UNDESIRABLES.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLIII, Issue 225, 29 December 1920, Page 6

UNDESIRABLES.

ME& FOR IN, AUB?RXUA.- ■ i it" ~ — ■ 'Under the Alit%s Restriction 'Act, t|io War . Precaution* Repeal Aet,.and (h'ofended ' Lnbiigratibn ML tho Fodoral Government n'ai become pressed of all sorts of, poirbtv;for" keeping; nndeiimblrcr out of '(says |,ho Melbourne 'Aft o )- "• But although* those measure! give tnjVGovernment" enoughi ntitlioidty to block;almost; anyone from ■entering! the CotnmoiiwealtJi, if the authorities so. desire, thero is A danger that'tlie ma-. ' cliinery which lias been ;ect up to protect the community from undesirables may actually

Jpfonft'tbo very end* which it Miti-.out to »ei've. i Tho !pu«spprt: for instance, is im\ in itself a," Hbllicieni. check- on tlje record* of ponton* .of /doubtful . charuoter. it is ejuite conceivable "that-a country that wants'to get. rid-! of ."certain undesirable i'i{iy.t,'iw would iioi he«itato to issue such persons -.fith passports with the object of •Kissing them on* to some other country. Preainnably any person with u passport in correct order douJaiid ,in Australia, tiotwuhJ standing all our <Gruples'machinery created for tli(- pin pose.of: keeping undesirables out. 05. course,;.slujuld'the, authorities have- any suspicion', that an 'iirimigruul who hri* come lo Ai(stralia i.-i.not nil that ho pretend* to bo, they,can fijgirire stub .u, person to.-take tin oath of loyalty 10 lite King and Cqnstitii-, tion, I'-Ir the man bp an Anarchist, a Bolshevist, or ; any'other type- bf "ist" anxious to get into'the country to stir up: strife, he is not likely to baiilk nt such an easy qrimouis swearing irfalso'jriath. There' is "a Saying that oath* * were made, to be broken. Certain itis iliat„iflhi) CommonvVwiitli is merely, relyin;. ou tho swearing of an 'opth of loyalty and the. formal prothir-' tion Of a passport to protect the country. frqni:ithe. influx" of undesirables Australia, mhJ quipkly come to, be regarded as the* dumping ground for (be off-scourings of eyory!other, cotlintry in tho world. ; Only theothor day an American visitor expressed surprise at the number of undesirables from America, who. had ■ found; their way to Sidney,.'..He, said,ho had seen dozens of them in Tho Domain, «nd thoy woro ithe type" of American agitator tbqt; the U.S.A. Gbvc'rhinenC. was deporting :at tho rate of oyer a hundred a day. Thoy were men who/did noUvant to work them- 1 sejves- and fwho fastened themselves like leeches on ;tho] intkitrUJir comnnliiit.y,, preaching insidious dcwtrbjfetmd nth-ring up strife for .'ihoVsako of iff pig as champions iof the! worl|ors When*j§l*ev were actually iwtjhihg:,tbut iloafers and, drones living 'kh tho workers ;thoy bamboozled. Thi Minister fop Homo and'Texritoxie* fivft&§. remarked- that' those, men- must *haye 'gaincd, t admission to Australia before 'the passport system "was ..introduced. Surely he did nof put this forward as,a reasonable excuse^'for- the. presence of these undesirables in Australia? The Commoi/other countries, Jake uctibri' u> cleatise the community of the j>arastU's ; ib»t batten on tho working clussej. The. pass-sort restrictions miist-bc made more effective, and.precautions taken to ensure that mei of criminal rccords.from America and clsowhero x , wore excluded. This could" bo dono by requiriiifj passports to befvisetl.bv the police authorities,of the country of 'departure. All that would be necessary would be un intimation that tlie liiari was of good • character. "Such, a "provision would probably not be necessary- in the Case of British immigrants selected.by the Australian authorities in,. Groat Britain. ■Unless tho 'Federal Government takes action in the direction indicated themimor eu» Jaws that have beeu, r nlaccd on the Statute Book to 'keep undesirables out of Australia will prove of little'use. .