FEELING IN NEW ZEALAND.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20519, 21 March 1930, Page 13

FEELING IN NEW ZEALAND.

SIR J. ALLEN'S TRIBUTE.

AFFECTION FOR DOMINION.

AUCKLAND MEMORIAL SERVICE. The name of the Earl of Balfour was regarded by Jews throughout the world with feelings of reverence and affection. In a cabled message which was sent yesterday by Rev. S. A. Goldstein, president of the Auckland Zionist Society, to Dr. C. Weizmann, president of the Zionist Organisation, London, Dr. Weizmann was asked to convey to the relatives of the late Earl the deepest sympathy of New Zealand Zionists, who mourned the loss of the noblest advocate- of the cause of Zionism and the greatest friend of the Jewish people.

A memorial service will be held in the Synagogue on Monday evening under the joint auspices of the Auckland Zionist Society and the Auckland Women's Zionist Society.

In an interview at. Dunedin Sir James Allen paid a very high tribute to Lord Balfour's personal and statesmanlike qualities, and referred with appreciation to his work in connection with the League of Nations.

"I know of no other man who, in my judgment, signifies so clearly to me the finest type of English gentleman," said Sir James. "He was strong in character, full of kindliness, and he made one feel at home with him the moment one met him. Always he was sociable, and quite unaffected.

"In his home life he lived in quiet dignity with his sister. As a visitor to his home, I could not help but be impressed by the atmosphere of the place and of its surroundings."

Sir James went on to say that the deceased statesman had a striking fondness for New Zealand, and in a letter which he received from Lord Balfour in 1922 the following sentences were included:— "For New Zealand I have always entertained the warmest affection, ever since I visited it nearly 50 years ago. Its glorious record since then has redoubled my feelings of pride and admiration." It is interesting to note that Lord Balfour was chairman of the special research sub-committee of which the GovernorGeneral, Lord Bledisloe, was also a. member.

"of all the changes brought about bv the Great War, probably none has so impressed the imagination of the world as the redemption of Palestine from the Turkish yoke, and its restoration to the civilising forces of Jewish national endeavour; and of all the names of the statesmen most, closely associated with this pregnant historic act, none stands out more conspicuously than that of the Earl of Balfour."

Thus writes the Jewish author, Mr. Israel Cohen, in a preface to a collection of the speeches of Balfour on Zionism. The statesman's death will be in no instance more deeply deplored than among Zionists, for as Foreign Secretary in 1917 it was Balfour who announced the text of the document now known to history as the Balfour Declaration.

The text of the document, was as follows:—"His Majesty's Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country." As one of the projectors of the Declaration, General Smuts described it as "one of the greatest vows in history." Its exact terms were succinctly explainedby him in an address at New York. "It was a limited declaration," he said. " You will see that the words were very carefully chosen. We (the British War Cabinet) never promised that we would undertake, or . that the British Government would undertake, to collect all the Jewish people of the world and place them in Palestine. It would have been the height of folly attempting any such thing. Your international character will in the future, as in the past, mean that the Jews will inhabit many lands. _ All we promised here was that the national home will be established, will be secured in Palestine for such of the Jewish people who want to go there. " To mv mind the pledge carries with it two things. It means that such conditions must be maintained in Palestine, for those who wish to go there, that those for whom there is an opening there can go with good will and not with any restraint. There is a second thing implied in the document, that there should be really free immigration into_ the country. To my mind the second point is implied to the extent in which the resources of the Jewish people permit the circumstances, and the resources which Palestine permits. It is a small country: it cannot absorb a large population. _ You may easily overwhelm it by over-immi-gration. That was never intended." In a statement issued in 1927 the Earl of Balfour said" Ten years have now elapsed since the declaration on Zionism was made by me on behalf of the British Government. Nothing has occurred dining that period to suggest the least douht as to the wisdom of this new departure. The experiment was admittedly _ a bold one, dealing with a unique situation in a manner wholly without precedent in history. I am, however, convinced that if it be supported by the Jewish communities throughout the world its success is assured, and that a home will be secured for the Jewish race in the land which is immepioriaHy associated with their name."