Notice - Copyright

Cmd. 3686.

To The Secretary of State for the Colonies,

MY LORD

In accordance with Your Lordship's instructions I proceeded to Palestine in order to examine on the spot the questions of immigration, land settlement and development on which you desired that I should report.

I reached Jerusalem on 20th May, 1930, and at once commenced my enquiry. I was in constant consultation with the High Commissioner, who was thereafter kept in touch with the enquiry as it proceeded.

2. Much information has been obtained from official sources, and, in addition, both Arab and Jewish authorities and organisations have been consulted. Material has been obtained from the most varied sources, and has often been volunteered. In addition, as many tracts and villages of Palestine have been visited as the time available permitted. On Map No. 1, attached to the Report, both the tours and inspection of the villages visited are marked.*

3. In addition to local enquiry in Palestine itself a visit was paid to Trans-Jordan, where the British Resident, Lieutenant-Colonel C. H. F. Cox, C.M.G., D.S.O., very kindly arranged a tour throughout the northern part of the territory. His Highness the Emir of Trans-Jordan also accorded to me the favour of an interview.

4. I desire to acknowledge invaluable assistance received in many quarters. The High Commissioner, Sir John Chancellor, G.C.M.G., G.C.V.O., D.S.O., and Sir Spenser Davis.. C.M.G., Officer Administering the Government after the departure of Sir John Chancellor, afforded me every possible help, and in consultation the benefit of their knowledge and experience. I had access to the records of all Departments of the Government. The enquiry inevitably entailed upon them heavy additional work, and I express my sense of the obligation under which the Heads and staffs of those Departments have placed me by the information which they collected and supplied.

The Supreme Moslem Council and the Arab Executive gave valued aid in the enquiry. Specially I am indebted to Jamal Effendi Husseini, who accompanied me on tours in some of the Arab villages.

The Jewish Agency supplied a very large amount of information on every subject investigated. I record my gratitude specially to Dr. Kuppin, whose aid was invaluable, and to Mr. Victor Konn, of the P.I.C.A. These gentlemen arranged my tours through the Jewish settlements.

* See Note on page 3.

Dr. Wilkansky, of the Agricultural Experimental Station at Tel-Aviv, not only placed his large technical knowledge of agricultural matters at my disposal and accompanied me on some of my tours, but has placed me under a particular obligation by allowing me to use the proof-sheets of his book, which is about to appear, on " The Fellah's Farm ".

Air-Commodore Playfair, M.C., very kindly arranged for an aerial test survey of the Hill Districts for the purposes of my enquiry. It has been a deciding element in the conclusions which have been reached. To him and the members of the Air Force who carried out the survey, my very sincere thanks are due.

Special recognition is also due to Mr. C. H. Ley, O.B.E., Director of Surveys, and his staff, who not only did a large amount of work in determining the areas but also prepared special maps which are attached to this report.

It is impossible to acknowledge in detail the innumerable sources from which help was drawn. It may be said generally that all concerned united to make my enquiry as complete as was possible in the time at my disposal.

I acknowledge with thanks the courtesy of the " Geographical Review", published by the American Geographical Society of New York, and of Dr. Strahorn, in generously permitting me to use the soil map appended as Map No. 4* to the report.

Finally, I desire to record my deep obligation to Mr. Maurice C. Bennett, who served throughout as my secretary and accompanied me to Athens, where the report was written, and to Mr. C. L. Horton, my assistant secretary. Had it not been for the devoted service and untiring labours of these two gentlemen, the report could not possibly have been prepared by this date.

I now forward for your Lordship's information the Report on the matters included in the terms of reference.

I have, etc.,

J. HOPE SIMPSON. 22nd August, 1930.

NOTE.—The maps referred to in this Report, with the exception of No. 3 (not reproduced), will be published later in the form of an Appendix to this Command Paper.

* See Note on this page.

8008 A 2

The total area of Palestine—the natural divisions of Palestine— The Hill country : its area—its soil and agriculture—irrigation— development—The Five Plains: The Maritime Plain—its character—The Acre Plain—its area—its character—Haifa Harbour—the Vale of Esdraelon—its area—its fertility— results of Jewish settlement—its past—soils—The Huleh Plain—its area—its character—its marsh area—The Plain of Jordan—its area—its character—The Beersheba Region— its area—its possibilities—Palestine—the Rainfall.

Chapter II: Palestine: The Agricultural Land.

Total area of Agricultural Land—Mr. Jabotinsky's Estimate— Dr. Ruppin's Estimate—Lord Stanhope's Statement in the House of Lords—Estimate of Commissioner of Lands—Estimate of Director of Survey a—Dr. Strahorn's figures in the report of the Experts to the Joint Palestine Survey Commission—the estimate of the Director of Surveys to be accepted for purposes of this Report— Area of Agricultural Land held by Jews—Area available for non-Jewish cultivators.

Census of 1922—Population in 1930—Distribution of Population —Vital Statistics—Comparative Infantile Mortality figures—Size of average family of cultivating Fellah—Health—Anti-malarial measures—Ophthalmic Hospital—Government Health Service— Voluntary and Jewish Medical work and probability of extension of Government Action—Necessity for Continuation of Anti-malarial work—Poverty of the population—Jewish Medical Organisation— the extent to which Palestine Health needs are met—Main concentration in towns—the number of Medical Practitioners.

Categories of Land—Mulk—Miri—Waqf—Metruke—Mewat— Mesha'a—Partition—Expense of partition—Unofficial Partition— Partition by agreement—Mesha'a—its extent and effect—Government action in regard to Partition—Partition under Land Settlement—Acceleration of partition—The Law governing Agricultural

Tenancies—Landlords—Tenants—Land Transfer Ordinance, 1920 —Restriction on sale of land—Complaints against restrictions— Transfer of Land Ordinance, 1920-21—Protection of Cultivators Ordinance, 1929—its practical effect—Occupancy Right—Position of Jewish agricultural tenants—Its effect—Eegister of tenants— Palestine Survey—Land Settlement—Land Registration Fees— Land Registers—Maintenance of Record of Occupancy Right.

Agencies of Jewish Settlement—Private Agencies—The Benei-Benjamin—Amount of land held by Jewish organizations :

(i) The P.I.C.A. Settlements.—The P.I.C.A.—the Kabbara concession—Pardessana—Benjamina—Colonies in Galilee Bitania—Relation of P.I.C.A. colonists with Arabs.

(ii) The Zionist Settlements.—The Jewish National Fund— Zionist settlements—Principle of '' self-labour ''—Expenditure by Keren Kayemeth and Keren Hayesod—Population of 'Settlements—Area of Settlements—Reserve Area—Emek Colonies and contagious abortion—Experts' opinion as to completion of establishments—Self-supporting Zionist Settlements —the Consolidation Budget—Kfar Yeheskiel—Cost of Settlement—Keren-Hayesod Budget—Influence of Federation of Labour—Kvutzoth Colonies—Small-holding Colonies—Emek and Upper Jordan Colonies—Nahalal—Regulating Societies Kfar Yeheskiel—Degania " A "—Kiryath Anavim—Jewish Rural Population—Zionist Settlements not self-supporting— Excessive cost of Zionist Settlement—Jewish Settlement in Russia—Settlements of Refugees in Greece—Expenditure on Settlement and Effect of non-payment.

(iii) The Effect of the Jewish Settlement on the Arab— P. I.C. A. and Arab relations—Zionist Colonization—the P.L.D.C.'s attitude towards Arab cultivators—Government responsibility towards Arab cultivators—the Constitution of the Jewish Agency—Land holding and Employment clauses—Keren Kayemeth Draft lease—Employment of Jewish labour only—Keren Hayesod Agreements, Employment of Labour—Zionist policy in regard to Arabs in their Colonies— The Effect of the Zionist Colonization policy on the Arab— Reasons for the exclusion of the Arab—Policy contrary to Article 6 of the Mandate.

(iv) Government Lands.—The question of the Government Lands—Huleh and Beisan—Chiftlik Estates—Only small areas available until developed—Possibility of additional Mewat land.

8008 A 3


Chapter VI: The Position of the Fellah.

