REPORT BY HIS BRITANNIC MAJESTY'S GOVERNMENT ON THE ADMINISTRATION UNDER MANDATE OF PALESTINE AND TRANSJORDAN FOR THE YEAR 1924

REPORT

BY HIS BRITANNIC MAJESTY'S GOVERNMENT
ON THE ADMINISTRATION UNDER MANDATE
OF PALESTINE AND TRANSJORDAN

FOR THE YEAR

1924.

---

SECTION I.

REPORT BY HIS BRITANNIC MAJESTY'S
GOVERNMENT ON THE ADMINISTRATION 
UNDER MANDATE OF PALESTINE. 


I.--INTRODUCTORY.

The past year was chiefly noteworthy in Palestine for a marked economic revival. The world-wide depression, which affected this country in common with others, had to a great extent passed away. To this recovery various circumstances contributed. The trade in oranges, the principal export from Palestine, gave good profits to the growers and merchants. Cereals and almonds were more remunerative. The cultivation of tobacco, which, as mentioned in previous reports, has been introduced into the country within the last four years, has rapidly expanded. The production, estimated at 694 metric tons in 1922 and 644 in 1923, increased to 1,845 tons last year A large part of the crop was of good quality and profitable to the growers.

Industrial development has been stimulated by the arrival, among the Jewish immigrants, of a considerable number of men with manufacturing experience, and with capital. The majority of them come from Poland. They have established a number of new industries, mostly at present on a small scale, the greater number in the Jewish town of Tel-Aviv, adjacent to Jaffa. In addition, several large Jewish enterprises have been founded, and have either reached, or are about to reach, the producing stage. The most important of these enterprises are a cement factory, with an invested capital of £E.300,000; a flour mill, a vegetable oil and soap factory, and a factory of silicate bricks (made of cement and lime), each involving an expenditure of £E.100,000 or more; and, on a smaller scale, works at Athlit, on the coast, for the production of salt by evaporation, a silk factory and a tannery. The electric power station, with fuel engines, erected at Tel-Aviv under the concession granted to Mr. Rutenberg, has been obliged, after only a year's working, to instal new engines, more than doubling its original capacity. Similar stations are in course of erection at Haifa and at Tiberias, to supply urgent demands for power and lighting there. The construction of the first hydraulic power station on the Jordan has not yet begun, but the preliminary measures have made further progress.

The tourist traffic has shown a marked growth, and is likely to expand further in the future.

One of the consequences of these developments has been a welcome recovery in the revenue. The year 1922-23 ended with a deficit of £E.73,000, which was covered from previous balances. The year 1923-24 ended with a very small surplus. It is anticipated that the present financial year will show a satisfactory balance of revenue over expenditure. To this, a revision of a number of items in the Customs Tariff, in August, 1924, has contributed in a minor degree. The financial result of the working of the railways was particularly satisfactory.

Immigration into Palestine is regulated by the Government; so as to ensure that it shall not exceed the capacity of the country to absorb the new arrivals. The more favourable conditions have allowed an increase in the immigration. It amounted to 13,553 in 1924, compared with 7,991 in 1923. The non-Jews among these immigrants numbered 697. The total emigration amounted to about 2,500 persons. In the winter of 1923 there was a considerable measure of unemployment among the Jewish population, but last winter there was no recurrence of this state of affairs.

Jewish agricultural colonisation continues steadily. The extensive swamps of Kabbara, in the Maritime Plain, are being drained and brought under cultivation, in accordance with a concession granted to the Palestine Jewish Colonisation Association; the difficulties which had arisen in connection with the claims of about 170 Arab families resident on part of the land having been settled after prolonged negotiations.

The town of Tel-Aviv is expanding with remarkable rapidity. The population, which was about 2,500 in 1920, is now estimated at over 25,000, and for some time past new houses have been completed at an average rate of two a day. There is much building activity also in Haifa and Jerusalem and their suburbs.

The Bio-Chemical Faculty, and the Institute of Jewish Studies, of the Hebrew University at Jerusalem have been inaugurated.

The anti-malarial campaign is being vigorously prosecuted in many parts of the country. Almost all the towns have now been freed from what used to be one of the scourges of Palestine. Much progress has been made, through the drainage of swamps, and the covering or oiling of wells and cisterns, in eliminating the breeding-places of mosquitoes, and therefore the liability to malaria, in many of the villages. A "Health Week" was
organised in November for spreading propaganda on public and domestic health questions. In connection with it a small exhibition was held in Jerusalem, open for ten days, with free entry. In this town of some 70,000 inhabitants, no fewer than 30,000 attendances were recorded at the exhibition.

Public security has been good. There have been no disturbances of a political character, and no raids from Transjordan. The bands of highway robbers, which infested parts of the country a few years ago, have now all been disposed of. The reduction in the garrison has continued. The cost had been diminished to £1,500,000 in 1923-24, and in the last report it was mentioned that the following year should witness a further large reduction. This expectation has been realized, and the cost of the garrison in the year 1924-25 should fall below £1,000,000. The estimates for the ensuing year will be on a still lower scale. It will be remembered that the Civil Administration of Palestine, apart from the cost of the garrison, has involved no subvention from His Majesty's Government.

A Committee sat in the early part of the year under the chairmanship of the Treasurer, with the managers of the principal banks of the country among the members, to examine the question of introducing a new currency into Palestine. The report of the Committee has received the general approval of the Secretary of State, and early steps will be taken to introduce a currency linked with sterling. The currency will be administered by a Palestine Currency Board operating in London under the direction of the Secretary of State for the Colonies, under conditions which will ensure that the exchange value of the currency is maintained at par.

An area in the extreme north of Palestine, previously included in the territory of Syria, was transferred to Palestine, as from the 1st April, 1924, in accordance with the terms of the Palestine-Syria Boundary Convention of 1920. This area contains twenty villages with a population of nearly 9,000. It includes Tel-el-Kadi, the ancient Dan, and its inclusion has restored to Palestine her biblical boundaries "from Dan even unto Beersheba."

The excavations on Mount Ophel, adjoining the present walls of Jerusalem to the south, carried out by the Palestine Exploration Fund, have resulted in the discovery of part of the walls of the Jebusite city, captured by David.

The Palestine Government was invited to participate in the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley. Its pavilion was thronged by visitors. The commercial results were very satisfactory to exhibitors.

The ratification of the Treaty of Lausanne in August, 1924, finally regularised the international status of Palestine as a territory detached from Turkey and administered under a Mandate entrusted to His Majesty's Government.

