The government is motivated in connection with immigration in Palestine only by the capacity of the country to absorb population, Sir Philip Cunliffe-Lister, Colonial Secretary, said in the House of Commons today.
In reply to a question posed by Capt. W. F. Strickland, Laborite, who insisted on hearing assurance by the British government that the immigration policies in Palestine are based not on political considerations but solely upon the absorbtive capacity of the land, the Colonial Secretary declared he was very glad that the question had been put to him.
Although the question has been asked at least twenty times, Sir Philip said, the government never has been actuated by politics. It is influenced in framing its policies only by the capacity of Palestine to absorb newcomers.
Colonel Josiah Wedgwood, Barnet Janner and C. H. Summersby renewed their questioning with regard to immigration policies in the Holy Land. Colonel Wedgwood advanced the suggestion that the Colonial Secretary allow an increase in Palestine population rather than an increase in Ger-
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