PASSPORT RESTRICTIONS.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LXXIV, Issue LXXIV, 9 March 1918, Page 5

PASSPORT RESTRICTIONS.

WOMEN ALMOST BARRED

(Spbcial to the Star.)

.WELLINGTON, March 8. New Zealand is a very dificult place to get out of at present, not only for men of military age, but for women. The crews of vessels passing through the danger zone are so badly handicapped through, the presence of women if disaster happens, that the Imperial authorities nave - issued strict instructions that no women are to be given passports to cross that zone unless under circumstances of extreme urgency—family or health reasons. The Hon. G. W. Russell, who has the difficult task of administering these drastic passport regulations, informed your correspondent that the impression that it is becoming easier for women to get permission'to travel is just the reverse of what is the. real position. "Every case," he said, "is enquired into, and no application is granted without the presence on the file of an absolute justification for such a course. In some cases permission has been given to women to proceed to the-United States or to Canada, but the passport takes them no further, and it is within the power of these Governments to refuse a passport through the danger zone. "The Canadian Government have now intimated that they will not issue passports to New Zealand women to proceed to the danger zone. They ate holding up their own. women, and" it is not fair to grant permission to others. As an indication of the importance of the precautions, I may mention that the Rotorua left New Zealand at the beginning or last year with 176 passengers, of whom only 38 were men. The rest were women and children. Fortunately, when the ship got to Plymouth, all the passengers were disembarked. The ship was torpedoed after she left for London. So far as men are concerned only those over 60 years of age are allowed to leave, and even in those cases permission may be refused .if they are' engaged in some essential or partially essential occupation. No man bf military age can leave, except of course those who are birds of passage, or here for temporary purposes, unless there are reasons of the gravest urgency, when the case is very carefully investigated."