The terms of the Mandate had been approved in anticipation by the Council of the League of Nations in 1922, and the Mandate had been brought into operation by resolution of the Council in 1923. A first report on the administration of the territory, covering the period from July, 1920, to the end of 1923, was presented to the Permanent Mandates Commission of the League by His Majesty's Government, and was considered by the Commission at their session at Geneva in October, 1924. On their invitation, the High Commissioner for Palestine attended that session, and gave evidence, in answer to questions, extending over six sittings. The Report of the Commission was approved by the Council of the League and has been made public.

Palestine has welcomed a number of distinguished visitors during the year, including His Royal Highness Prince Arthur of Connaught, His Excellency General Weygand, High Commissioner for Syria and the Lebanon, their Eminences Cardinal Bourne, Cardinal O'Connell, and the late Cardinal Giorgi, the Right Honourable the Earl of Oxford and Asquith (then Mr. H. H. Asquith), and several Members of both Houses of the Imperial Parliament.

In April, Major-General Sir H. H. Tudor, K.C.B., C.M.G., relinquished the position of General Officer Commanding and Inspector-General, Police and Prisons. Mr. A. S. Mavrogordato was appointed as Acting Inspector-General, and Air Commodore E. L. Gerard, C.M.G., D.S.O., was appointed by the Air Ministry as Air Officer Commanding in Palestine.

Mr. J. B. Barron, O.B.E., M.C., resigned the post of Director of Customs and Trade, and was succeeded by Mr. K. W. Stead, the Chief Collector of Customs of Cyprus

SECTION II.

REPORT BY HIS BRITANNIC MAJESTY'S
GOVERNMENT ON THE ADMINISTRATION UNDER
MANDATE OF TRANSJORDAN.

1. A long narrow western fringe of the Syrian desert, Transjordan constitutes a tilted land-slab rising almost imperceptibly from the desert in the east to abrupt western precipices overhanging the Jordan valley. In its eastern marches it is barren land, covered with small black stones, merging further westward into grass-land which stretches to the Hejaz railway line. Thence it swells in rolling country to its mountain mass which rises to a general height of 3,500 to 4,000 feet, falling abruptly to the fertile plain of the Jordan valley, which between the Yarmuk and the Dead Sea is of an average width of three miles. The grass-land margin forms the summer pastures of camel-owning Bedu, such as the Beni Sakhr and Huweitat, who in the winter move further east for pasturage, ranging as far as Jauf: west of the railway are the wheat and barley lands of the Kerak, Balqa and Ajlun tribes, as well as of the Circassian colonies in the Balqa and the numerous Arab villages in the north. Perennial water is to be found in the deep lateral valleys, but the fertile land of the Jordan depression is, as yet, only used as winter grazing ground by semi-nomad tribes. In the north there are a number of large villages, but the only towns of size are Amman, Salt, and Kerak. In addition to the Circassians and Chechen, who were introduced into Transjordan, Palestine, and Syria after the Russo-Turkish war, a further considerable foreign element, comprising Arab traders and professional men, has found its way, since the British occupation, into the towns. No census of the population has been taken, but the figure is thought to be in the neighbourhood of 200,000, of whom some 10,000 are Circassians and Chechen; there are about 15,000 Christians and the remainder, in the main, are Moslem Arabs.

2. His Britannic Majesty is the Mandatory for Transjordan to which the terms of the mandate for Palestine, with the exception of the provisions dealing with the establishment of a national home for the Jewish people, are applicable. The declaration of
His Majesty's Government with regard to its Mandatory obligations in Transjordan, made to the Council of League of Nations in September, 1922, (Cmd. 1785) was in the following terms:--

"In the application of the Mandate to Transjordan, the action which in Palestine is taken by the Administration of the latter country, will be taken by the Administration of Transjordan under the general supervision of the Mandatory.

"His Majesty's Government accept full responsibility as Mandatory for Transjordan, and undertake that such provision as may be made for the administration of that country in accordance with Article 25 of the Mandate shall be in no way inconsistent with those provisions of the Mandate which are not by this resolution declared inapplicable."

The Mandatory is represented in Transjordan by the Chief British Representative, assisted by two British officers and a small clerical staff. The Chief British Representative acts under the instructions of the High Commissioner for Palestine.

On the 25th April, 1923, at Amman, the High Commissioner announced that, subject to the approval of the League of Nations, His Majesty's Government would recognise the existence of an independent Government in Transjordan under the rule of His Highness the Amir Abdulla, provided that such Government was constitutional and placed His Britannic Majesty's Government in a position to fulfil its international obligations in respect of the territory by means of an agreement to be concluded between the two Governments.

The agreement has not yet been concluded.

3. The Amir Abdulla arrived in Transjordan in February, 1921, and the territory, at that time divided into three separately administered districts, Ajlun, the Balqa and Kerak, was brought by him under a central government. A Council of Ministers was formed, a Governor appointed to each district, and each district subdivided into a number of sub-governorates. Most of the officials appointed were men who had occupied similar
positions in Syria under the regime of King Feisal.

4. His Majesty's Government agreed to provide for a limited period a grant-in-aid to cover legitimate expenditure which the territory was unable to meet with its own unaided resources. In the financial year 1923-24 the grant-in-aid was £E.150,000, but the persistent failure of the Transjordan Government to submit satisfactory statements of accounts obliged His Majesty's Government to limit its financial assistance in 1924-25 to the sum of £E.60,000, the balance of a deposit which the Transjordan Government had been required to accumulate for the purpose of meeting possible arrears of annuities due on account of the Ottoman Public Debt. On the 21st April, 1924, Lieut.-Colonel C. H. F. Cox, D.S.O., previously District Governor, Samaria, assumed duty as Chief British Representative, in succession to Mr. H. St. J. B. Philby, C.I.E., I.C.S., and Ali Rida Pasha Rikabi, a sound and experienced administrator who had held many high positions under the Turks, assumed office as Chief Minister on the 3rd May. Immediately steps were taken to frame a new budget: rigid economies were enforced and drastic reductions made in expenditure. The Amir's Civil List was reduced from £E.30,000 to £E.20,000; and the strength of the Arab Legion, which, in addition to its military duties, carries out the duties normally fulfilled by a gendarmerie, was decreased from 1,200 to 1,000 officers and men, costing £E.98,000.

The budget originally framed by the Transjordan Government for 1924-25 had shown a deficit of £E.132,000; the revised estimates showed a deficit of £E.43,000 only. His Majesty's Government were unable to agree to provide a grant-in-aid until the financial system had been reorganised and arrangements introduced to submit satisfactory statements of accounts monthly to the Secretary of State. The Amir, with the concurrence of his Ministers, consented in August to the introduction of an entirely new system of accounting and financial control, and Financial Regulations were put into force on the 1st October, with very satisfactory results. All salaries are paid up to date, several thousand pounds of the liabilities carried forward at the beginning of the financial year have been liquidated and there has been a substantial cash balance at the end of each month. By the 31st December, 1924, the total estimated revenue for the financial year, less £E.6,500, had been collected, and some £E.14,000 of the Ottoman Public Debt deposit was unexpended.