(Pages 60 to 74.)
Available information—Area of cultivable land occupied by the fellah—" Lot Viable "—Alteration of the " Lot Viable " by means of improved methods of Cultivation—Economic position of the Fellah—Distribution of available areas—The requirements and Standard of Life of the Fellah—The Fellah's capital—The Fellah's plough—The Fellah as a cultivator—The Return from the Fellah's Farm—Deductions from figures supplied by 104 villages—The Fellah's debts—Legal Rate of Interest—Commutation of the Tithe and the result of the fall in prices—Diminution of the size of holdings—Rise in rents—Financial situation of the Fellah—Warrants and imprisonment for debt—Taxation—Tithe—House and Land Tax—Animal Tax—Recovery of taxes—Remedial measures—Government action to relieve the burden of taxation—The Beduin Population.

A. Existing Agencies.—Jewish agencies for Agricultural Development—The Experimental station—the Extension Division— The Hebrew University—the Department of Agriculture of the Palestine Government—Expenditure—Relations with Jewish Agencies for Agricultural Development—Insufficiency of budget allotments—its budget—its Development activities—the Stock-breeding (Service—Poultry husbandry—the importance of the Demonstration Plot—Scientific Services—the Distribution of Trees—the Forest Service—Jewish Plantations.

B. Education.—The Jewish Schools—the State Schools—the Budget—the Necessity—its importance to agricultural development

—Agricultural Schools—the Village School and Agriculture—Need for additional Expenditure Technical Education in Agriculture— Agricultural certificated schoolmasters—Collaboration between Departments of Agriculture and Education.

C. Irrigation.—The existing waste of Water—the Aujha Concession—Nebi Rubin—The Acre Plain—The Huleh area—the Beisan area—the Beisan Agreement—the Jordan Valley—other possibilities—the Draft Irrigation Ordinance—constitution of a separate Irrigation Service.

D. Co-operation.—The Jewish movement—Information avail-able—Rates of interest on deposits and loans—Activities of certain co-operative Societies—Co-operative Industrial Producers' Societies

—Land-purchasing Societies—Membership of Societies—Necessity for extension to Arab population—Treatment of existing debts— Desirability of joint action between Jews and Arabs.

Chapter VIII: Agricultural Produce.

(Pages 92 to 106.)

(a) Citrus Cultivation.—Origin of orange cultivation—Area avail-able—Area under Citrus cultivation—Future of the Orange Trade.

(b) The Grape Fruit.

(c) The Banana.—Area under cultivation—Cost of production and yield—Marketing possibilities.

(d) Melons.—Exports to Egypt and Syria—Adverse effect on Export due to imposts in Egypt and Syria.

(e) Almonds.—Production and Export figures—Area under Almond cultivation—Eeplacement of Almonds by Oranges—Pests

—Markets.

(f) Grapes.—Export of Wine—Exports of Table-grapes—Competition in the markets—Trial consignments to London—Complaints against the Excise duty and Licence fees.

(g) Tobacco.—Extent of the Tobacco trade—Local leaf—Necessity for instruction in improvement of methods—Complaints in regard to the Tobacco Ordinance—Minimum area of two dunams— Prohibition of use of home-grown Tobacco.

(h) Olives.—Grade of Oil—Methods of culture—Introduction of improved methods—Extension of area under Cultivation.

(i) Sesame.—Imports and Exports—Value as a summer crop

—Cultivation.

(j) Barley.—Export Trade—Possible reasons for reduction of overseas trade—Proposals for revival of the trade.

(k) Minor Agricultural Products.— The Silkworm—Present position of Sericulture—Bees—Prevalence of Eoulbrood—Expansion of the Industry.

(1) Dairy and Stock-breeding.—Contagious abortion—Stall-feeding of Dairy Stock.

Census of Industries—Summaries—Food, Drink and Tobacco— Chemicals and Allied Trades—Cement, Brick, Stone and Clay Trades—Census of Jewish Industry—Principal Industrial Under-takings—" Nesher " Cement Works—Effect of Protective Tariff —Eastern Oil Industries, Ltd.—Tobacco—Messrs. Karaman Dick and Salti—Grands Moulins de Palestine—the Wine Industry— Other Industries—Printing—Smaller Industries—Fancy Leather Industry—Textile Industry—Fruit juice and Fruit Products—The Development of Industry—Industrial enterprises before the War and subsequent Increase—Industry in the past—Small Industries —Number of persons employed—Future Development of Jewish Industry—Possibilities of an Extension of Industry—Future of Palestinian Industry—Immigration as a solution of Industrial Problems—Progress of Industry—Industries likely to succeed—Danger of Unemployment—Concentration on Industries showing Vitality—Arab Industries—Mineral Deposits.

A 4

3008

Early History—Pronouncement of June 3rd, 1921—Immigration Ordinance, 1925—Categories of Immigrants—Unrecorded Immigration—Procedure in regard to the issue of Immigration Certificates

—The influence of the General Federation of Jewish Labour over Immigrants and Immigration—Preparation of Labour Immigration Schedules—Procedure after Schedule approved by High Commissioner—Authorization of visas—Failure of the System—Weakness of and responsibility under the present System—The selection of Immigrants abroad—Government control abroad—Travellers remaining in Palestine—Evasion of the Frontier control—Discouragement of Illicit Entry—Immigration and the General Federation of Jewish Labour—'Settlement of cases in which members are concerned—Jewish labour as Key-stone of the Jewish National Home—The sources of Immigration—Immigration and Unemployment—Figures in regard to the number of unemployed—Arab Unemployment—Further Immigration and its probable Effect on Arab Unemployment—Recent increase in Jewish Unemployment— Duty of Government in regard to Immigration—Employment .of Arabs in Jewish concerns—" Derived Demand "—Unemployment Statistics and Government Employment Exchanges—'Seasonal and Occasional Labour—Importation of other than Jewish Labour— Prevention of illicit Immigration—Arab Unemployment as a political Pawn—Article 6 of the Mandate and its Effect on Immigration

—Suspension of Labour Schedule—Preparation of the Labour Schedule—Proposed Change in Method—Formation of a Department of Immigration Labour and Travel.

Land : Land available for settlement—Government Land—Present Agricultural Policy—Jewish and Arab advantages and disadvantages—Compensation of Beduin for loss of grazing rights— Alteration of terms under which J.N.F. purchases and leases Land —Government's duty under the Mandate.

Agricultural Development Scheme.—Improvement of tho Fellah's Methods—Development of Intensive Agriculture—Development of Irrigation—Jewish reserves of Land—Control of Disposition of Land—Powers of Government to purchase Land—Development Commission—Responsibilities of the Development Commission—Available areas in Plains—Cost of Settling a Family—Distribution of Developed Land—Co-operation between Jewish Agencies and the Development Commission—Artificial Inflation of Land Values—Ascertainment of the Number of Landless Arabs— Migration—Its difficulties—Hydrographic Survey—Urgency of Irrigation Legislation—Formation of an Irrigation Department— Occupancy Eight—Partition of Mesha'a—Acceleration of Land Settlement—Abolishment of Imprisonment for Debt—Redistribution and Reduction of Taxation—Reduction of Land Registration Fees—Co-ordination of Agricultural Scientific (Services—Increase of Department of Agriculture's Budget—Demonstration Plots—Distribution of Trees—Separation of the Forest Service.

Education.—Increase of the budget of the Department of Education—Agricultural Course for Schoolmasters—Co-operation— Encouragement of Co-operation between Arab and Jew in Orange Industry—Constitution of Co-operative Credit Societies—Mr. Strickland's Mission.

Agricultural Development.—Government acquisition of The Huleh Concession—Limitation of Orange Cultivation—Development of other Fruit Crops—Import Duty on Melons in Egypt—-Improvement of Grades of Tobacco—Amendment of Minimum area of Tobacco—Improvement of Quality of Olive Oil and Pruning of Trees—Steps to revive the Barley Export Trade—Encouragement of Sericulture and Production of Honey—Possibility of a Canning Industry for Dairy Produce.

Palestinian Industry.—Reduction of Excise on Wines—Position of Industries—Encouragement of Arab Industries.

Immigration and Labour.—Preparation of Labour Immigration Schedules—Immigration Officer at towns abroad—Expulsion of illicit Immigrants—Registration of Unemployment and Labour Exchanges—Constitution of a separate Department of Immigration, Travel and Labour—Part of Expenditure of Development Commission recoverable—Intensive Development of rural Palestine essential—Introduction of Settlers possible if Development carried out—Necessity for joint Endeavour.

