יומנים > יומן - מלא 16/07/1935

{P001} {0078-53} מא.וו. למ.מ. (10 בערב, 16.7.35) Your telegram of 15th July. In my telegram of 2lst June I said that I would comm- unicate to leaders the main features of proposals approved by Cabinet. I therefore propose during my informal d1scussions to deal with the following subjects. A. Composition of C. I have explained in my telegram of today the need for my knowing your wishes as to nominated members. B. Method of ELections I shall explain that voting will be on the basis not of Pal. citizenship but of legal residence over a specified period, and that elections will be communal and not common. I shall add that these decisions are unalterable, but that I should welcome leaders' advice on questions whether elections whould be direct or indirect and whether women whould be allowed to vote. {0078-54} C. Powers of H.C . I shall briefly mention powers reserved to H.C. an set out in para 3 (c) in your predecessor's Secret despatch of 6th December. Also I shall include mention of H.C.'s power of dissolving Council and couple this up with statement in penultimate para of my letter to you of 6th July. 2. It was not my intention to deal with the subject of parity during my conversations as early this year I informed leaders of both sides that the Jewish claim to parity had been rejected by H.M.G. Moreover in l933 and l934 I informed leaders that the principle of parity (i.e. equality of representation for the two races irrespective of numbers) could not be . considered and added that the S. of S. supported me in rejecting this principle when urged by the Jews in connection with the establishment of Advisory Boards and committees, For the last three years I have consis- tently answered every argument in favour of parity by saying that I considered that the principle could not be entertained and I have consistently stated without reserve to Jews and Arabs alike that in this matter I had the full support of your predecessor. {0078-55} I fear therefore that any suggestion or statement now to the effect that parity is the ultimate objective would be so inconsistent with statements that I have made during the past three years as to be regarded by the Arabs as a breach of a clear understanding, since at no time did I give any hint that the principle, although rejected now, might later be accepted. 3. This morning I read to Mr. Shertok the four points mentioned in para 6 of my telegram and asked him if he had any comments to make. He said none on (a) (b) and (d) exept to renew his thanks as to our making no official statement before Congress. . But as regards (c) he said it was important for him at once to say that the Agency made no claims as to parity. I replied this astonished me greatly for I had thought both Arlosoroff and Ben-Gurion and he himself had most strongly and repeatedly urged this claim, and I asked him to express exactly the attitude of the Agency to the principle of parity. 4. This he did in the following words: There is no formal proposal on the part of Jewish Agency on the principle of parity and there is not {0078-56} full accord among all on their attitude towards this principle of parity. Individual representatives have suggested tentatively to the H.C. that Goverment should adopt the principle of parity in the hope that if they could report to their constituents that parity were accepted by Government, there was a hope that constituents might accept a L.C., but this was a hope and not by any means a certainty. 5. I said that Arlosoroff as well as Ben-Gurion and Shertok had urged the rightness of the principle of parity, not only in connection with the L.C. and had pressed for it's acceptance. Shertok replied I must not look on this as a claim to parity by the Agency . among whom there is not full accord on this subject. 6. I said if there is no claim to the principle of parity I feared I had indadvertently misrepresented the true facts both to C-L and to the present S. of S., and I felt it would be my duty at once to inform the S. of S. that I had made this misrepresentation (using this word). 7. Shertok said he would be much obliged if I would {0078-57} do so, an I read out para 4 of this telegram so that there should be no mistake as to what had been said. ביחס לפריטי יש כאן איזו אי-הבנה. איני יודע מצד מי. ברורשבאי כוח ההנהלה דרשו פריטי - זוהי היתה הדרישה המתמדת של ארלוזורוב במשך שנתים ביחס לתכנית הפיתוח וביחס למינוי ועדות קבועות. כמדומני שיש גם החלטה של קונגרס או של ועדה פוליטית ביחס לפריטי בענין הפיתוח, מה שצריך היה להבהיר לנציב - שלא באה הצעה של מועצה מחוקקת פריטטית מצד ההנהלה, כי אין שום הצעה חיובית ביחס למועצה, כי אנו שוללים המועצה ביסודה, אבל בכלל אנו עומדים על פריטי. .