5. The Ottoman Code is in operation with but few changes. The Minister of Justice is also the President of the Court of Appeal. There are four Courts of First Instance, and four Civil Magistrates' Courts. The Kadi el Kuda presides over the Sharia Court of Appeal, to which appeals lie from six Sharia Courts. Administrative Councils function in accordance with the Ottoman Provisional Law for the general Administration of Vilayets, and Governors exercise limited powers in criminal cases. The Amir Abdulla established a Department of Tribal Administration designed primarily to deal with intertribal disputes and cases between Bedu only. Not infrequently, however, it arrogated jurisdiction in cases between Bedu and townsmen which should properly have been tried by the Courts of First Instance. It thus became an impediment to the progress of proper administration, and its abolition in August has been attended by salutary results.

6. The system of taxation is unchanged from the Turkish, although additional contributions have been levied for special educational purposes, and for building a mosque in Amman. In its incidence, however, taxation has been most uneven, for it is only in the Balqa that the tithe is collected, while Kerak and Irbid pay a specific sum in commutation as imposed by the Turks, but converted from Turkish to Egyptian pounds; the Kerak contribution has been increased this year by 20 per cent. The people of the Balqa were also, till recently, required to defray the cost of assessment. Within Kerak and Irbid the commuted tithe is unevenly distributed, for it is the practice of Government to collect an equal proportion of the total due from each landholder, irrespective of the extent of his holding.

The revenue of the Courts and from Stamp Duties already shows an improvement due to better control.

7. Palestine pays Transjordan an annual sum of £E.18,950 on account of the Customs Duties collected on goods of foreign origin which are re-exported to Transjordan. The Syrian Government also refunds the duty collected on articles of foreign origin when re-exported to Transjordan, and Transjordan, in addition, collects a further small percentage of the value of the goods as assessed at Damascus. Until May, 1924, the import
duty into Syria was 11 per cent., but was then raised to 15 per cent. on goods exported from States members of the League of Nations, and to 30 per cent. on others. Syria has agreed accordingly to refund to Transjordan a basic rate of 15 per cent. on all foreign goods re-exported, and the difference between that and 30 per cent. when the Transjordan Government can prove the country of origin. Transjordan collects a duty of 100 per cent. on imported alcohol, and of 50 per cent. on imported tobacco.

8. In April, 1922, the section of the Hejaz Railway line from Nasib to Ma'an was placed under the management of the Chief British Representative and opened again to traffic. On the 19th April, 1924, Mr. Philby, the then Chief British Representative, handed over the control of the section from Amman to Ma'an to the Amir Ali, the son of King Husain of the Hejaz, and President of the Council of the Ma'an-Medina section. This action had not been authorised by His Majesty's Government, and negotiations are in progress for the return of this section to British control. On the 1st April the charge of the northern part of the line within Transjordan from Amman to Nasib was transferred to Colonel R. Holmes, the General Manager of the Palestine Railways. The Palestine Railway administration manages the sections of the Hejaz Railway in Palestine and Transjordan as a separate and distinct undertaking from the Palestine Railway system. During the first six months of the financial year 1924-25 about 4,000 pilgrims travelled over the Amman-Nasib section, and a profit of £E.2,550 was made, compared with a loss of £E.3,336 during the corresponding period of the preceding year. Between Haifa and Amman there are three trains weekly in both directions; the service is regular and punctual. South of Amman, however, the service is infrequent and disordered, and pilgrims have been discouraged from using the line in greater numbers.

On account of defective quarantine arrangements at Ma'an the Syrian Government is obliged to quarantine returning pilgrims at Deraa, the Palestine at Haifa, and the Egyptian at El Arish.

9. Transjordan is rich in antiquities, which have not hitherto received due care from the Government.

Expert assistance was given this year by the staff of the Palestine Department of Antiquities, and urgent repairs were made to the Sassanian building and the amphitheatre in Amman. Two antiquity guards have been appointed and the Government is awaking to a sense of its responsibilities towards the historical monuments of the territory. Proposals for future works of conservation and for the establishment of a permanent antiquities service for Transjordan, under the supervision of the Palestine Department, are under consideration.

10. The expectation of raids by the tribesmen of the Sultan of Nejd has maintained a constant state of tension, and the Royal Air Force was called upon to carry out several reconnaissances on information given by the border tribes of approaching raiders. On the 1st August large forces of Wahabis, estimated at between 3,000 and 4,000 camelmen, were engaged by Royal Air Force planes and armoured cars at Umm el Amad, twelve miles south of Amman. Their casualties were over 500; the Royal Air Force casualties were one officer and two men slightly wounded; of the local population 130, mostly fellahin, were killed and wounded. This prompt and energetic action of the Royal Air Force averted a serious menace to the peace of Transjordan and the safety of its capital.

11. From the 21st July till the 19th August the Amir was absent from the territory on the pilgrimage to Mecca; his cousin, the Amir Shakir, acted in his place. On the 4th August a Transjordan band, in a raid into Syria, attacked a party of Syrian gendarmes who were escorting a party of French officers and ladies. Vigorous measures were taken by the Chief Minister to apprehend the brigands, and fifty-five persons were arrested by the Arab Legion and brought before a Special Court of Enquiry, which found proof of guilt against twenty-three. Under a provisional extradition arrangement, which came into force in July, twenty-two were handed over to the Syrian authorities; one had been shot dead in attempting to escape. The conclusion of this extradition arrangement and the promptitude displayed by the Transjordan Government in dealing with the raiders have laid the foundation of a better understanding with Syria and rid Transjordan of many undesirable characters. With Palestine also relations are more satisfactory; Transjordan is no longer regarded as an asylum for fugitives from justice, and the extradition arrangement between the two territories is working satisfactorily.

12. Public security in Transjordan is maintained by a locally-recruited force known as the Arab Legion and a number of civil police in the larger towns. The Commanding Officer and Second in Command of the Arab Legion are British officers, and the strength is approximately 40 officers and 950 men, comprising mounted and dismounted units. This force is armed with artillery, machine guns, and rifles.

The Arab Legion has been raised and trained to a satisfactory state of efficiency in face of innumerable difficulties, and, with the occasional assistance of the Royal Air Force stationed at Amman, has succeeded in its difficult task of controlling a territory in which most able-bodied men carry arms.

The fact that the Royal Air Force detachment which has been stationed in Transjordan for the maintenance of the air route to Baghdad, may, if necessary, be called upon to reinforce the local forces considerably strengthens the position of the Transjordan Government.

