Preface by E. Mills :
The census tables herein constitute the preliminary results of the census of Palestine taken at midnight on the 18th of November 1931, and reveal the distribution of the enumerated population by religion and sex in villages and towns, sub-districts and districts; that is, in all the administrative divisions and .units throughout the country.
These tables are primarily intended to meet the needs of public departments and of commercial houses interested in developing their enterprises in certain localities.
I hope, however, that, on this occasion, they will have a larger utility. The antiquarian and historian may find that the list of place-names is not without interest. For example, the village in the Hebron sub-district comnlonly known as Dura is a congeries of neighbouring localities each of which has a distinctive name; and, while Dura is a remarkable example of neighbourly agglutination, the phenomenon is not infrequent in other villages.
The tables may also have a utility in correcting errors of localisation in the "Transliterated lists of personal and geographical names" which was issued in 1931, where, in some cases, villages have been assigned to certain sub-districts within which, in fact, they do not fall for administrative purposes.
Transliteration of the names of places and of tribal groups has proved to be a most difficult problem. These names have been transliterated, insofar as it was possible, according to the rules prescribed in the official list to which reference has been made. While these rules do not give universal satisfaction, the desirability of having one system of transliteration must be admitted. As these tables were being printed I learned that the system of transliteration adopted since 1931 was to be abandoned, and that another system was to take its place. It will be permitted to me to express the hope that the list of names, given in the tables in this publication, may be a useful basis for the deliberations of those who will be called to provide new and extended lists of names and places founded on a different system of transliteration. The mere fact that many of the names given in the tables appear to be awkward, if not linguistically impossible, may provide the stimulus for settling in the near future a problem perplexing alike to the scholar, to the administrator and to the general public...
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