Arab Executive	Moslem and Christian body representing the Arabs of Palestine.
Supreme Moslem Council	Directs the religious affairs of the Moslems of Palestine.
Fellah	Arab peasant cultivator.
Effendi	Arab landlord.
Mesha'a	Unpartitioned land in customary joint ownership.
Jewish Agency for Palestine	Body directing the affairs of the Jewish National Home, and formed for the purpose of advising and co-operating with the Administration of Pales-tine.
Executive of the Jewish Agency	Carries out the current executive business of the Agency, with offices in Jerusalem and London.
Keren-Kayemeth	Jewish National Fund (J.N.F.) The medium of the Agency for purchasing and holding land.
Waad Leumi	Palestine Foundation Fund. The main colonization instrument of the Agency.
	National Council of the Jews of Palestine.
Agudath Israel	The representative body of Orthodox Jewry.
P.I.C.A.	Palestine Jewish Colonization Association.
P.L.D.C.	Palestine Land Development Company.
Histadruth	General Federation of Jewish Labour.
Tnuvah	Jewish Co-operative selling agency for agricultural pro-duce.
Chalutz	Chalutzim (p.m.) Chalutzot (p.f)— Pioneer.
Kvutzoth	Kvutza (pi.) — Communal settlements.
Kushan	Title Deed.

TABLE OF EQUIVALENTS.

Exchange.

Palestine Pound (LP)	= Pound Sterling (£). = 1,000 mils. = 97 1/2 Egyptian Piastres (Pt) or 975 milliemes (mm).
Pound Egyptian	= 1,000 milliemes (mm) or 100 Piastres (Pt). = Lp 1.02564.
Measures.
Standard or metric dunam	= 1,000 square metres. = 1/4 acre. = .000386 square mile.
Turkish or old dunam	= 919.3 square metres.
Acre	=0.40 hectares = 4 metric dunams
Square Mile	= 2.590 metric dunams.
Mile	= 1.60 kilometres.
Kilometre	=0.62 mile.
Weights.
Kilogram	2.20 ob.
Ton	= 1,016 kilograms = 1.01 metric tons.
Metric Ton	= 1.000 kilograms.
Kantar	= about 3 to a ton = 1/3 ton.
Measures of Capacity.
Litre	= 1.75 pints
Gallon	= 4.54 litres.

The total area of Palestine.

Palestine is a small country generally stated to be about the size of Wales. There have been many estimates of its size and varied statements and arguments based thereon. The size of Palestine, and especially the cultivable area of the country, are so highly relevant to the matters under enquiry and to the deductions which must be made, that it is necessary to examine the more important of the statements and the estimates with some care.

The " Handbook of Palestine " prepared by Messrs. Luke and Keith-Roach, puts the total area at 10,000 sq. miles, practically 26,000,000 metric dunams. The Report of the Experts submitted to the Joint Palestine Survey Commission <jp. 18) recorded 8,800 sq. miles. They do not offer any information as to the authority for this figure.

On May 20th, 1925, a statement was made by Lord Stanhope in the House of Lords, which has frequently been quoted as authoritative. In that statement he said that the total area of Palestine was approximately 27,000,000 Turkish dunams; this is equal to 8,528 sq. 'miles.

On July 4th, 1927, the Chief Secretary of the Palestine Govern-ment wrote a letter (No. 10,566-27) to the address of Dr. Ruppin,. Head of the Colonisation Department of the Zionist Organisation in which he said that the total area of Palestine was 9,570 sq. miles.

The Statistical Abstract for 1929 published at Jerusalem by the Keren-Hayesod (Palestine Foundation Fund) records the area as 10,170 sq. miles.

Finally, the Director of Surveys in Palestine reported to the Commissioner of Lands in July, 1929, that, excluding the Beersheba sub-district and the southern desert, the area of the rest of Palestine was 13,760,000 dunams, and that the area of Beersheba sub-district and the southern desert was 12,398,000 dunams, mak-ing the total area of Palestine 26,158,000 dunams or 10,100 sq. miles.

In forwarding this estimate to the Chief Secretary the Commis-sioner of Lands wrote :—

" .... I would emphasise in the first place that pending completion of the topographical cadastral survey, any estimates submitted of the-cultivable and uncultivable areas of Palestine can be little more than guess-work based on insufficient data."

On the 20th July, 1930, the Director of Surveys forwarded to me the revised area estimate, and wrote in his letter :—

" . . . . The estimate for Beersheba is quite unreliable, and any figures must be misleading, since we have no sumcient data and what can be done there in cultivation is entirely dependent on a most unreliable rainfall."

It may be accepted that the total area of Palestine is in the neighbourhood of 10,000 sq. miles. The question of the cultivable area of the country will be discussed later in this Report.

The Natural divisions of Palestine. The natural divisions of the country are— :

(a) The hill country of Galilee and Judaea.

(b) The five plains, including that lying in the rift which contains the Jordan Valley and which, from the north of Lake Tiberias to the Dead Sea, is actually below the level of the Mediterranean.

(c) The Beersheba area, different in character and popula-tion from the rest of the country.


(d) The desert areas.

The Survey Department has prepared a map showing these divisions of the country. It is appended to this Report as Map No. 2.*~

The area of this tract is estimated by the Commissioner of Lands at 8,064,000 dunams, of which 5,376,000 dunams are cultivable. The area classified as cultivable was admittedly guess-work, the Commissioner of Lands having accepted that of the total area, two-thirds only were cultivable and one-third uncultivable. By the courtesy of the Officer Commanding the Air Force, a test photographic survey of the Hill country was made for the purpose of this enquiry. The area so surveyed, which covered about one-tenth of the Hill country, is shown in blue lines on Map No. 2 attached to this Report. This survey established that the cultivable area of the hills was not, as had been assumed, 66.6 per cent., but only 40 per cent. The photographs of the aerial survey have been very carefully examined by the Director of Surveys in the latest estimate submitted, which is by far the most reliable estimate hitherto prepared of the hill country in Palestine. It records the total area, including the Hill Wilderness, as 8,862,000 dunams, of which nearly 2,450,000 dunams are cultivable. Excluding the Hill Wilderness the inhabited Hills are estimated at 6,124,000 dunams. The difference between the figures quoted by the Commissioner of Lanus and those of the Director of Surveys, whether the Wilderness is included or omitted, is very large. The estimate of the Director of Surveys, based as it is in part on results obtained by aerial survey, will be accepted for the purpose of this Report.

* See Note on page 3.

The cultivated land in the Hills varies very largely both in depth and quality of the soil. In the valleys there are stretches of fertile land, which will grow sesame as a summer crop. On the hillsides the soil is shallow and infertile, and the extent of land hunger is evident from the fact that every available plot of soil is cultivated, even when it is so small that the plough cannot be employed. There cultivation is carried on with the mattock and the hoe. The harvest of such plots, even in a favourable year, is exceedingly small—in general it seems doubtful whether such cultivation can pay. On the other hand, even the most rocky hillsides support trees, especially olives, and if capital were available, many of the cultivators of these exiguous and infertile plots would be able to gain a livelihood by cultivation of fruit trees and of olives. These cultivators have, However, no capital, and cannot afford to forgo even the meagre crops obtained, for the four or five years which are required before fruit trees render a return. In the case of the olive, the period before a return may be expected is much longer.

There is little irrigation in the hill country. Here and there are springs which afford a supply for the irrigation of a small area, but, taken as a whole, the country is arid and the crops depend on rain. It is possible that a hydrographic survey might disclose further water supplies, and scientific treatment might also improve the yield from existing springs. It is stated that during the War the Engineers of the Army of Occupation were able very largely to increase the supply from springs in certain places.

In the best case, however, it is impossible that the general character of the cultivation in the Hill country can be radically changed, except in so far as fruit can be made to replace grain. Something might be done to improve the soil and to reform agricultural methods, were capital available. The use of manures and provision of better seed would doubtless result in some improvement of the yield. But from the point of view of agriculture, the Hill country will always remain an unsatisfactory proposition.

A reference to Map No. 2 will show that the Maritime Plain is taken to be the area between the coast and the hills up to the 150 metre contour, running from Eafa in the south up to Haifa in the north. Ordinarily the Maritime Plain is treated as running from Rafa to Rasen-Naqura, on the Syrian border. The reason for the present division lies in the difference in the class of soil of the plains north and south of Haifa. The latter portion of the plain is the tract which contains the great mass of wind-blown sand, so suitable for orange cultivation. The former is in the main a heavy black soil quite unsuited for oranges.