13. King Husain of the Hejaz visited Akaba and Amman in the first months of the year; during his stay in Amman he was nominated Khalif. After his abdication he returned to Akaba, where he has since remained.

---

APPENDICES TO THE
REPORT
BY HIS BRITANNIC MAJESTY'S GOVERNMENT
ON THE ADMINISTRATION UNDER MANDATE
OF PALESTINE AND TRANSJORDAN

FOR THE YEAR

1924.

---

APPENDICES TO THE REPORT BY HIS
BRITANNIC MAJESTY'S GOVERNMENT ON
THE ADMINISTRATION UNDER MANDATE
OF PALESTINE AND TRANSJORDAN FOR
THE YEAR 1924.

Appendix I.


QUESTIONNAIRE OF PERMANENT MANDATES COMMISSION
WITH BRIEF REPLIES.

I.--Jewish National Home.

1.Q.--What measures have been taken to place the country under such political, administrative and economic conditions as will secure the establishment of the national home of the Jewish people?

What are the effects of these measures?

A.--The Government of Palestine has continued by legislative, administrative and fiscal measures to develop and improve local conditions, with the general aim of providing equal security and opportunity for all communities and classes, and of encouraging enterprise.

Jewish initiative has been quick to take advantage of the more favourable conditions thus created for industrial development and agricultural settlement (see pp. 3 and 4 of the Report for 1924); and 12,856 Jewish immigrants arrived in Palestine in the course of the year.

A special ordinance was passed to incorporate the enterprises of Baron Edmond de Rothschild, which are concerned with the settlement of Jews on the land in Palestine. There were also incorporated in accordance with the law of companies and co-operative societies the American Zion Commonwealth for the promotion of Jewish agricultural settlement in Palestine, and a number of Jewish co-operative societies for building and credit purposes.

In consequence of the facilities provided by the Correction of Land Registers Ordinance and with the assistance of the Government Land Registries, properties owned by Jewish interests, but under the Ottoman régime registered in the name of Ottoman subjects, are now being recorded in the names of the actual owners.

2.Q.--What measures have been taken to place the country under such political, administrative and economic conditions as will secure the development of self-governing institutions?

What are the effects of these measures?

A.--Legislation is still passed by the official Advisory Council, over which the High Commissioner presides, under the sanction of the Palestine (Amendment) Order-in-Council, 1923.

The Palestine Legislative Council (Election) Order-in-Council, 1922, and those provisions of the Palestine Order-in-Council, 1922, which deal with the establishment of a Legislative Council have been suspended on account of the abstention of a majority of the Arab population from the elections to a Legislative Council.

As the consequence such progress as can be recorded in this direction is in the sphere of local rather than central government.

3.Q.--What measures have been taken to place the country under such political, administrative and economic conditions as will safeguard the civil and religious rights of all the inhabitants of Palestine, irrespective of race and religion?

What are the effects of these measures?

A.--The Courts Ordinance, the Magistrates' Courts Jurisdiction Ordinance, the Trial Upon Information Ordinance, the Law of Evidence Ordinance, the Charitable Trusts Ordinance and the Bills of Exchange (Protests) Ordinance are such measures.

An Order-in-Council was made in July, 1924, which excludes from the jurisdiction of the Civil Courts matters within the purview of the proposed Holy Places Commission. The text of this Order is given in Appendix II.

II.--Autonomous Administration.

Q.--What measures have been taken to encourage local autonomy?

What are the effects of these measures?

A.--Local Hospital Committees have been constituted in many of the larger towns, and direct, at their own charge, the non-technical services of the hospitals founded and hitherto entirely maintained by the Government of Palestine.

A Commission was appointed in 1924 to consider the question of the development of local government and its report is now under examination.

Under the Local Councils Ordinance, 1921, a Local Council was established in 1924 at Reinah, an Arab village in the Northern District, and additional powers of taxation were conferred on the Councils already existing at Tershiha, Bassa, Bireh (Arab) and Tel-Aviv (Jewish).

The total number of Local Councils in Palestine at the end of 1924 was 27, 23 in Arab and 4 in Jewish villages.

The composition of each Council is prescribed in the Order constituting it which is made under the Ordinance. No single form has been followed, but normally the Council consists of the President and such number of elected members as the ratepayers in the general meeting of the village determine. In some cases, however, the number of members is fixed in the Order.

The Council is entitled, with the approval of the District Commissioner, to issue by-laws for securing good order in the village. The contravention of such by-laws is subject to the same penalties as the contravention of the by-laws of a municipality.

The Council draws up annually a budget showing its estimated revenue and expenditure, which is submitted to the District Commissioner for his approval.

The rates and taxes to be levied by the Council are likewise determined in the particular Order constituting it. The legislation prescribes that the Council may, with the sanction of the District Commissioner:--

(a) Levy rates on the property of the village;
(b) Impose a poll tax on the inhabitants of the village;
(c) Impose any fees for licences or otherwise which are authorised by the Law of Municipal Taxation in force from time to time.

In order to facilitate the work of municipal (magisterial) benches, a Municipal Courts Amendment Ordinance was passed, reducing the minimum number of each bench to two members.

The Government of Palestine continues to assist those Municipalities which require financial support with grants-in-aid, though it is hoped to reduce and finally to abolish these grants-in-aid at a comparatively early date. In special cases it has guaranteed loans raised by Municipalities for public utility purposes, and contributes towards the cost of constructing roads within municipal areas. The Government guaranteed a loan of £E20,000 contracted by the Jerusalem Municipality for the acquisition and development of its water supply.

The inspection of markets, slaughter-houses, khans, &c., has been taken over by Local Authorities in several places, and Municipalities and Local Councils have responded readily to the encouragement of the Government of Palestine to assume responsibility for various agricultural, forestry and veterinary services formerly exercised by the Government.

III.--Jewish Agency.

1.Q.--When and in what manner has the Jewish Agency been officially recognised?

A.--The manner of recognition of the Jewish Agency and the extent of its established co-operation with the Palestine Government were described in the Report for 1923.

2.Q.--Has this Agency given any advice to the Administration in the past year?

If so, in what form and in what connection?

A.--In particular, the Palestine Committee of the Agency (known as the Palestine Zionist Executive) and the Head Office of the Zionist Organisation have been given an opportunity of expressing their views on the revision of the Immigration Laws, the proposals for the organisation of the Jewish Community, the draft Palestine Citizenship Order-in-Council, the draft Criminal Law Amendment Ordinances (offences against women and against morality), the draft Arbitration Ordinance, and the draft Exemption from Taxation (Charities) Ordinance.

The Palestine Committee is regularly consulted in the preparation of the half-yearly labour immigration schedules as to the state of the Jewish labour market and anticipated future demands for Jewish labour.

