867n.6363/23
The Chargé in Great Britain (Wheeler) to the Secretary of
State
London, December 30,
1921.
[Received January 12, 1922.]
No. 824
Sir: Referring to the Embassy’s telegram No.
978, of December 15, 4 p.m.,50 and its despatch No. 724, of December 1, regarding
the desire of the Standard Oil Company to continue geological
examinations in certain areas of Palestine, I have the honor to transmit
herewith copies (in triplicate) of a further note received from the
Foreign Office upon this subject, dated December 28, 1921. This Note, as
will be noted in paragraph four, was sent without waiting
[Page 104]
for the results of the further
enquiries addressed to the Palestine Government, reference to which is
made in the telegram above mentioned.
I have [etc.]
[Enclosure]
The British Secretary of State for Foreign
Affairs (Curzon) to the American
Ambassador (Harvey)
[London,] December 28,
1921.
No. E 13986/264/88
Your Excellency: With reference to my note
of the 12th December,51 relative to the desire of the Standard Oil
Company to resume their geological examination of certain areas in
Palestine, I have the honour to inform Your Excellency that I have
consulted further with the department of His Majesty’s Government
immediately concerned with the administration of Palestine, and I
now desire to explain that it is far from the wishes of the
Palestine Government to accompany the permission which has been
granted to the Standard Oil Company with unacceptable conditions.
The misapprehension which appears to have arisen on this point may,
however, be due to the fact that the nature of the conditions
mentioned in my note of the 26th October last52 was not expressed in
sufficiently clear and unambiguous terms, and I would, therefore,
offer the following additional observations on the subject.
- 2.
- The Government of Palestine is not at present in a financial
position to create a Geological Survey Department competent,
within a reasonable period of time, to carry out a thorough
survey of the country, and all the information which at present
exists in various books and publications is of a very
fragmentary and unsatisfactory nature. The Palestine Government
therefore proposes to lay down in a Mining Law for Palestine,
which will be passed as soon as the mandate for Palestine is
issued, as a condition, precedent to the grant of any mineral
concession, that applicants for such concessions should bind
themselves to present to the Government for its confidential
information, a full and complete report of the geological
results of their investigations. It is proposed to appoint a
Geological Adviser to the Government of Palestine, who will
assemble and put in order the information already existing, and
collate with it all reports sent in by persons operating mineral
concessions. In the present case, the
[Page 105]
Standard Oil Company has been simply asked
to collaborate and to give its co-operation in this scheme,
which is to be of general application, and in view of the
explanations given, I permit myself to hope that the request of
the Palestine Government will not be considered unreasonable and
that the Company will be prepared to furnish a report of the
nature desired,
- 3.
- With regard to the second condition, i.e. that the Company
will comply with any instructions which may be given by the
Palestine Government, the instructions contemplated by the
Palestine Government are prompted, not by a desire to hamper the
Company’s activities, but solely by considerations of public
safety. In the present state of political feeling in Palestine,
circumstances might conceivably arise in which the Palestine
Government would find itself compelled to restrict the movements
of the Company’s representatives in areas where their personal
safety could not be guaranteed without prejudicing the general
scheme for the public security of the country. It is hoped,
however, that no such circumstances will arise, but it would not
be possible to deprive the local authorities of the means of
dealing with a contingency which cannot be regarded as an
impossible one. There is, however, no doubt that the Palestine
Government will do its utmost to impose no unreasonable
restrictions on the movements of the Company’s
representatives.
- 4.
- In conclusion, I wish to observe that His Majesty’s
Government, with the object of avoiding all possible delay in
this matter, and of showing their desire to meet as far as
possible the wishes of the Company, have given the above
explanations without waiting for the results of the further
enquiries addressed to His Majesty’s High Commissioner in
Palestine on the receipt of your note No. 308 of December 12th
[1st].53 Although His Majesty’s Government are
confident that Sir H. Samuel will concur generally in these
explanations, it is possible that the Government of Palestine
may have something to add of minor importance, from the point of
view of local circumstances.
- 5.
- I shall be glad to learn that in the light of these assurances
the Company will now see its way readily to comply with the
justifiable and by no means onerous conditions which the
Palestine Government has found it necessary to lay down.
I have [etc.]
[For the Secretary of State]
Lancelot Oliphant