The Maritime Plain as shown in Map No. 2 is estimated by the Director of Surveys to extend to 3,218,000 dunams, of which 2,663,000 dunams are cultivable. This estimate agrees very closely with that made by the Experts and printed on p. 22 of their Report to the Joint Palestine Survey Commission. They record the cultivable areas :—

Irrigable ... ... ... ... 2,251,500 dunams

Non-irrigable ... ... ... ... 410,000 dunams

giving a total of 2,661,500 dunams. It is true that they estimate the non-cultivable area at a higher figure than that adopted by the Director of Surveys. It is not clear how they calculated this area. In any case the difference has no great importance, for in the uncultivable area no question of development arises.

This is the coastal plain lying north of Haifa and running up between the sea and the hills as far as the Syrian border. Its total area is given by the Director of Surveys as 550,000 metric dunams, 379,000 of which are judged cultivable.

These figures differ materially from the analogous figures recorded by the Experts. In the Report of the Experts on p. 22, this plain is divided into the plain north of Acre and the Haifa-Acre plain. The total area of the two amounts to 183,000 Turkish dunams, i.e., 168,000 metric dunams. The cultivable area is shown as 103,000 Turkish dunams, i.e., 94,500 metric dunams. The cultivable area is also shown as all irrigable. It is not known whence the Experts obtained the estimate included in their Report.

This plain is in the main composed of an alluvial deposit, rather heavy in character. There is a small area of wind-blown sand suit-able for plantations, but, generally, the type of developed cultivation will be mixed farming with irrigation. There is ample water from springs and streams. A large area in this plain is held by the Bayside Land Corporation—a Jewish corporation.

The future of this tract will be advantageously affected by the construction of the Haifa Harbour. Work is already in progress and is advancing rapidly. The harbour will greatly assist the development of the export trade in oranges, and perhaps other agricultural products. It is understood that the question of the pipe-line from Iraq is not yet decided, and that there are hopes that it may be constructed to Haifa. If this development occurs the Acre Plain will of course benefit still further.

In the division of the plans made by the Director of Surveys and included in Map No. 2, the Vale of Esdraelon has been separated from the Valley of Jezreel, the latter being included with the lands of the plain of the Jordan. The total area of the Vale is reported as being 400,000 metric dunams, of which 372,000 metric dunams are cultivable. Dr. Strahom, in his report on soils, printed in the Experts' Report, records, on p. 151, that the Plain of Esdraelon has-an area of 475,800 Turkish dunams, i.e., 437,400 metric dunams. This is not very far removed from the estimate made by the Director of Surveys.

The evidence as to the fertility of the Vale of Esdraelon and the state of its prosperity in the hands of the Arabs, before the extensive purchases made by the Jews, is conflicting. In his report* on the administration of Palestine, 1920-25, at p. 35, Sir Herbert Samuel wrote :—

" . . . . The whole aspect of the valley has been changed. The wooden fauts of the villages, gradually giving place to red-roofed cottages, are dotted along the slopes; the plantations of rapidly growing eucalyptus trees already begin to give a new character to the landscape; in the spring the fields of vegetables or of cereals cover many miles of the land, and what five years ago was little better than a wilderness is being transformed before our eyes into a smiling countryside . . . . "

* Non-Parliamentary Publication (Colonial No. 15, 1925).

On the other hand, Dr. Strahorn writes in his report, p. 152 :—

" .... Up to within recent years the land was cultivated from the Arab villages, located round the rim of the Plain. Cereals together with minor garden areas around the villages constituted the Arab crop-ping system. In very recent years considerable areas of land have passed under the control of Jewish colonies and villages; gardens and orchards are now dotting the former expanse of grain-fields . . . . "

The results of Jewish colonisation of the Vale of Esdraelon are varied. In some villages there are clear signs of success; in others, the opposite is the case. The village of Afuleh, which the American Zionist Commonwealth boomed as the Chicago of Palestine, is a sea of thistles through which one travels for long distances. A plague of field mice, which has done extensive damage to both Jewish and Arab cultivation in the Vale during the present year was officially stated to be due to the fact that 30,000 dunams of the land held by the Jews are derelict and covered with weeds. It is also a fact that in a number of villages the tithes paid by the Jews are considerably below those paid by the Arabs who formerly cultivated those villages.

It is a mistake to assume that the Vale of Esdraelon was a wilderness before the arrival of the Jewish settlers and that it is now a paradise. A very large amount of money has been spent by the various Jewish agencies, and great improvements have been made. The work that has been done, especially in the direction of drainage and the introduction of new and improved methods of agriculture is highly valuable. There can be little doubt that in time, the application of capital, science, and labour will result in general success. It is, however, unjust to the poverty-stricken fellah' who has been removed from these lands that the suggestion should continually be made that he was a useless cumberer of the ground and produced nothing from it. It should be quite obvious that this is not the fact.

In ancient times Esdraelon was the granary, and by the Arabs is still regarded as the most fertile tract of Palestine. The soreness felt owing to the sale of large areas by the absentee Sursock family to the Jews and the displacement of the Arab tenants is still acute. It was evident on every occasion of discussion with the Arabs, both effendi and fellahin.

The soil of the valley is generally an alluvial clay, highly suitable to cereal cultivation. Across the Vale at one place there is a belt of residual soil, even heavier than the alluvial of the rest of the valley. Both in the cultivation of cereals and in that of fodder crops the soil responds to high farming.

The Huleh Plain is the most northerly part of Palestine, to the east of the country, and lies to the north of the Lake of Tiberias. Its area is reported by the Director of Surveys as 191,000 metric dunams; of this extent 126,000 dunams are cultivable. As in the case of other tracts there are wide variations in the estimates of area. The Experts, in their Report, p. 22, put the area at 150,000 Turkish dunams, i.e., 138,000 metric dunams, and the cultivable area at 120,000 Turkish dunams, i.e., 110,300 metric dunams. Dr. Ruppin has submitted on behalf of the Jewish Agency for Pales-tine a memorandum relating to the land and agricultural development. In the course of that memorandum he says that the area of the Huleh district is approximately as follows :—

Government land... ... ... 47,000 dunams

Private land.. ... ... ... 110,000 do.

Lake Merom ... ... ... 18,000 do.

but does not specify whether the dunams used are the Turkish or metric dunams. As in the rest of the memorandum the Turkish dunam is habitually used, it is fair to assume that he has also employed it here. In that case the estimate, which totals 175,000 (Turkish) dunams, would represent 161,000 metric dunams.

The Huleh Plain may be divided into three parts. In the north there is rich alluvial cultivable land; south of this there is a large marshy area covered with papyrus reeds, the haunt of the wild boar and the grazing-ground of numerous water-buffaloes which are the property of the Bedu tribes of the neighbourhood. South of this again is the Lake of Merom, through which the Jordan flows southwards to Lake Tiberias. The Lake and marsh are caused by a ridge of basalt across the Jordan Valley. If this ridge were cleared away or the river deepened, the whole valley could be drained and considerable areas of land made available for irrigated cultivation.

There are widely varying estimates of the extent of the marsh and of the extent of the lake. Possibly one of the best is that recorded on a French plan dated 1321 Hijra (1903 a.d.) which is attached to this Report as Map. No. 3.* According to that map, the areas of the concession are :—

Marsh... ... ••• ... 36,844 dunams
Lake ... ... ... ... . 11,921 do.
Cultivated land ... ... ...1,824 do.
Cultivable land ... ... ... 353 do.

* See Note on page 3.

The figures are all Turkish dunams, and, reduced to metric dunams, the areas are :—

Marsh... ... ... 33,871 metric dunams
Lake ... ... ... 10,958 do.
Cultivated land... ... 1,677 do.
Cultivable land... ... 325 do.

The concessionaire estimates the marsh at 41,400 metric dunams and the Lake at 13,800 metric dunams. Of the former some 9,200 metric dunams are, he says, cultivated by Arabs. In the Experts' Beport (p. 154) Dr. Strahorn says that the area of the marsh north of the Lake is not less than 52,000 Turkish dunams, i.e., 47,800 metric dunams.

No survey of the marsh area has been made, nor is one possible, except by air, until the marsh is drained. It will be safe to assume that, excluding the cultivation of the Arabs in that area, there is still an area of some 25,000 to 30,000 metric dunams of marsh land available for reclamation. Were the Lake also drained a further 9,000 or 10,000 metric dunams would be rendered cultiv-able. The soil of the whole Huleh Plain is exceedingly fertile. It is indeed said to be the most fertile soil in Palestine.