A representative of the Palestine Committee served upon the Government Currency Commission.

3.Q.--What is the nature and extent of the co-operation of this Agency with the Administration of Palestine in economic, social and other matters?

A.--The Palestine Zionist Executive through its close association with Jewish industrial enterprise, by its statistical information on commercial matters and agricultural research, and its direction of Jewish educational organisations, is able to and does render valuable assistance to the Government of Palestine in all matters affecting the welfare of the Jewish population.

4.Q.--In what manner has this Agency taken part in the development of the country (statistics of results obtained)?

A.--The Palestine Zionist Executive has taken a direct and useful part in promoting the new industrial developments which have been a very remarkable feature of Jewish activity in the past few years. It has assisted in the formation of a number of agricultural settlements where extensive afforestation and drainage operations have been carried out: the latter works, in particular, have much improved the general health conditions of the neighbourhoods concerned besides bettering agricultural conditions. The Executive have also facilitated the Co-operative and Loan Societies movement in Jewish settlements. In the field of education, the Executive maintains three training farms for women and has opened an Agricultural School for girls at Nahalal in the Northern District. Other Jewish Schools controlled by the Palestine Zionist Executive number 123, with 536 teachers and 13,046 pupils, including 3 secondary schools, 3 training colleges and 8 technical schools.

The Palestine Zionist Executive maintains an Advisory Health Committee which regulates the hygienic and sanitary development of all its enterprises. The Hadassah Medical Organisation, supported out of funds contributed by the Hadassah Organisation of America, the Joint Distribution Committee of America, and the Zionist Organisation has established hospitals, clinics and laboratories in the towns of Palestine and Jewish settlements and a Nurses' Training School in Jerusalem. It is responsible for the medical services in the immigrants' camps and hospitals of the Jewish Agency.

The total bed strength of the Hadassah hospitals is 322, and the annual expenditure £E.90,000. The Jewish Labour Association has organised a workers' Sick Benefit Fund for its members; 40 per cent. of the annual budget of the fund, at present £E.20,000, is contributed by the Jewish Agency. The medical services of the Jewish settlements in the Valley of Jezreel are undertaken by it, and it has erected a convalescent home near Jerusalem.

5.Q.--What steps have been taken in consultation with His Britannic Majesty's Government to secure the co-operation of all Jews who are willing to assist in the establishment of the Jewish National Home?

A.--The incorporation of the Palestine Jewish Colonisation Association is a case in point (see p. 23 of the Report for 1924).

The Zionist Organisation, acting as the Jewish Agency, has during the past year continued negotiations with the principal Jewish communities of Europe and the Jewish Community in America for a still wider co-operation of their communities with the Agency than results from the present composition of the Zionist Organisation.

As regards American Jewry, these negotiations culminated in the adoption of a resolution at a representative non-partisan conference held at New York on the 1st March, of which the following is an extract:--

"That this conference appoint an Organisation Committee to consist of 12 members who are not members of the Zionist Organisation, but who are to act in co-operation with the Zionist Organisation for the purpose of bringing about full participation of American Jewry in the Jewish Agency."

As regards England, British Jewry, represented by the Board of Deputies and the Anglo-Jewish Association, has declared its readiness to enter the Jewish Agency on an equal basis with the Zionists, on the understanding that the non-Zionist representation of American Jewry will amount to 40 per cent. of the non-Zionist total. The Board of Deputies
has passed a resolution amending its constitution, so as to allow the Board to join the Jewish Agency.

Considerable progress has been made with regard to the participation of the Jewish communities of Germany, Holland, Italy and Czecho-Slovakia.

In Poland arrangements have been made for the convening at an early date of a Jewish non-partisan conference representative of all bodies willing to co-operate in the development of Palestine with a view to arriving at the best basis for the participation of Polish Jewry in the reorganised Jewish Agency.

In France the matter is still in abeyance and under discussion.

IV.--Immigration and Emigration.

1.Q.--What measures have been taken to facilitate Jewish immigration?

A.--Immigration continues to be regulated so that it shall not exceed the capacity of the country to absorb new arrivals.

Immigration is now centrally controlled by a Permits Section of the Secretariat; passport control at the ports is in the hands of Customs Officers.

Facilities have been provided for the entry of Rabbis and of students for local academic institutions, and special permission is given for the immigration of dependants to engage in farming with relatives already settled in the country.

One thousand and five Jewish tourists who decided to settle in Palestine in the course of their visits were, if otherwise eligible as immigrants, accorded permission to remain.

The general reply given to this question in the Report for 1923 holds good. 

2.Q.--What measures have been taken to safeguard the rights and position of other sections of the population?

A.--The general principle regulating immigration into Palestine mentioned in the reply returned to this question in the Report for 1923 continues to be observed.

Four hundred and fifty persons, including 373 Jews, who failed to comply with the Immigration Regulations, were rejected at the frontiers and ports in 1924.

In land purchase or reclamation works, designed to provide labour or homesteads for Jewish immigrants, the rights of Arab cultivators have been carefully safeguarded: at Kabbara, the Palestine Jewish Colonisation Association ceded cultivable land of 600 acres, where the Arab settlers, who are also being employed in the work, will be established.

In general, the Government of Palestine does everything in its power to safeguard the rights of the population, and is always ready to examine complaints by responsible persons that those rights are not being preserved and to remedy any defects which may thus be disclosed.

3.Q.--What measures have been taken in co-operation with the Jewish Agency to encourage the close settlement by Jews on the land (give figures)?

A.--Twenty-one thousand acres of agricultural land were purchased by Jews in 1924; 14 new settlements were established; the Palestine Jewish Colonisation Association and the American Zion Commonwealth, agricultural settlement agencies, were incorporated. It is estimated that in land purchase, settlement and development more than £E.500,000 were invested or expended by Jewish interests.

A large tract of 50,000 acres of agricultural land is now being acquired, which will bring the area of land in Jewish ownership in Palestine up to 319 square miles.

4.Q.--What are the effects of these measures?

Statistics of immigration (country of origin, religion, race, profession, age and sex). Geographical distribution within the country in the urban centres and in the rural districts.

Same statistics for emigration.

A.--The Jewish rural population is now nearly 23,000 out of a total Jewish population of 108,000; at the beginning of 1923 it was 16,000 out of a total of 87,000.

The urban population is divided as follows:--

Jerusalem ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 38,000
Jaffa and Tel-Aviv ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 30,000
Haifa ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 8,000
Tiberias ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 5,000
Safad ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 3,000
Hebron ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 500
Other Towns ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 500

The Jewish villages own 15,000 head of livestock, have under cultivation 18,000 acres of fruit trees, 5,000 acres of vines, 8,000 acres of almonds, and 2,500 acres of olives, and have planted 5,500 acres of timber.

