To the Editor of the Norts-Catna Darty News.""
S1n,—In the leader headed 'The: Mandate for Palestine' which appeared in your issue of last -Monday, the writer commented very sympathetically on the present outlook of Zionists and on their long cherished hope to return one dey to Palestine. But when he says that "the Jews in Palestine who are in & minority desire ta be the rooling race' or that "the prospect that all the inhabitants of Palestine should heve equal political rights haa already evoked vehement protests among the Zionists,"" I feel he did not state the case correctly.
The Balfour Declaration, which was issued about two years ago, stated explicitly that the rights all the inhabitants of Palestine must be respected, and no Zionist ever considered that provision unjust, or-complained of it. What the Zionists asked all along sad what the Powers seemed to concede was that the possibilities be given to the Jews to develop Palestine, with the ultimate object of making it in due course a Jewish commonwealth, or as Dr. Weitzman ex-rossed himeelf at the Peace conference, that Palestine might become as Jewish as England is English. That condition was éseential to encourage the millions of Jews to settle in Palestine and spend their strength and treasure in rehabilitating a country which at present is little better than a desert.
Now it appears that. the Freach pushed the frontiers of Ayria so far to the south as to include jin southern Syria the Hauran and the eastern part of Gelilee, thus de priving Palestine not only of its historical boundaries but aleo of ite territorial waters and power supply without which the country {is incapable of development,—while the terms of the mandate the words "Jewish commonwealth" have been altogether eliminated, and the conditions are so restricted as to make the future of this grand enterprise to depend entirely on the sympathies of the British government and on the goodwill of the High Commissioner in Palestine.
As long as Mr. Lloyd George is Prime Minister, and Mr. Balfour and Lord R. Cecil are in influence. and Sir H. Sarauel is Governor in Palestine, all may be well. But suppose Lord Sydenham or men like him come into power and Sir Herbert Samuel is recalled and repaced by another who.is hostile to the Balfour Deoleration, what will the Palestine venture be worth then? One can hardly wonder if many Zionists view the present situation with. misgiving.
T em ete, The] shanghai, Feb. 16.
W. Hrasee.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.