The Director of Surveys estimates the area of the Valley of the Jordan, in which he includes the Vale of Jezreel (vide Map No. 2 attached to this Report) at 1,065,000 metric dunams, of which 554,000 are cultivable. It is very difficult to obtain any comparable figures from other sources. Such as are available are examined in Appendix I.

For the purposes of the present enquiry a committee, consisting of the Government Geologist, the chief Agricultural Officer, the Irrigation Officer and an agricultural chemist, was appointed to enquire into and report upon the extent of irrigable lands in the southern part of the Jordan Valley. They report that there is an area of roughly 100,000 dunams which may profitably be irrigated, in addition to the present irrigated area, between the Dead Sea and the southern boundary of the Beisan area. Of this 28,500 dunams is land included in the Beisan chiftlik. The balance is 71,500. Already some 54,000 metric dunams are under irrigation in the lower Jordan Valley. Adding to this latter area the 71,500 dunams of the Committee's report and the 388,517 dunams of the Beisan Agreement areas, the total cultivable area of the whole Jordan Valley reaches 514,017 dunams.

The land in the north of the Jordan Valley is veiy fertile; in the south, with irrigation, it will grow all kinds of tropical fruits, and early vegetables. Properly developed the Jordan Valley might prove a great source of wealth to the country. In ancient times it undoubtedly supported a large population.

Area—This is estimated at 3,200,000 dunams, of which 1,500,000 are cultivable. The figures are in fact pure guesswork, as is admitted by the Director of Surveys.

Possibilities.—Given the possibility of irrigation there is practically an inexhaustible supply of cultivable land in the Beersheba, area. Without irrigation, the country cannot be developed. Up to the present time there has been no organised attempt to ascertain whether there is or is not an artesian supply of water. If there prove to be such a supply the problem of providing agricultural land for the Palestine population and, indeed, for a large number of immigrant settlers, will be easy of solution.

The rainfall varies largely from district to district in Palestine. In the Beersheba area it averages six inches and provides an ex-citing gamble for the cultivators. On the coast from Gaza to Acre its average is from fifteen inches in Gaza rising to about thirty inches at Acre. In the hills of Galilee thirty to forty inches may be expected, in the upper Jordan Valley twelve to sixteen inches, while at Jericho the average is five inches. On the map appended to this Report as Map No. 5* the average fall for the last ten years in 'shown graphically.

Total Area of Agricultural Land.—In the previous chapter an attempt has been made to provide an estimate of the extent of the Hill country, the areas of the Five Plains and of the Beersheba Tract. It remains to offer an estimate of the total area of agricultural land, cultivable and uncultivable, in Palestine. The whole question of the immigration of agricultural settlers depends of course on the amount of land which can be made available for them. This again depends on the difference between the total area and the area required for the existing agricultural population, Arab, Jewish and other. No exact statement as to these areas is possible until the cadastral survey now in progress has been completed. It is, however, essential to the present enquiry that a definite figure, as reliable as possible, should be adopted for this purpose.

* See Note on page 3.

Mr. Jabotinsky's Estimate.—Many estimates have been made of the total agricultural cultivable area of Palestine, of which some have been rather in the nature of guess-work than of estimations. Mr. Jabotinsky has stated that the cultivable area is from 16,000,000 to 18,000,000 dunams. It is not known on what facts this suggestion is based nor whether the dunams mentioned are metric or Turkish. It is perhaps founded on a statement published in the Review of the Agricultural situation in Palestine, 1922, in which Colonel Sawer writes : " We are dealing with a total exploitable land surface not exceeding 4,500,000 acres." Colonel Sawer pointed out, however, that half of this area had been " written off as uncultivable."

Dr. Ruppin's Estimate.—In his evidence before the Commission on the Disturbances, Dr. Ruppin, head of the Colonisation Service of the Zionist Organisation, gave an estimate of the total area of Palestine as from 25,000 to 27,000 sq. kms., of which 12,500 kms. are cultivable. Of this latter area he described 20 per cent, as entirely uncultivated, that is to say, that in his opinion there are 2,500 sq. kms., or 2,500,000 metric dunams available for settlement. As an annex to his statement he filed a paper showing the total of cultivated and uncultivated land in Palestine. Here again the area described as " tillable but uncultivated " is given a& 2,500,000 dunams. The statement was based on the figures quoted by Lord Stanhope in the House of Lords of May 28th, 1925. These dunams were Turkish dunams, and the area was therefore not 2,500 sq. kms. as stated in the body of the statement, but 2,298.4 sq. kms.

Lord Stanhope's Statement in the House of Lords.—Lord Stanhope's statement in the House of Lords, on which Dr. Rugppin relied, was in its turn based on figures submitted by the Palestine-Government. It is unfortunate that these figures have been widely quoted and frequently accepted as accurate. They are in fact far from accurate, as there were no statistics available at that time from which anything in the nature of an exact estimate could Have. been framed.

Estimate of Commissioner of Lands.—Two recent estimates, have been made in an attempt to determine more accurately the cultivable area of Palestine. Of these, one was submitted on April 30th, 1930, by the Commissioner of Lands, and in his letter forwarding the estimate, he discusses the question of the meaning of the term " cultivable land." He includes in that term land which is actually cultivated or which can be brought under cultivation " by the application of the labour and financial resources of the average individual Palestinian cultivator. This definition would therefore exclude marshes, the coastal sand-dunes between Haifa and Acre, the rocky hills, the wilderness of Judaea and extensive areas in the larger part of the Beersheba sub-district south of Beersheba town." It appears to include the wind-blown sands in the maritime plains which are suitable for orange plantations. On this basis the Commissioner of Lands estimates the cultivable area of Palestine as follows :—

	m.d
Plain of Beersheba sub-district	1,641,000
Five principal Plains north of Beersheba sub-district	5,216,000
Hill country	5,376,000
	12,233,000

Estimate of Director of Surveys.—The cadastral survey of Palestine is now in progress and the Director of that survey has submitted a careful estimate of the total cultivable area of the country, based in part on the area already surveyed and in part on the results of the aerial survey to which reference has already been made.

He arrives at the following conclusions :—

 

Type of Country	Cultivable	Uncultivable
	Metric Dunams	Metric Dunams
Inhabited hills	2,450,000	3,674,000
Hill wilderness		2,738,000
Five Plains:
(a) The Maritime Plain	2663,000	555,000
(b)The Acre Plain	379,000	171,000
(c) The Plain of Esdraelon	372,000	28,000
(d) The Huleh Plain	126,000	65,000
(e) The Plain of the Jordan	554,000	511,000
	4,094,000	1,330,000
Beersheba area	1,500,000	1,700,000
Southern desert		8,672,000
Total M.D.	8,044,000	18,114,000

 

Further details of the above areas are given in Appendix 3. The Director of Surveys states that this estimate is based on actual results so far as these have been reached, namely, in an area of 4,047,000 dunams, chiefly in the Maritime Plain. The Director of Surveys has applied to whole cartographic areas as measured on small-scale maps, the same percentage as has been found by large-scale survey in the large fractions of those areas already surveyed.

He also states that the cultivable area in the Hills, which has not yet been surveyed, has been calculated from the percentages obtained by close detailed examination of aeroplane photographs specially made by the Royal Air Force on cross-country flights over a number of tracts selected as representative. The results have given an average percentage of cultivable land in the tracts photographed which has been applied to the whole area of the inhabited hills as measured on a small scale cartographically. The cartographical measurements of whole areas have necessarily in each case been made upon previously existing maps and the figure so obtained is of course far from exact; nevertheless, it is probably much nearer to the actual than the figures hitherto suggested, which were in fact based on guess-work more or less intelligent.

Dr. Strahorris figures in the Report of the Experts to the Joint Palestine Survey Commission.—During the enquiry of the Experts who reported to the Joint Palestine Survey Commission, a soil survey of nearly the whole of the area included in the Five Plains was made by Dr. A. T. Strahorn, whose report is found on pages 143-236 of the volume of Reports of the Experts. On page 231 he gives the areas of the Plains, excluding the Huleh and the Beersheba areas and a small portion of the Jordan Valley, viz., that portion lying between "Wadi-es-Sherar and Jisred-Damieh. The total area which Dr. Strahorn gives for the plains included in his soil examination is 4,873,354 dunams, of which 490,387 dunams are uncultivable. He uses Turkish dunams. Converting into metric dunams, the cultivable area according to his measurements is 4,029,262 metric dunams. The Huleh area, which is accepted as 80,000 Turkish dunams of which 52,000 dunams are marsh, would give 25,740 metric dunams of cultivable land. The total estimate for the Five Plains, excluding a small area in the narrowest part of the Jordan Valley, would thus be 4,055,002 metric •dunams of cultivable land. This compares with the figure of 4,094,000 calculated by the Director of Surveys for the same area, including the portion of the Jordan Valley omitted by Dr. Strahorn.