By the end of 1924, 1,000,000 trees had been planted by Jewish agencies in Palestine.

It is not possible to obtain reliable statistics of the callings into which Jewish immigrants have entered after their arrival.

According to information supplied by the Jewish Agency, the classification by callings of the Jewish wage-earners who entered Palestine during 1924 is as follows:--

Agriculture ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 1,480
Tailors, cutters, seamstresses, &c. ... ... ... ... ... 629
Metal works ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 417
Wood works ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 319
Building ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 235
Textile works ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 235
Leather works ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 173 
Engineering and electrical trades ... ... ... ... ... 164
Printing ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 44
Various skilled trades (mechanical) ... ... ... ... ... 247
Various skilled trades (food) ... ... ... ... ... ... 207 4,150

Merchants and capitalists ... ... ... ... ... ... 691
Medical ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 243
Clerks and officials ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 241
Students ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 201
Teachers ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 154
Religious occupation ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 70
Liberal professions ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 55 1,655

Total ... ... ... ... ... ... 5,805


The Hechaluz Organisation has been formed with the support of the Zionist Organisation for the express purpose of training prospective Jewish immigrants in agriculture and manual labour. It has branches throughout Eastern Europe and its membership reaches 20,000. The Organisation maintains Training Farms, apprentices prospective immigrants to Jewish landowners for instruction, and has established workshops
for training in the building, engineering and metal trades, joinery, cabinet-making, etc. Ten thousand ex-members of the Organisation are already settled in Palestine.

Garden cities have sprung up in the neighbourhood of Tel-Aviv, where vegetables are grown and poultry and cattle kept.

A group of 20 Jewish fishermen from Salonica has settled in Acre, with the assistance of the Palestine Zionist Executive.

V.--Land Régime.

1.Q.--How have State lands been defined and delimited?

A.--Some progress was made in the demarcation of State forests during the first half of 1924; nearly 5,000 acres of State forests were taken in charge by the Department of Agriculture and Forests, and 2,500 acres were constituted State forests by demarcation and registration.

In 46 cases the Courts decided in favour of the Government of Palestine against persons claiming ownership of State lands. The area involved was approximately 7,500 acres.

In the course of the demarcation of the lands affected by the Baisan Land Agreement of 1921, more than 3,000 acres of unoccupied State land were discovered and set aside.

2.Q.--How have waste lands been defined and delimited?

A.--There is nothing to add to the reply in the Report for 1923.

3. Q.--What measures have been taken for the registration of real property? 
A.--See pp. 49-50 of the Report for 1924.

The Lands Department continues to carry out separate village surveys, and covered thus in 1924 an area of 70,000 acres in the Southern District.

Sir Ernest Dowson, late Financial Adviser and Surveyor-General to the Egyptian Government, was specially engaged to prepare for the Palestine Administration a scheme of systematic land settlement.

VI.--Nationality.

1.Q.--What is the text of the Nationality law?

2. Q.--Have special provisions been enacted, framed so as to facilitate the acquisition of Palestinian citizenship by Jews?

1 and 2. A.--The Palestine Citizenship Order-in-Council was drawn up in 1924, but the final text was not settled and the Order made until July, 1925. The matter will therefore be dealt with in the Report for 1925.

VII.--Judicial System.

1.Q.--When did the new judicial organisation begin to operate?

A.--Several Ordinances to implement the provisions of the Palestine Order-in-Council with regard to the judiciary were brought into effect in 1924, as well as enactments to modify the procedure of the Civil Courts in the direction of more complete accord with European practice. For particulars, see under IV--Legal, of the Report for 1924.

2. Q.--What special features does it include with a view to assuring to foreigners as well as to natives a complete guarantee of their rights as laid down in Article 9?

A.--A foreigner charged with a capital offence is tried by the Court of Criminal Assize, composed of the Chief Justice or the Senior British Judge of the Supreme Court, the President of the District Court and one other Judge, or by a single British Judge of the Supreme Court; and for an offence triable by a District Court, by a Court of a single British Judge or containing a majority of British Judges.

3. Q.--What special measures have been taken to assure respect for the personal status of the various peoples and communities and for their religious interests?

A.--The Palestine (Holy Places) Order-in-Council, the recognition of the Maronite Community as exercising jurisdiction in matters of personal status under the Palestine Order-in-Council, the Trial of Members of the Forces Ordinance and the establishment of a special tribunal by the Courts Ordinance to deal with conflicts of jurisdiction between a Civil and Religious Court are such measures.

4.Q.--How have the control and administration of Wakfs been assured?

A.--The management of Moslem religious affairs, including control of Wakfs, was vested in 1922 in a permanent body of five members, chosen by (Moslem) Secondary Electors, who were included on the register for the last election to the Turkish Parliament before the war. New elections to the Council are due to be held in 1925. For further particulars, see Appendix VI.

5.Q.--What extradition agreements have been made between the Mandatory and other foreign Powers since the coming into force of the Mandate?

A.--The Extradition Ordinance of 1924 applies to Palestine extradition treaties between Great Britain and foreign Powers, and establishes a regular procedure of extradition.

As between Transjordan and Palestine, special extradition arrangements exist, but there is as yet no formal agreement.

VIII.--Economic Equality.

1.Q.--How have the interests of the community been safeguarded in the execution of measures taken to secure the development of the country in respect of public ownership or control of any of the natural resources of the country or of the public works, services and utilities?

A.--As regards the public ownership and control of the natural resources of the country, the Government of Palestine continued in 1924 the preparation of the Mining Ordinance, a draft of which was published in the Official Gazette Extraordinary of the 15th December, 1924; the principle that all such natural resources are the property of the Government, and that they may be exploited by private individuals or corporations only under licence, is maintained. As regards public works, services and utilities, the railways, ports and roads of Palestine are all regarded as the property of the Government, and water supply schemes, with the exception of one for Jerusalem, which is the subject of a pre-war concession, are in all cases carried out either by the Government or by the Municipality or by the Local Council concerned.

2.Q.--Has it been found necessary to arrange with the Jewish Agency to construct or operate any public works, services and utilities or to develop any of the natural resources of the country--and, if so, under what circumstances?

A.--The Jewish Agency has not been required directly to operate such works.

3.Q.--Give a complete list of concessions and the names and nationalities of the concession holders.

A.--There is nothing to add to the reply given in the Report for 1923. Negotiations are still proceeding with the concessionnaires for the reclamation of the Huleh swamps, and work has not yet begun.

4.Q.--Give the reports submitted to the company meetings and the balance sheets of these undertakings, or, when such reports and balance sheets are not available, give all information relating to the subject, particularly the rate of interest and the uses made of profits.

