Political report of the Executive of the Jewish Agency submitted to the ... Zionist Congress and the ... session of the Council of the Jewish Agency · 1937-08-01 · 8.1937 · p. Seite 57

57 this difficulty had been overcome and Arab porters, realising that the railway system was functioning, returned to work, the Jews were gradually dismissed. The Political Department continued pressing for the enrolment of additional Jewish personnel. In the end, while admitting the necessity, on grounds of general policy, of raising the ratio of Jewish railway employees, the Government pleaded its inability, in the present financial circumstances, to incur the expenditure involved in the enrolment of this additional staff and declared that the solution of the problem would have to be deferred until after the publication of the Royal Commission's Report and the announcement of the new policy of His Majesty's Government. THE ROYAL COMMISSION 76. On May 18, 1936, the Colonial Secretary informed the House of Commons that it had been "decided, after order is restored, to advise His Majesty to appoint a Royal Commission which, without bringing into question the terms of the Mandate, will investigate causes of unrest and alleged grievances either of Arabs or of Jews." The Executive of the Jewish Agency on various occasions expressed serious doubt as to the need for a renewed inquiry into the question of mandatory policy, more especially as to its institution in response to Arab riots. After the appointment of the Commission at the end of July the Executive decided to cooperate fully in the inquiry and immediately took in hand the preparation of the Jewish case. 77. The Political Department in Jerusalem, in conjunction with the Economic Research Institute of the Jewish Agency, engaged the services of a body of experts to prepare memoranda and aide-memoirs on the various aspects of Jewish activity in Palestine and on all such other matters as were likely to be raised in the course of the investigations of the Royal Commission. Before the Royal Commission left for Palestine, it received from the Jewish Agency in London a set of printed documents relating to Zionist policy in past years, to serve as a background for the Jewish Agency's case. The drawing up of the main memorandum to be submitted to the Royal Commission on behalf of the Jewish Agency and the general organisation of the evidence was entrusted to Mr. Leonard J. Stein, Honorary Counsel to the Jewish Agency in London, who spent in