A LONG-AWAITED PRECAUTIONARY STEP

Dominion, Volume 33, Issue 239, 4 July 1940, Page 8

A LONG-AWAITED PRECAUTIONARY STEP

General public relief will have been caused by yesterdays announcement that a tribunal to examine the bona fides of aliens in this country is shortly to be set up. This necessary precautionary step has long been called for. As was emphasized by a speaker in the House of Representatives on Tuesday night, the knowledge that action is being taken will reduce the uneasiness which is apparent.m the community/ At the same time it is to be hoped that in selecting the personnel of the tribunal, and providing it with powers and an order ot reference, the Attorney-General will make due allowance for the difficulties of the task. If its work is to be effective the tribunal will require to have authority which is not only full and impartial but aiso discretionary. No risks should be taken at the expense of New Zealand interests. . . ~ One point which should be recognized in preparing the tnbunal s order of reference is that the dangerous elements which may be present in the community will not necessarily be discovered among those people who are classified as “enemy aliens.” It is of the utmost importance that the investigations of the tribunal should cover all aliens, together with any naturalized persons whose bona fides are open, to the slightest reasonable doubt. If, as was suggested by the Prune Minister’s statement on the matter, the tribunal were to concern itsel simply with refugees and others who admit either German or Italian nationality, many doubtful cases may go unchecked. In this country today there are a comparatively large number of strangers who claim to be nationals of European States which are either neutral or allied with the British Empire. Others are here, as refugees from territories occupied by the enemy. An Enemy Alien ■Tribunal” such as named by Mr. Fraser would appear by its title to have no authority to deal with such people, yet among them may be cunning Fifth Columnists and saboteurs. Indeed, it is reasonable to argue that an alien who is confessedly an enemy alien may be less a subject for doubt than one who lays claim to some moie or less obscure European origin, but who may possess Nazi leanings, if not enemy affiliations. . . , . There may, for example, be cases in which married couples living in New Zealand as aliens claim the nationality of some neutral Lmo pean State. This claim may be legitimate in the case of. the husband, but only technically correct in the case of the wife, who in reality may be a German Nazi whose nationality as shown on her passport is simply one of adoption by marriage. Apart from such cases as these, there is the strong possibility that certain refugee and other aliens may not be what they claim to be. It is as difficult to distinguish between certain European nationals as it would be to separate New Zealandeis from a mixed group of average New Zealanders and Australians. Again, enemy Nazism is not necessarily a matter of nationality. .It may be—and often is—a matter of prior environment or purely political leaning. Finally, there is the ever-present possibility that passports and papers accepted as genuine by the authorities of this countiy may have been forged or transferred. . The only way in which the net of investigation may.be cast over all doubtful persons is by placing the affairs of all aliens, as veil as certain naturalized persons, under the scrutiny of the tiibunal. What is more,- the tribunal should be given fullest access to police and other reports on the activities and general demeanour of these persons since their arrival. In some instances useful information may be in the possession of private citizens, and. for this reason opportunity should be provided for the taking and sifting oi -evidence fiom members of the public, d here is a case to be made for giving tic investigations at least a measure of publicity in order that such evidence may be forthcoming. If in any particular case or cases treachery is susjiected, no hesitation should be shown in placing the persons concerned under complete restraint, regardless of their status in the community, this should apply equally to suspected tr.aitors born, or brought, up in this country. If on the other hand treachery or traitorous activities should be proved as a' result of tribunal investigation, punishment should be made rigorously severe. So far, the penalties meted out for what are euphemistically described as “subversive activities” have borne no adequate relationship to the present war emergency. In this, respect we should take note of the long terms of imprisonment being imposed in Britain. There the Fifth Column has come to be recognized as an enemy weapon of the most menacing character. It is equally a potential menace to this Dominion.