A.--The latest balance sheets of the Jaffa Electric Company, and of the Palestine Salt Company, are reprinted in Appendix III.

5.Q.--What provisions are made to secure economic equality as regards:--

(a) Concessions?
(b) Land tenure?
(c) Mining rights (in particular, rules in regard to prospecting)?
(d) Fiscal regime (direct and indirect taxation)?
(e) Customs regulations (imports, exports, transit)?

A.--(a) and (b) There is nothing to add to the reply given in the Report for 1923.

(c) The principle of equality is maintained in the Mining Ordinance, referred to in answer to 1.

(d) There is nothing to add to the reply given in the Report for 1923.

(e) See pp. 10 and 22 of the Report for 1924.

6.Q.--What regulations has the Mandatory Power made for the application of the clause providing "freedom of transit under equitable conditions"?

A.--Palestine has adhered to the International Convention of 1923 for the simplification of the Customs formalities.

7.Q.--Have any Customs agreements been made by virtue of Article 18? If so, give the text of such agreements.

A.--There is nothing to add to the reply given in the Report for 1923.

IX.--Holy Places.

1. Q.--What measures have been taken for the assumption by the Mandatory of responsibility in connection with the Holy Places and religious buildings or sites, including the responsibility of preserving existing rights and of securing free access to the Holy Places, religious buildings and sites, and the free exercise of worship?

A.--The Palestine (Holy Places) Order-in-Council is such a measure; the text is given in Appendix II.

2.Q.--Which are the purely Moslem sacred shrines the immunities of which are guaranteed?

A.--There is nothing to add to the reply given in the Report for 1923.

X.--Freedom of Conscience.

1.Q.--What measures have been taken to assure freedom of conscience and religion?

A.--There is complete liberty of conscience and religion throughout the country. A special tribunal has been established to deal with conflicts of jurisdiction between a Civil and a Religious Court.

2.Q.--Have any restrictions been made upon the free exercise of any form of worship in the interest of the maintenance of public order and morals?

What are the effects of such restrictions?

A.--There have been no such restrictions.

3.Q.--What measures have been taken to assure the rights of communities to maintain their own schools for the education of their own members?

What educational requirements of a general nature are imposed by the Administration?

What measures have been taken to assure the exercise of such supervision over religious or other charitable bodies of all faiths or nationalities in Palestine as may be required for the maintenance of public order and good government?

A.--Communities are given full rights to maintain schools for the education of their children. All schools existing before the occupation have been registered, and following Turkish law, schools opened since that date must be registered before they are sanctioned; this requirement tends to raise hygienic and educational standards. But in practice, educational requirements of any importance are imposed only on schools receiving a grant-in-aid.

The per capita grant which Government makes to certain non-Government schools is conditional on the attainment of the educational standard of efficiency of elementary Government schools.

The Charitable Trusts Ordinance is relevant.

XI.--Military Clauses.

1.Q.--What is the form of military organisation and training?

A.--The garrison of the country is provided by the British Army and Air Force. There is no local military force.

2.Q.--Are there any police forces independent of the military charged with the defence of the territory?

What is the respective importance of these two forces and the amount spent on each?

Racial and religious composition of these two forces.

A.--Apart from the Civil Police, which are charged with purely police duties, there is the Palestine Gendarmerie, which is organised on semi-military lines and is available in case of emergency to assist the British Forces in the defence of Palestine.

The Palestine Gendarmerie consists of two sections:--

(i) The British Section--

Officers ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 43
Other Ranks ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 700

All British. The Force was below strength during 1924, and its cost was approximately £E.198,000, the whole borne by British funds.

(ii) The Palestine Section--

	Moslem.	Christian.	Jew.	Druze.	British.	Palestinian.
Officers .. Warrant Officers Other Ranks	-- -- 328	8 10 37	-- -- 108	-- -- 9	8 10 --	-- -- 482

Approximate cost, £E.83,000, borne by Palestine funds. 

The strength of the British garrison is:--

1 Cavalry Regiment.
1 Squadron, R.A.F.
1 Armoured Car Company.

3.Q.--Has there been any occasion for the Administration of Palestine to contribute to the cost of the maintenance of the military forces of the Mandatory Power?

If so, to what extent?

A.--No.

4.Q.--Has the Mandatory exercised its right to use the roads, railways and ports of Palestine for the movement of armed forces and the carriage of fuel and supplies?

If so, to what budget has the expenditure been charged?

A.--Yes. All expenditure involved has been defrayed by His Majesty's Government.

XII.--International Conventions.

1.Q.--To what International Conventions has the Mandatory adhered on behalf of the Palestine Administration?

A.--Since last Report:--

	Date of Adhesion.
International Opium Convention ... ... ... International Convention relating to the Simplification of Customs Formalities ... ...	21st August,1924. 27th November,1924.

2. Q--What steps have been taken by the Mandatory to co-operate with the League of Nations in the struggle against disease, including diseases of plants and animals?

A.--See under VI--Health, Report for 1924.

The Plant Protection Ordinance, 1924, enables measures to be taken to prevent the introduction and spread of plant diseases; the owner or cultivator must take the prescribed measures or bear the cost.

For measures to remove scale from trees, see p. 46 of Report for 1924.

Veterinary quarantine officers form a Plant Inspection Service at inland points of entry.

Antirabic measures are taken by the Departments of Health, Agriculture and Police in conjunction; many thousands of suspect animals, mostly jackals, are destroyed by strychnine bait.

Antirabic vaccine is prepared and issued by the Department of Health and distributed gratis to the Districts.

The control of epidemic livestock diseases and plague is vested, in accordance with Ottoman law, in local Commissions over which District Officers preside, with veterinary or agricultural officers as members. For particulars of measures taken, see p. 44 of Report for 1924.

XIII.--Antiquities.

Q.--Has the Mandatory enacted a law of antiquities according to the provisions laid down in Article 21 of the Mandate?

Give the text.

A.--The text of the present Antiquities Law accompanied the Report for 1923. A revised Ordinance is now under consideration.

XIV.--Official Languages.

1.Q.--Have the three official languages been used simultaneously and on an equal footing in legislative and administrative documents and in the Courts?

If not, what languages are used?

A.--Yes.

2. Q.--To what observations does the application of this system give rise?

A.--No special difficulties have been experienced.

XV.--Holy Days.

Q.--What days are recognised as holy days by the various communities?

A.--The Armenian holiday of Vartanantz has been declared an official holiday for members of that community and added to the list of holidays submitted in the Report for 1923.

XVI.--Transjordan.

1.Q.--Has the territory lying beyond the Jordan been finally delimited and organised?

A.--The territory has not yet been finally delimited. 