The estimate of the Director of Surveys to be accepted for purposes of this Report.—For the purpose of this report the estimate of the Director of Surveys will be accepted. The important areas are those of the cultivable land of the Hills and of the Five Plains. The Beersheba region need not enter into consideration for the present. It is not an area in which settlement is possible at the present time. The total area in which settlement might be possible, if there be land to spare, amounts to 6,544,000 dunams in the Hills and in the Five Plains.

Area of Agricultural Land held by Jews.—According to Dr. Ruppin's statement before the Commission on the Disturbances, the total area held by the Jews was at that time 1,200,000 Turkish dunams, of which 1,000,000 was cultivable. Of the cultivable area of Palestine, excluding Beersheba, the Jews therefore held at that time 14.04 per cent. Since Dr. Euppin made his statement a further 50,000 metric dunams have been purchased on Jewish account, and, in addition, some 80,000 to 85,000 dunams are under option of purchase. Thus the total percentage either in Jewish possession or under option amounts to over 16 per cent, of the whole cultivable area in these two regions.

Area available for non-Jewish cultivators.—Of this total, which is not less than 1,300,000 Turkish dunams, 20 per cent, may be deducted to allow for areas possibly uncultivable. The balance will be 1,040,000 Turkish dunams equal to 956,000 metric dunams. Deducting from the estimated cultivable area of 6,544,000 metric dunams a round figure of 900,000 metric dunams on account of Jewish holdings, an area of 5,644,000 metric dunams remains available for non-Jewish cultivators at the present time.

Soil Map.—By the courtesy of the " Geographical Beview," published by the American Geographical Society of New York, and with permission kindly accorded by Dr. Strahorn, a map showing the distribution of the soils of .Palestine is attached to this report as Map No. 4.*

Census of 1922.—The last census was taken in 1922, and showed the total population as being 757,182, of whom 590,890 were Mohammedans, 83,794 Jews and 82,498 Christians and others. The division between the town and agricultural population was as follows :—

Town areas
Mohammedans	139,074
Jews	68,622
Christians and others	56,621
Rural areas:
Mohammedans	451,816
Jews	15,172
Christians and others	25,877

Population in 1930.—There has been a very considerable increase of the population since that census was taken. In Appendix 4 are given the figures of population year by year, taken from the records of the Department of Health of the Government. The totals for mid 1930 may be accepted as approximately the following :—

Mohammedans	692,195
Jews	162,069
Christians and others	91,727
	945,991

See Note on page 3.

Distribution of population.—In this estimate the Bedu population has been taken at the same figure as in 1922. The local distribution of this population is as follows :—

The total gives an average population of 94 per sq. mile, and, omitting Beersheba and the Southern Desert, about 155 per sq. mile. In Appendix 2 the figures of Jewish and Arab population have been examined, and it has been calculated that the rural Arab population of the Hills and the Five Plains is 478,390.

Vital Statistics.—The following figures give the average birth, death, and infantile mortality ratios according to religion during the period 1923 to 1929 inclusive :—

	Moslems	Jews	Christians	Others	Whole country
Births	56.59	35.54	38.57	49.42	50.97
Deaths	31.24	13.10	18.03	25.51	26.52
Infantile Mortality	199.49	110.25	157.99	137.59	185.06

Appendix 5 gives the detail for each year. The figures are interesting and important and that from more than one aspect. In the first place it is noticeable that the excess of births over deaths is most marked (25.35) among the most numerous section of the population, namely the Moslems. The corresponding figure for the Jewish population is, 22.44. The next noticeable point is the very low death rate among the Jewish population. This is without doubt in part due to the vigorous and young immigrants, of whom that population is composed to a material extent. Finally the figures of infantile mortality are interesting. The Jewish average for the past seven years is 110.25 per thousand, but during the years 1928 and 1929 the figures were 95.8 and 89.78. In England the corresponding figure for the year 1929 was 74, in Germany 97.

Comparative Infantile Mortality figures.—The following table gives some comparative figures :—

26

Size of average, family of fellah.—Enquiry has been made as to the size of the average family of the fellah. A return from the various district authorities and the Director of Health indicates that this average is 5.5. Applying this figure, the number of families resident in the Hills and the Five Plains is 86,980 this year.

Fellah families cultivating.—An enquiry has been made by a Commission appointed by the Palestine Government into the economic condition of agriculturists in 104 representative villages. In these villages there reside 23,573 families, of whom 16,633 have holdings and 6,940 have not, that is to say, that there are in these villages 29.4 per cent, of families who live, not directly by cultivation, but by labour either in the village or outside and in other ways. Everywhere there is the complaint that many of the cultivators have lost their land. Doubtless this 29.4 per cent, includes these landless men who previously were cultivators. If a deduction of 29.4 per cent, is made from the total of 86,980 families reached above, the balance is 61,408 families actually cultivating the land in the Hills and the Five Plains. In addition, there are a large number of families which should be, but are not, cultivating the land.

At the time of the Occupation Palestine was a country saturated with malaria. Since that time much good work has been done, not only by agencies of the country, but also with the help of out-side scientific enquirers. The Rockefeller Foundation, the League of Nations, the Jewish Joint Distribution Committee have all rendered invaluable assistance in investigation, in research and in advice. Very much has been done in the drainage of swamps and marshes, in great part by Jewish agency and in great part by the Government. The Supreme Moslem Council has also taken a share, and its work in the drainage of the extensive and very malarial swamp at Wadi Rubin, under the advice of representatives of the Rockefeller Foundation, has been a complete success. A similar work of even greater magnitude which is now nearing completion is the drainage of the Kabbara Swamp by the P.I.C.A. The Zionist Agency was responsible, among other works, for the drainage of considerable areas in the Vale of Esdraelon. The Government Department of Health revolutionised certain areas of the Jordan Valley at comparatively small cost, by draining of marshes.

Much, however, still remains to be done. Huleh is a plague spot. The malaria of that part of Palestine will not be finally overcome until the Huleh Lake is drained and there is a free flow of water out of the Basin into the Jordan River. There are wide areas in the neighbourhood of Acre where drainage is necessary. There are still swampy areas in the Maritime Plain.

The second of the preventable diseases which are common in Palestine is trachoma. This disease is being combated with great vigour all through the Jewish Settlements and in the towns. In the village schools of the Government the eyes of the children are examined periodically by competent physicians. The work of the hospital of the Order of St. John at Jerusalem is famous even beyond the boundaries of Palestine.

Generally speaking, the health of the population of Palestine is the object of more attention than is the case in the great majority of Oriental countries. Once the malarial swamps are drained, and when the Arab villages become more accustomed to demand medical care than is the case at present, the position will be completely satisfactory.

It is the good fortune of the Government that Jewish organisations provide such an effective service for their own people. It would be impracticable for the Government to supply anything on a similar scale with the funds at its disposal. In its report* for the year 1928 on the administration of Palestine, submitted to the Council of the League, His Majesty's Government wrote the following : " It has been the policy of Government to rely as far as possible on private and Municipal Hospitals and Dispensaries to furnish general medical relief to the population, and to devote Government funds to such services as isolation hospitals for serious infectious diseases, special clinics for trachoma and epidemic ophthalmia, the treatment of the endemic syphilis which exists in many of the villages and of malaria in rural areas. For certain sections of the population, however, such as the Beduin tribes, which would otherwise lack medical attention altogether, Govern-ment establish special clinics, and circumstances arise from time to time in which assistance to voluntary organisation for general assistance is necessary."

The country is fortunate that there is so much of voluntary help in Palestine. It is questionable whether with the large growth of the Jewish population, which is proceeding by natural increase, apart altogether from immigration, it will be possible for the Jewish agencies indefinitely to maintain expenditure on its present scale. It will be impossible for the Government ever to under-take medical services to the Jewish population on a scale more liberal than that applied to the rest of the population, but a time will surely come when the services of the Government will be compelled to extend their radius of action, so as to include Jewish settlements as well as Arab villages.

