In the House of Lords on Wednesday Lord Balfour made
his maiden speech in that House, and the debate was followed by a significant defeat of the Government. Lord Islington moved that the acceptance of the Palestine Mandate by the League of Nations should be postponed until the pledges given by the Government to the population of Palestine had been fulfilled. Lord Islington explained that, though pledges had been given to the Zionists, there were also pledges to the enor- mously preponderant Arab population which was now being sacrificed to the Zionists. We have never ourselves been able to understand why Lord Balfour's original announcement should be regarded as nothing but a promise to the Zionists. He said that the Zionists should be established in Palestine so far as was compatible with the rights of the Arabs. It seems to us plain that the Zionists cannot be given a national home without ignoring the wishes of the Arabs. Strictly, indeed, the plan is incapable of fulfilment, as it is self-contradictory.
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