THE ENEMY ALIEN QUESTION.

Gisborne Times, Volume XLIX, Issue 4930, 25 July 1918, Page 5

THE ENEMY ALIEN QUESTION.

VISIT OF THE WOLF

TRUTH ABOUT THE SEARCH LIGHT AND THE AIRSHIP.

An unreliable correspondent at Berlin lias forwarded what is purported to be a verbatim' report of a telephone conversation alleged to have been heard in the r.oom of the Chief of - the Secret Servtice at the Foreign Office, Berlin. We give it for what it is worth:— Von Deutschland, Chief of the Intelligence Department, walked up and down his room at the German Foreign Office with quick, nervous strides, evidently much perturbed. The cause of his mental strife was clutched tightly in his right hand, lb was a memorandum from the Min- | ister in charge of his department, asking whether the resolution passed at Gisborne, New Zealand,rregard ng enemy aliens, would have th& effect of unduly interfering with the communication between the German agents at Wellington and the Foreign Office. Stepping rapidly over to a departmental telephone, he rant thy officer in charge of the Australasian section. ‘‘That you. McTavish?” lie asked. ‘‘Give me the password." The reply was evidently to his satisfaction, for die resumed : “With reference to the enemy alien resolution passed at a meeting at a place called Gisborne—do you happen to know the village, by the wav?" "What! Not a village? I see That makes the ‘matter more serious Future capital, you say? Gotfc iv

{hinunel! That is worse. I have a \ memorandum here from the Minisi ter asking what effect the resolution I will have on our communications, i What report has our Wellington , agent submitted? Eh! What? I will repeat it back to you. because it jis rather important, and I want to make sure it is right. Yes, go on. Our Wellington agent states that his man at the meeting in question reports as follows: “The meeting was largely attended, and general feeling. as will be seort by enclosed newspaper cutting., was ‘that all enemy I aliens should be interned.” ~ “What about naturalised 1 subjects? These are not affected? Oh. j see! That makes a vast difference. Of course, none of our men in New Zealand have been so foolish as not to have obeyed instructions given early in 1914 in Secret Order No. 284/2/21, and have refrained from apjdyiug for naturalisation ? h “they have? How many?” “Two! 'I suppose you Issued instructions to Wellington to have nothing to do with them? Oh. I see. One is on—what island did you say? —Somes.

I Does tin- resolution dea) with our unen jvho have become naturalised? j “No! -I hat relieves my mind a great, deal. It- might hav e made it ■ rather awkward for us if if. did. j hose who have disobeyed the orders I °f “'e All Highest deserve to be interned. By the way, how are the Minternees generally? Rea 11 v ! What! ! And orderlies to wait on them? Dil:rere nr from our method, eh? Britisners here wait on our orderlies. By the way. there was another little matter I (wanted to ask you about. I understand from reading one of your reports that there has been some talk in New Zealand about a -searchlight having been used by one of our airmen from the Wolff, r.as that man been punished? What’s ITe didn’t use a searchlight, n bar was all the stir about, then? Oli is that it? So that whilst over Iris borne lie took out a pocket electric torch in order to see where the ur.rhor was situated. I see Well, you have reallv made me. feel quite comfortable. I was verv uneasy .be- j tore 1 got your explanation. Bv tlio "•ay. you might ask your Auckland J man. to make his reports more accurate in future. Good-bye.”