisiig a national home to t lie Jews in Palestine. For a full understanding of he implications to that declaration it s necessary to know something of its On November 2, IUI7. the pledge of British support fo r a Jewish national liome in Palestine was given in the form of a letter to the president of the English Zionist Federation, Lord Rothschild, which Lord Balfour signed as Foreign Secretary. The text of this “Balfour Declaration” was incorporated in 11)22 in the mandate of the League of Nations. The pronouncement was essentially a Cabinet decision, arrived at after the most thorough consideration. An opponent in the Cabinet was Mr. Edwin Montagu. Secretary of State for India, himself a Jew. Besides Balfour. Mr. Lloyd George. General Smuts and Lord Milner were in full sympathy. The leading exponent of the Zionists in England was Dr. Chaim Weizinami, n Russian subject by birth. British by naturalization before the war. His discovery of a process for Hie manufacture of acetone upon which the supply of cordite deluded, and his placing it at the disposal of the British Government, rendered the Government under a deep [lebt of gratitude to him. lie wanted nothing fo’r himself but only the British promise of support for the Jews. Near the end of his days Balfour told liis niece that on the whole he felt that what he had been able to do for tlie Jews had been the thing he looked back upon as the most worth his doing. Law 01 Jfhe Mandates The position ol manilau u territories, the former German colonies, is very much to the fore again, arising out of the German claims for their return Sir John Fischer Williams, a noted English legal authority says: “It is at any rate clear that a mandated territory is not held by a mandatory Power with the same authority as that with which it holds its territories not subject to mandate. ESesides the mandatory Power, the League and the peoples of the territory have rights and duties—and hovering in an uncertain offing, possibly more active in certain events, there are Hie principle Allied anil Associated Powers. ‘‘lt seems clear that a Power cannot be compelled to continue to act as a mandatory if it declines to do so. . . It follows that a mandate cannot he considered to be something which by its nature is non-transferable. . . A mandate then is transferable. “No mandate makes any provision for revocation, but it is hard to suppose Ihat the League of Nations would be bound to suffer tlie exercise on its behalf, or in its name, of authority which is being grossly misused. . . Even if it were felt in 1019 to be too delicate a matter to go on and say wliat was to happen if the advice (to the Council of the League) took the shape of telling the Council that the mandate was not being observed, it is difficult not to agree that the power of revocation Is Implicit. And that power of revocation must be exercisable by a resolution of the Council of ‘qualified’ unanimity—that is, tin* opposition of the Power whose mandale is revoked may be overridden. But readers must be warned that learned persons of authority do not accept this view. In any case, how to enforce tlie revocation is another matter. “What is the effect on a mandate if the mandatory leaves the League*: . . . No authoritative answer has yet been given. But in the absence of any clear rule It is not rttsy to see why we should conclude that if the mandatory continues to be willing to act

‘on behalf of the League’. . .nevertheless Its mandate is gone.” War Not Inevitable In an Interview in New York. Mr. Anthony Eden said: “I would like to emphasize that I have never accepted and I do not accept now the doctrine that war is inevitable. Such an attitude would bo criminal.” j Mr. Eden takes the same view as 1 that of Lord Baldwin, who said in the House of Lords: “There is one observation on the li|w of many people at this moment: ‘You have got to fight some day, light now.’ No greater fallacy was ever uttered. War is never inevitable, and if there were a 95 per cent, chance of war at some future date, I would hold on to the other 5 per cent, till 1 died.” It Lined to Invent Things! He pot- 1 tered' with simple ideas—and he patented them! To-day he has a fortune Have you an idea that saves time? Consult us now —fully and confidentially Henry Hughes Ltd (Dihectors. W E Hughes and J. T Hunter. Registered i Potent Attorneys). 214-217 D I C Build- , ing. Wellington Loca ' Agents: W Rout ar-’ Sons Ltd. Hardy-st Such of the cable news in this issue < a., is so headed has appeared in “The j Times” and is sent to this paper by special permission. It should be understood that the opinions are not those of ‘ "The Times” unless expressly stated to 1 be so.

Tunisia The Italians are making demonstra lions designed lo force France to givf Tunisia to Italy. After the conquest of Algeria France turned her attentions to Tunisia on the east ami Morocco on the west. French occupation was finally extended to Tunisia on the ground that nomadic tribes raided Algeria, but in reality to gain a commercial bold on a country whose products and whose proximity lo Algeria and accessibility tc France made it a prize of real con soThe French occupation was not withoyt interest to and Italian rivals. At the Congress of Berlin (1S78), British recognition of French change for French support of the British lease of the important island o) The irrevocable step was taken by France in 1881, when a military expedition ended with the ruling Bey recognizing the French protectorate. Great Britain accorded recognition of the new status In 1883, Italy reluctantly followed lu 1896, and Turkey withheld recognition altogether, claiming Tunisians as Ottoman subjects. But by the Treaty of Lausanne (1923) Turkey renounced all rights and titles to territory outside her now frontiers, thus implicitly confirming the French statu* in Tunisia. Like Algeria, Tunisia is a prosperous country, paying its own way with products of high importance to the industries of France. Situated on the northern coast of Africa, Tunisia, which is bounded by the Mediterranean Sea, Italian Libya, the Sahara Desert, and Algeria, has an area of 48.3(H) square miles, and a population of 3,410.009. Of the while population of just under 200.000. French and Italians are about equal, 91,000 each. In the capital, Tunis, the Italians outnumber the French. 46.000 to 33.000. Quite recently the French conceded Ihe Italians special privileges, particularly with regard to educational facilities.