British Mandate: A Survey of Palestine: Volume I - Page 176

CHAPTER VII.

thereof (quoted in paragraph 26 above) was replaced by the following:-

"5A. The High Commissioner may, in his unfettered discretion, by Order in the Gazette, exercise all or any of the following powers, that is to say, he may -

(a) prescribe the maximum aggregate number of immigration certificates to be granted in any specified period under the rules in Schedule I of the principal Ordinance;

(b) prescribe categories of immigrants and fix by category the maximum numbers of immigration certificates to be granted in any specified period under the rules in Schedule I of the principal Ordinance."

(2) This section shall be deemed to have come into force upon the 31st day of March, 1939. 11

The general effect of this provision was that it enabled the immigration authority to decline to admit persons in any of the categories who might, without that provision, claim to be admitted as having the necessary qualifications prescribed by the law.

28. In May, 1939, His Majesty's Government presented the White Paper (Command Paper No. 6019) in which their policy towards Palestine was formulated. The effective provisions of that policy, in so far as it affected immigration, were contained, as follows, in paragraph 14 :-

(1) Jewish immigration during the next five years will be at a rate which, if economic absorptive capacity permits, will bring the Jewish population up to approximately one• third of the total population of the country. Taking into account the expected natural increase of the Arab and Jewish populations, and the number of illegal Jewish immigrants now in the country, this would allow of the admission, as from the beginning of April this year, of some 75.000 immigrants over the next five years. These immigrants would, subject to the criterion of economic absorptive capacity, be admitted as follows:-

(a) For each of the next five years a quota of 10.000 Jewish immigrant will be allowed, on the understanding that shortage in any one year may be added to the quotas for subsequent years, within the five years' period, if economic absorptive capacity permits.

(b) In addition. as a contribution towards the solution of the Jewish refugee problem, 25,000 refugees will be admitted as soon as the High Commissioner is satisfied that adequate provision for their maintenance is ensured, special consideration being given to refugee children and dependants.

(2) The existing machinery for ascertaining economic absorptive capacity will be retained, and the High Commissioner will have the ultimate responsibility for deciding the

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