Meanwhile such funds as can be made available will doubtless be applied to the drainage of the malarial swamps which still remain. There is a distinct relation between the economic efficiency of a people and its health. Its vigour is seriously affected by malaria. If the country's agriculture is to be developed, that development will be easier and more efficient if the rural popula-tion can be freed from the scourge of malaria.

* Non-Parliamentary Publication (Colonial No. 40, 1929).

The following is an extract from the report of the Department of Health for 1929, an advance copy of which has been furnishad by the Director. It is interesting apart from considerations of health :—

" The Village and Colony population both Arabs and Jews was clearly in financial difficulty. The Arab, though not starving, is beginning to feel the effects of the normal increase in population, which has been so remarkable a feature in Palestine during the last few years. 'He has no money to spend on his Tillage, and there has been little public health development. The situation in the Jewish Colonies continues to show a certain stagnation, and the sanitary conditions in the Colonies, particularly those in which the old huts have not given place to masonry buildings, have clearly deteriorated on account of the poverty of the colonists. More especially is this marked in the newer colonies in the Haifa Plain and in the Emek . . . . "

In considering the figures for the Jewish population, it should be borne in mind that this section of the population of Palestine enjoys the services of a highly efficient Jewish medical and Health Service in addition to the normal services afforded by the Government. It is served by the Kupath Cholim, a branch of the Jewish Labour Organisation, which maintains dispensaries, a hospital and a convalescent home for the working classes. It is served by the Jewish Hadassah Medical Organisation, which not only maintains five hospitals at various centres staffed by 34 doctors and surgeons, male and female, but also has a very efficient service which takes care of the child from its infancy and follows it through the kindergarten into the school and from the school into the home. The activities of the Organisation are widespread and highly laudable. But some of the credit for the remarkable figures dealing with the health of the Jewish population must be accorded to the children's houses in the Kvutza, the communal colonies, where the care of the child is entrusted to the hands of competent trained nurses. Whatever view may be taken of the principles which govern communal societies such as the Kvutza represent, no two opinions can be held as to the efficiency with which the children are treated in these colonies. In inspecting them one could not but be struck with the obvious vigour and health of the rising generation.

The Health Department of the Government is staffed by a Director, a Deputy-Director, an Assistant Director, six Senior Medical Officers, a specialist surgeon, a Government analyst, 40 junior Medical Officers. There are Government Hospitals at Jerusalem and Haifa, and Municipal Hospitals, assisted and administered by the Government, at Nablus, Gaza, Beersheba and Acre.

In all, including the hospitals administered by the Hadassah and the Government, there are 38 hospitals in Palestine. Of these, five are special hospitals—(two mental hospitals, 117 beds; one tuberculous diseases hospital, 53 beds; one ophthalmic hospital, 45 beds; one leper hospital, 60 beds)—and the remaining 33, with 1,692 beds, are available for the general needs of the population. This gives one bed for 559 persons.

It is noticeable that the main concentration of medical assistance of all kinds is in the towns. Private medical practice does not extend to the Arab villages. These are chiefly dependent on the services of the Government Medical Officers. The Jewish settlements are, however, well provided for in this respect, and that population, probably more than in any other country, has ample medical assistance at its door.

Among the complaints made by Arabs one had reference to the enormous influx of Jewish doctors into the country, an influx which "was stated to have deprived a number of Arab qualified practitioners of their practices. The population of Jaffa is about 33,000; of Tel-Aviv, the Jewish suburb of Jaffa, which is now a separate Municipal area, 40,000. In 1922 there were registered 25 medical practitioners in Jaffa and 24 in Tel-Aviv. In 1929 the respective numbers were 32 and 147. That is to say, that for 73,000 people there are 179 medical practitioners, or one to every 408 inhabitants. It is clear that the number of new practitioners cannot but have affected the practice of the existing Arab doctors, the more so as it is very rare for a Jewish family to call in an Arab doctor. On the other hand, it is said that the Arabs have no aversion to the employment of Jewish medical men.

For the whole of Palestine there are 631 registered medical practitioners; of these there are 147 in Tel-Aviv, 140 in Jerusalem and 75 in Haifa.

Categories of land.—Agricultural land in Palestine falls into "one of five main categories, namely :—

(1) Mulk.
(2) Miri.
(3) Waqf.
(4) Metruke.
(5) Mewat.

1. Mulk.

Mulk represents English freehold. The absolute ownership rests in the private individual, who can dispose of it as he likes, except for a restriction on disposition by will. The amount of agricultural land held as Mulk is small and for the purposes of this enquiry is negligible.

2. Miri.

Agricultural property is commonly held by Miri title. Miri is property over which the right of occupation or of tenure can be enjoyed by a private person, provided that such right has been granted by the State. The absolute ownership remains vested in the Government, but the grant is in perpetuity, subject to certain conditions. Of these, the chief is continuous cultivation. If the land remains unproductive for three consecutive years it may revert to the State. In that case it may be redeemed by the possessor on payment of the unimproved capital value. If not so redeemed it is sold at auction to the highest bidder (Land Code, Article 68). It is not thought that the area of Mahlul* land is material. Freedom of disposition is allowed in the case of Miri land, with the exception that land of this character may not be bequeathed by will or constituted as Waqf.

3. Waqf.

The following is abstracted from a note furnished by Mr. Justice E. C. Tute:—

" . . . . Both mulk and miri lands gave rise to dedications known as Wakfs. A wakf is a transfer of ownership to the Deity for a purpose which is, or may become, charitable or religious. Some Wakfs were charitable or religious foundations from the start. The majority however were, and are, made as a means of securing the use of the land to the founder and his heirs along a line of inheritance laid down in the Wakfiah or instrument of dedication. In these Wakfs the charitable or religious object does not materialise till the founder's line becomes extinct.

" Wakfs are broadly classified into Sahih, or true Wakfs, and Ghairsahih, or imperfect.- The former arise from the dedication of mulk property; the latter from the dedication of miri. As miri property is owned by the State, dedication can only be made by its head. It took the form of setting aside some benefit attaching to the land, generally the tithe, for the use of the object of the dedication. The mulk owner had of course the power to dedicate as and when he pleased, and he still retains that power . . . . "

The area of agricultural land dedicated as "true Waqf" is comparatively insignificant. In the whole of Palestine it is not claimed to extend to 100,000 dunams, and, in fact, the extent is probably much smaller. The revenue from over one hundred villages, in addition to shares in many others, had prior to the occupation been dedicated by or on the Sultan's authority. These fall under the category Waqf Ghair-Sahih (imperfect) and the result is that a sum in the neighbourhood of £30,000, representing the Tithe in respect of these village lands, though collected by the Government, is diverted from the Treasury to the Waqf administration of the Supreme Moslem Council. The land itself in all cases remains Miri and is subject to all Miri dispositions.

* i.e., Miri land which has reverted to the Government.

4. Metruke.

Land left for roads, or assigned as the common land of ths village, as, for instance, for pasture, is known as Metruke. Such land cannot be sold by an individual nor is any disposition possible.

5. Mewat.

Mewat has a certain importance in that its area, which is not yet determined, may be considerable. It is the waste land (which has not been left or assigned to the inhabitants or held by Kushan) at such a distance from the village site, that the voice of a man shouting there cannot be heard. This has been interpreted by judicial decision as one and a half miles. The land is vested in the Government. Cultivation with permission entitles to the issue of a title-deed (Kushan) free of charge. Cultivation without permission under the old Mohammedan law entailed payment of the unimproved value. Now, under the provisions of the Mewat Land Ordinance of 1921, any person breaking up Mewat land with-out permission is treated as a trespasser.
The area of Mewat will only be finally determined when the settlement operations now in progress are completed.

