TREATMENT OF ALIENS

Hutt News, Volume 13, Issue 24, 22 November 1939, Page 7

TREATMENT OF ALIENS

When countries are at war the treatment of aliens presents' difficulties. It is not now considered to be a sufficient test of undesirability that a person was born in 'i ci untry with which the British Con - monwealth is at war. It is well known that Germany herself has created within her borders an alien probem which involves Germanborn men and women. Her leaders have set up p. mythical and unsubstantial test of blood and race, with the result that many who were regarded as loyal and good citizens in the pre-Hitler have since been persecuted because of. their inability to meet the test. Some of the&e have been confined in internment camps and have been punished by confiscation of their rights. A number of such have become domiciled in various parts of the British Commonwealth, and very naturally they are as bitterly opposed to the Nazi regime as are the most loyal citizens of the Commonwealth itself. To intern people simply because they have had the misfortune to be born in Germany at a time when they could not v pass the ridiculous Aryan teqt or because they have refused to become good Nazis, would

not only be cruel but senseless. The internment of aliens is an expedient to protect the nation against possible conveyance of information which would be valuable to the enemy, but even the bitterest hater of the Nazi rulers would find it hard to imagine persecuted Germans, Austrians or Czechs involving themselves in risk to help their persecutors. The whole matter is one in which justice and commonsense must be exercised in dealing with individual cases. The alien enemy within our borders cannot expect to retain his liberty whilst his country is at war with us, but the alien friend who is ready to help this nation because within its borders he has found freedom should at least be treated with sympathetic fairness. The "London Times" of recent date dealt with this question. It was; estimated that at least 35,000 enemy aliens in Great Britain were refugees driven out by the Nazis and anxious to co-operate In the fight'against Nazism. It was pointed out that it would not be safe to assume that all persons calling themselves refugees were genuine opponents of the Nazi regime and therefore it had been deemed unnecessary to set up local tribunals

to examine individual cases and report in each case what should be done. "The Times" then went on to say: "The authorities are not being incautious. Even Czecho-Slovaks, who will not be ranked in general as enemy aliens and are being allowed to raise a legion in this country, will be reviewed by a special tribunal. The ordinary tribunals can recommend anything, ranging from internment on the one hand to employment in national defence on the other hand. They will be able to check the characters of most of the persons concerned by referring to the voluntary organisations which have been dealing with refugees. In other cases, notably those of persons who have long been resident in this country or of domestic servants who "have not obeyed the recent calls of the Nazi Government to repatriate themselves, other sources of information will be available. In 1914 the policy adopted was one of general internment, which not only risked the Infliction of gross injustices, but also very naturally created an often feverishly suspicious pubic opinion. The reason why it has proved possible to adopt an equally effective but very different policy to-day is that

in 1914 no organisation for the coniiol of aliens existed before the outbreak of war. Nobily -eally knew how many enemy aliens there were, or what they were doing. But now the entry of aliens and their activities have been controlled for a cumber of years. • During the past three years many thousands oi refuses have been admitted. The -» is therefore no case whatever for a policy of general internment which would result not in the elimination of potential enemies but in the t loss of the services of many potential friends. It follows that there i : , no cause for anlr outbreak, either now or later, of that spy-fever which caused a good many discreditable scenes and incidents in 1914. The conclusion of "The Times" is that while it is right that the public should be ceaselessly on their guard, there is no need whatever that they should constitute themselves "uofflcial blood hounds." The job of detecting and of suppressing the real enemy alien has been done officially and effectively, and the chance of any dangerous person slipping through the net is very small indeed. Therefore aliens who are free have incontestaby proved their righc to be so.