Leakage of Shipping Information

Manawatu Times, Volume 66, Issue 4, 6 January 1941, Page 5

Leakage of Shipping Information

Enemy Agents More Active in New Zealand BIG ROUND-UP OP SUSPECTS IN AUSTRALIA United Press Association—By Electrlo Telegraph—Copyrigli t. Received Monday, 12.20 a.m. SYDNEY, Jan. 5. Shipping men here are advocating more stringent official measures to prevent leakage of information aoout shipping movements. Then contention is that among the crews ox neutral ships calling at Sydney ana other large ports fire ardent Nazi sympathisers who can be expected to listen ior scraps of information liacly to be useful to the enemy.

They point out that the activity oi enemy agents seems more general and effective in New Zealand than in Australia and also urge that there snould be restrictions on private messages from 'New'Zealand to Australia. shipping men in Melbourne suggest that tne names should be removed from British snips and for the remainder of the war tney should be known only by numbers. The Polish Consul-General in Sydney (M. DenosKowski) has come into conflict with Hon. W. M. Hughes who is Attorney-General as well as Minister of the Navy, as a result of his disclosure to sections of the press that he knew of several recentlyarrived Poles working in the defence industries in the Commonwealth who should be dismissed instantly. Mr. Hughes said it was a most extraordinary thing for a ConsulGeneral to make such a statement to the press and not to the responsible Minister. He added: “If he gives us the names of these disloyal Poles we snail attend to them.”

Mr. Hughes announced to-day that the Commonwealth had emoaritea upon the biggest round-up of spies and fifth columnists in an effort to stop the leakage of shipping information.