A common feature of the proprietary right in agricultural land is the existence of the system known as Mesha'a. In villages where this system prevails, the whole of the property held in the village is held in common. Each shareholder owns a fractional share in the village, but has no separate parcel of land allotted to him in proprietary right. The village as a whole belongs to the body of the proprietors as a whole. The individual's share is usually ex-pressed in terms of various measures; a sharer may own a fedan (an area so large that a pair of cattle can plough it in one day), or a karat, that is l/24th of the whole, or a fraction of the whole, called a sehem. But none of these represent defined plots or parcels of the village; they represent an undivided share of the total.
In the Mesha'a villages there is usually a permanent distribution among the Hamulahs—the tribal divisions of the village. Within these large areas individual shares are as a rule divided every two years, with the result that no development is at all possible. No cultivator will proceed to manure or improve his holding, which he knows will pass to some other cultivator in the course of the next two years.
This Mesha'a system is a constant cause of complaint among the fellahin. Its partition.—Partition can be made in one of two ways, either by agreement among the parties and acceptance of that agreement by the Courts, or by the Courts themselves. In the former case

there has to be unanimous agreement of all the shareholders. In the latter case the Courts act on the petition of the individual shareholder, but the cost to him is exceedingly heavy, for several reasons. In the first place, it has never been the custom to register changes of title upon transfer of property or succession. Most of the titles now held by proprietors are not actually in their name. Very frequently they are in the name of a father, or a grand-father, or other relation who is long dead. Before partition can be effected it is necessary that the title should be clear.

Expense of partition.—Apart from the difficulty in establishing the title, the registration of the amended title costs 3 per cent, of the value of the property by way of registration fees. Again, before the Courts will proceed to a partition they demand a map prepared by a qualified surveyor. This map has to be furnished by the applicant for the partition. In addition, there are the Court fees for the partition, which are themselves not negligible. In sum, the applicant for partition by action of the Courts is put to very serious expense as a preliminary, and is quite uncertain how long the proceedings may last and what the ultimate result will be.

Unofficial partition.—There are a large number of villages in which de facto partition has been carried out, although no official sanction has yet been given. In the majority of cases these parti-tions are unsatisfactory from the agricultural point of view. As in all Oriental countries there is in Palestine a universal desire that each shareholder should have a share, however small, of each dis-tinctive class of land. The result is that the plots of individuals are scattered here and there throughout the village, and are fre-quently either of ridiculous shape or too small for effective exploita-tion. Cases are known of fields being so divided that a share is 2,000 metres long and 4i metres broad. There are cases of this kind even where partition has been made by Government officers, as, for instance, in the Beisan area. This is exceedingly unfortunate.

Partition by agreement.—It is desirable that partitions should be made by agreement, in which case the procedure is simple and inexpensive, and the cost of the Courts is avoided. As a pre-liminary a survey of the area to be partitioned is necessary. In sanctioning these partitions it is essential that the influence of the sanctioning officer should be used to correct the tendency to diffuse and uneconomic partition. It is said that this is difficult. One case has been cited in which the fellahin were persuaded to redistribute the land so as to amalgamate the holdings, thus con-stituting economic blocks. It was a long and tedious process, and the officer concerned was of opinion that it had taken three times as long as an ordinary partition case. The matter is of such extreme importance that it is well worth while to spend a large amount of trouble to ensure satisfactory partitions.

Its extent and effect.—A return of the year 1923 showed that of the villages in Palestine at that time 56 per cent, were Mesha'a and 44 per cent. Mafruz (i.e., divided). A return of the present year shows 46 per cent. Mesha'a and 54 per cent. Mafruz. This is an indication of the number of cases in which private partition has been carried out. The majority of these partitions are not final. They will doubtless become so by prescription, after a lapse of a considerable interval of time. This is not a satisfactory position.
Mesha'a is described by the Committee on the Economic Con-dition of Agriculturists as " perhaps the greatest obstacle to agricultural progress in Palestine." They record that the system misses alike the advantages of individualism and of co-operation; while it remains, they say, it is useless to expect that land will be weeded or fertilised, that trees will be planted, or, in a word, that any development will take place. These opinions are held generally by the Area Officers and District Officers of the Palestine Government and by the fellahin concerned.
Government action in regard to partition.—In the year 1923, a Commission was appointed by the Government to consider the whole question of Mesha'a. It made certain radical proposals, in-cluding the recommendation that legislation should be introduced empowering the executive authorities to enforce partition. It sug-gested the appointment of local committees to carry out parti-tions, and a reduction of taxation in respect of fees of registration and of survey in partitioned lands. It also suggested that the Werko tax should not be increased on newly partitioned lands until a general assessment of the tax is undertaken.
Nothing appears to have been done as a result of the enquiry and report of this Commission. This is to be regretted, as it is essential that every possible step should be taken to encourage the development of Arab holdings.
Partition under land settlement.—At present there is a settle-ment in progress, but its proceedings are complicated and difficult and many years will pass before they are completed. The Settle-ment Officers have power to deal with these cases. It would be advantageous to put on a special staff of selected officers to deal with Mesha'a and partitions, or to empower the Area and District Officers to deal with these cases on the spot. One of the essential pre-conditions of development is that the land shall be partitioned and that partitions shall be effected on reasonable principles.

Acceleration of partition.—The matter should form the subject of immediate and serious consideration by the Palestine Government. In passing legislation it would be well, if at all feasible, to avoid the nomination of committees. These are notoriously ineffective, both as executive or as quasi-judicial bodies. It would be preferable to grant to Area Officers, and, under their supervision and control, to District Officers, the power to enable them to deal with parti-tion cases. Some right of appeal will be necessary in case of

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parties who feel themselves aggrieved, but resort to the civil courts should be discouraged as far as possible. It is preferable, if feasible, that appeals in partition cases from decisions of Area Officers should lie to the District Commissioner, from District Officers to the Area Officers.

THE LAW GOVERNING AGRICULTURAL TENANCIES.

Landlords.—Though it is known that very large areas are held by resident and non-resident landlords, the total area cultivated by tenants has not yet been ascertained. It will only be known when the survey and settlement at present in progress have been com-pleted, and if the proposals on this subject contained in this report are accepted.

Tenants.—No occupancy right exists in favour of the Arab tenant in Palestine. As a rule he holds his land on a yearly tenancy, terminable by his landlord at will.
Land Transfer Ordinance, 1920.—Several attempts have been made to improve the position of the agricultural tenant in this respect. In September, 1920, soon after the establishment of the Civil Government, the Land Transfer Ordinance, 1920, was issued. The Preamble of that Ordinance recites :

(a) in order to meet the needs of the people it is desirable that transactions having in view the immediate use and cultivation of land be permitted;
(b) it is necessary to take measures to prevent speculative dealings in land and to protect the present occupants;
(c) a Land Settlement Court is shortly to be established, which will adjudicate all titles, and in the meantime no guarantee of title can be given by the Administration;
(d) it is intended to introduce legislation to secure orderly planning of the towns and the erection of buildings, subject to the control of the Administration;
(e) the Administration is taking measures to facilitate the establishment of Credit Banks in Palestine, which shall have power to grant loans on the security on immovable property; pending the consideration of the establishment of such Banks, it is desirable to continue the prohibiton of the sale of land in satisfaction of a mortgage or in execution of a judgment.

Restriction on transfer of land.—The Ordinance then proceeded to provide for the control of all land transactions. To all such transactions the consent of the Administration must be obtained; this consent was given through the District Governor, where he was satisfied that the person about to acquire the property (1) was resident in Palestine, (2) would not obtain property exceeding in value £3,000 or in area 300 dunams, (3) intended himself to culti-vate the land immediately. It was also a condition (4) that the
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transferor, if in possession, or the tenant in occupation of the pro-perty leased, would retain sufficient land in the district or elsewhere for the maintenance of himself and his family.
If an application were rejected by the District Governor, an appeal lay to the High Commissioner, whose decision was final.
The High Commissioner also had the power to consent to the sale of large areas of land, if he were satisfied that the transfer was in the public interest, or he might refer an application for any such disposition to a Commission which existed at that time, and whose duty it was to report upon closer settlement of the land.

Complaints against restrictions.—From the beginning there was general protest on the part of the Arabs against these restrictions on the sale of the land. They alleged that they were designed to impoverish the Arab population and to compel the sale of their land to the Jews at an inadequate price. These complaints were formulated before the Commission of Enquiry which reported on the riots of 1921. That Commission wrote as follows :—

" The Arabs have regarded with suspicion measures taken by the Government with the best intentions. The transfer of Land Ordinance, 1920, which requires that the consent of the Government must be obtained to all dispositions of immovable property, and forbids transfer to other than residents in Palestine, they regard as having been introduced to keep down the price of land and to throw land which is in the market into the hands of the Jews at a low price . . . . "*

Transfer of Land Ordinance, 1920-21.—The Ordinance was amended, and was replaced by the Transfer of Land Ordinance, 1920-21. The Director of Lands was constituted as the authority to grant permission for dispositions of land, and he was bound to grant that consent if satisfied that the transferor had a title, " provided that, in the case of agricultural land which is leased, he sha