THE COLONIST. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 1919. BRITAIN'S ALIEN POLICY.

Colonist, Volume LXI, Issue 15000, 22 February 1919, Page 4

THE COLONIST. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 1919. BRITAIN'S ALIEN POLICY.

The evident determination of the British Government to place very drastic- restrictions upon the freedom of German and other undesirable aliens to enter the United Kingdom—an example which the Dominions will noc be slow to emulate—will be one of the most' •severe blows to the enemy's peace plans. Not only are aliens within'the proscribed categories to be denied admission in future, but those already in England—and there are thousands of them—are to be deported. This process has already begun, and the declaration of Mr. Short, Home Secretary, that he already possesses ample powers, which he will use to the full extent to prevent contemplated incursions, is reassuring. The Empire has had a bitter lesson of the folly of furnishing a ready asylum for aliens of all nationalities and of every degree of undesirablcness. The lax policy of the past enabled Germany to flood England with spies for military and commercial purposes, and the fruits of their activities have cost the Empire dear. A not less sinister menace iv the future will be Bolshevism and the agents of disruption by means of whom Germany will endeavour, and is indeed now endeavouring, to cause dissension among the Allies. We have liad many warnings that this underground work is going on in a ll Allied countries, and that it has not been altogether unproductive of results is clear. In an outspoken article in December Mr. Price Bell, an American correspondent, described the campaign to break up the unity of the Allies, which has "happily failed to achieve its purpose1. "''All tlie underground mechanism of Hun propaganda is running," he said.; "Hun agents, some conscious, many unconscious, are playing the Hun game. Not a few of these are in London now. Quite a company of them will be in Paris and Versailles uuring the Peace Conference. Their chief trump cards are tAvo—first, allegations against Britain ; second, representations of American policy touching the sea calculated to make Britons believe that America is their enemy. Prussians of the old regime rejoice in the relaxation of vigilance among the Allies and the United States. They view "with ecstasy the cessation of organised effort to maintain the unity of the Allied American front. . . . These persons are convinced that if the Allies and America could be embroiled in a serious quarrel, there would be splendid promise of a military revival in Germany." There is little fear that German schemes will bring about any such contretemps, but the danger is by no means confined to the term of the Peace Conference. The Empire and the Allies must be on their guard against propaganda that will he continued long after peace has been concluded, and which will aim at undermining our commerce by every means that can suggest themselves to crafty and fertile brains, The strong anti-alien policy promised by the Imperial Government is the only means by which the menace can be effectively curbed.