asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he has sent instructions to the High Commissioner for Palestine to the effect that law and order are to be maintained and terrorism stamped out; and what representations have been received from the High Commissioner as to the measures which he considers necessary for this purpose.

The High Commissioner is well aware of the policy of His Majesty's Government, which is that every effort should be made to maintain law and order in Palestine and to suppress lawlessness and terrorism. He has indicated that his existing instructions give him all necessary latitude.

Is it not a fact that the High Commissioner has recently intimated that if the Armed Forces were allowed to exert their full power against the whole Jewish community, terrorism could be eradicated in a very short time indeed? In view of that fact, why is such authority not given to the High Commissioner? Indeed, why are not orders given to him to use the full power of the Army?

There has been no withholding of the necessary authority to the High Commissioner in respect of the representations he has made. Indeed, he has always taken the view most strongly that suppression of terrorism is not a matter of military operations so much as a matter of police work.