2.Q.--In what way does the political and administrative regime established in this territory differ from the regulations laid down for Palestine? 

A.--An account of the administration of Transjordan is given in Section II of the Report for 1924.

XVII.--Labour.

1.Q. What measures have been taken to ensure, in accordance with Part XIII of the Treaty of Versailles, the consideration of conventions or recommendations of International Labour Conferences?

2.Q.--Are these conventions or recommendations being carried into effect?

1 and 2. A.--The conventions have not been applied, as they are not suitable to local conditions, but the 48-hour week is general in the post-war industrial undertakings and where immigrants are employed; in other employment the hours are much longer. Seven-day labour is not prohibited, but in practice a seventh day holiday is strictly observed by the Government, and by all communities and businesses.

There is no discrimination between native and foreign workers; although there is a considerable difference of conditions and needs.

3.Q.--What other regulations are in force in regard to labour?

A.--The Department of Health exercises powers under Municipal Regulations for the control of factories and shops, the maintenance of proper hygienic and sanitary appliances, ventilation, water supplies, &c.

In the tanning industry steps are taken by the Department of Agriculture for the prevention of infection from anthrax spores by the total destruction of infected animals, and by the examination of all imported skins and hides. The Department of Health carries out a bacteriological examination of 5 per cent. of all consignments of brushes manufactured from hair; the whole consignment being destroyed in the event of infection being detected.

4.Q.--What powers has the Administration for controlling labour contracts in order to ensure their loyal fulfilment both on the part of employer and employed, and what powers does it possess to prevent any abuses in this respect?

A.--The Government of Palestine has appointed a Committee to enquire into the desirability of establishing machinery for conciliation and arbitration in labour disputes.

5.Q.--What is the competent authority in regard to labour legislation, and what authority is responsible for the application of such legislation?

A.--There is no labour legislation proper. The Department of Health is responsible for enforcing the Regulations referred to in the answer to Question XVII. (3) above.

XVIII.--Trade in and Manufacture of Drugs.

Q.--Have measures been taken to secure the prohibition or the control of the importation, of the production, and the consumption of poisonous or narcotic drugs?

A.--His Majesty's Government acceded on behalf of Palestine to the International Opium Convention on the 21st August, 1924.

An Ordinance has been prepared to supplement the provisions of the Public Health Ordinance No. 4 of 1921 (concerning the Regulations governing the exercise of the profession of pharmacy and the trade in drugs and poisons), for the control of the manufacture, importation, exportation and possession of dangerous drugs.

XIX.--Education.

1.Q.--What is the general system of elementary education (organisation and statistics)?

Is this education free for all, and, if not, in what cases is it free?

A.--There is nothing to add to the reply for 1923 as regards general principles. Minor alterations in organisation are shown in Section V of the Report for 1924.

2.Q.--What measures have been taken for higher education; for example, medical, veterinary and technical education?

A.--The Biochemical Institute and the Institute of Jewish Studies of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem have been inaugurated, and the foundation stone of a Mathematics and Physics Institute has been laid.

The Agricultural Research Institute of the Palestine Zionist Executive at Tel-Aviv, and its experimental fields and stations elsewhere are designed to be the research laboratories of a contemplated Institute of Agriculture and Natural History.

The Mens' Training College, Jerusalem, has been reorganised as a Central Secondary School for pupils from the provinces.

Four students of the Womens' Training College are completing their course, at the cost of the Government of Palestine, at the Cairo Training College.

The Jewish Technical Institute at Haifa, established in 1913 with the permission of the Ottoman Government, has now been formally inaugurated. The Institute provides training and practice in the management and execution of technical works, including telegraphy and telephony, in a three-year course; and evening classes are held for workmen in building, metalwork and woodwork, and electricity. About 120 pupils and workmen attend the Institute. 

3.Q.--In what languages is instruction given in the various categories of schools?

A.--In Government Schools, where all or nearly all the pupils use Arabic as their mother-tongue, the language of instruction is Arabic throughout. In Higher Elementary and Secondary Schools and in the Training Colleges, English is taught as a foreign language through its own medium.

In Higher Elementary and Secondary Private Moslem Schools, English is taught as a foreign language; the medium of instruction in all is Arabic.

In the great majority of modern Jewish Schools, Hebrew is used; in the Evelina de Rothschild Girls' School and in the schools of the Alliance Israelite, English and French respectively are the principal media in the upper classes. English is taught in all and French in a few Jewish Higher Elementary or Secondary Town Schools; Arabic is on the syllabus of Jewish Training Colleges and Secondary Schools. In those Orthodox Jewish Schools which impart a religious education exclusively Yiddish is still the language of instruction.

XX.--Public Health.

1.Q.--What steps are being taken to ensure public health and sanitation and to combat endemic and epidemic diseases?

2.Q.--What is the regime for medical assistance?

1 and 2. A.--See under Section VI in the Report for 1924.

3.Q.--What is the actual situation as regards prostitution and what measures have been taken in this matter?

A.--An Ordinance has been drafted to amend the Ottoman law, and to provide adequate penalties for offences against women and against morality.

The Government of Palestine has in its service as a full-time officer an English woman, charged with the duty of inspecting prisons and other Government establishments, and of proposing measures relating to the welfare of women and children and the prevention or suppression of social evils.

There are now no regulated prostitutes' areas in the country. 

XXI.--Public Finance.

Q.--A general schedule of the revenue and expenditure of the territory, the budgetary system, and indication of the nature and the assessment of taxes.

A.--See under Section II in the Report for 1924.

XXII.--Demographic Statistics.

Q.--Statistics of births, marriages (polygamy), deaths, emigration and immigration.

A.--Statistics of emigration and immigration are given on pages 58-60 of the Report for 1924.

Statistics of births and deaths are given below:--

Vital Statistics for 1924.

Total Population, excluding Nomadic Beduins, 681,245.
Deaths.	Towns.	Districts.	Total.	Percentage of Total Deaths.
Under 1 month ...	772	793	1,565	8.85
1 month to 1 year	1,419	3,477	4,896	27.70
1 to 2 years ...	853	2,203	3,056	17.29
2 to 5 years ...	448	1,634	2,082	11.78
5 to 10 years ...	104	430	534	3.02
10 to 20 years ...	238	493	731	4.13
20 to 50 years ...	882	1,461	2,343	13.25
Over 50 years ...	1,083	1,358	2,441	13.81
Unknown ... ...	4	20	24	0.13
Total ...	5,803	11,869	17,672
Births ...	12,209	22,746	34,955
Infantile Mortality. Deaths under 1 year per 1,000 births	179.45	187.72	184.83 (Average)

/... - See more at: http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/A87D21F4E57F2D0F052565E8004BACE0#sthash.api9tYFZ.dpuf