IRKSOME REGULATIONS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18496, 5 September 1923, Page 11

IRKSOME REGULATIONS.

PASSENGERS FROM OVERSEAS

COPIOUS DECLARATIONS.

PROTESTS AGAINST DELAYS.

.There have been repeated. protests by a persons arriving in New Zealand against j the delays in landing occasioned by the requirements of the immigration authori- £ ties. There has also been comment on the number of officer? who are sent off to j ships arriving in Auckland Harbour, the ( suggestion being that if all British sub-1 * jecks were allowed to land without being j called upon to sign oaths of obedience } and to make copious declarations, the -n- c mainder of the passengers 'could ho dealt £ with bv one or two"officers, and consider- ( able expense thus saved. ( It is pointed out however, that while ( the statutory requirements exist, the time • of passengers is saved by the employment of an adequate and well-trained staff in j tlie work of pxami'iinjj the passenjirs, , while the ship is in the stream, and that 1 no very great' additional expense is in- ' curred, as the Customs officers detailed for . ( these duties are required for the inspection ( of passengers' luggage as soon as the vessel berths. .The experience at Auckland has been that almost, invariably the i™'' gration requirements have been fulfilled between the granting of pratique by the port medical officer and the actual arrival of . the vessel at the wharf side, so that the delay to passengers, where it has occurred on rare occasions, has been very slight. Subjects Of His Majesty. It would seem from the experience o" those whose duty it is to board incoming passenger fliips thai the passengers who express annoyance do so because they are required to give an account of therr.selvoii before, being allowed to land, and it is significant that the loudest protests como from Americans, whose own United States Government puts very real difficulty in the path of the new arrival. It is well realised, however, that while persons wishing to enter the United States are subjected to the closest scrutiny, particularly if they happen to be travelling in any class below first saloon, the actual citizen returning to his own country after a temporary absence experiences little or no annoyance in this way. _ The way is made smooth for hiin, and in consequence he knows little of the trials _ of tho "alien" passenger seeking admission, although he learns enough of the methods employed with' immigrants ■ desiring to make the United States their future home. With this situation in mind, residents of the Dominion, returning from a trip abroad, have .expressed surprise at the difficulty in getting back . into their own countrv, and have suggested that, all subjects of His Majesty who cannot seriously be objected to or burred under the immigration restriction taws, should bo allowed to land at New Zealand ports without hindrance or cross-examination, leaving it to. the Customs officials administering the immigration laws tc- determine the fitness of the remainder for admission. It is hero that the greatest difficulty arises— the problem of determining who eha'il land unmolested, and who shall be subjected to examination. Kecent Amendments to the Law. •

Amendments to certain of the laws • relating to persona landing in the Dominion, passed during the recent session of Parliament, should go a long way toward reducing the . friction that too undoubtedly existed. The peculiar conditions created by the war rendered an oath of allegiance necessary, but under the .'recent amendment to the Immigration Restriction Act British' subjects, recognised as such in-New-Zealand, may now enter without taking the oath, of allegiance. To be called upon to lake this oath was ciU ways regarded by loyal people as totally unnecessary, as it did not make the loyal subiecfc any the n.ore faithful, and was no barrier "to the disloyal person seeking admission to the country. \ By a farther amendment to the same Act, no person of 35 years or over is now allowed to land' in New Zealand from any place beyond the seas unless and until he has mado a declaration to a Customs officer. Thi3 declaration, by which the exact standing of each arrival, whether a permanent resident or newcomer, is to bo determined; has been drafted and Gazetted. The mutter on the form differs in some respects from the question* previously submitted to passengers. Questions as to Conjugal Conditions.

Formerly the question as to the con- 1 jugal condition of passengers applied to all persons landing at or passing through New Zealand ports, but this has been amended so as not to apply to permanent residents returning after, a temporary ab-j sence. The question will, however, bo asked of non-perman»nt residents, who declare that they intend to become : ; permanently resident. '. •; It is related thai when this question was Jirst generally applied, an American wa9 asked: whether he was single, married, widowed, or. divorced, his disconcerting reply, was Got you there; I'm judicially separated." In many places on the • forms questions are supplemented by explanatory" sentences in brackets, and that this is necessary is proved by some of the . answers supplied by passengers. In one case, when aiiked her conjugal condition, a young l<idy replied. good," and another filled in the line w'iSi the singlo word " normal." , Yet anothor fair visitor supplied the information that she was " single, s|ill going strong." The declaration form has been shortened in some respects/ and newcomers are not nojv to be asked the name of their father or their mother's maiden name. A personal description on such points as height, weight,, build, and the colour of hair and eyes was formerly required of aliens, and was long the subject of criticism, but this has been withdrawn. This concession should do much to minimise the protests. - ■

Under the provisions of the British Nationality and Status of Aliens Act, recently passed by the New Zealand Parliament, a person naturalised in other British Dominions need not necessarily be regarded in New Zealand as a British subject. In view cf this, it is interesting to note that an oath of obedience to the law of New Zealand is required of all persons arriving here who are riot recognised in this country as subjects of His Majesty. . Elimination of "Many Questions. While the general effect of these amendments will be to facilitate the examination of passengers,' r.he.' position will not be improved so much by the actual time saved as by the elimination of a number of questions which were regarded by visitors as exasperating and unnecessary. The practice of supplying the pursers of Pacific : ftiail boats and intercolonial liners with the necessary declaration forms for distribution among passengers before t lie vessel reaches New Zealand ports has ' the effect of saving much time, ,and when this system is fol'owed. ; and the passengers are urged to have the forms filled in and ready for their signatures, (he work of the port examining slaff is; greatly facilitated. Even so. many passengers complain that on arrival here ' they are compelled to line up for the inspection by the port health officer, and are allowed to disperse, _ only to be culled together again to satisfy the immigration requirements. The suggestion .has been made that the medical inspection and the immigration examination could be. carried out simultaneously while the passengers are marshalled in- a particular part of the. ship, but that would necessitate the Customs staff hoarding the vessel before the granting :of pratique. Surh a practice Would be . obviously unsound, a<v in the event, of a vessel. be'ng sent quarantine, the . Cu?toT-3 officers .wou'd require :to .be detained, and the work cf the port would suffer.' .