TRADING WITH THE ENEMY

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2799, 17 June 1916, Page 14

TRADING WITH THE ENEMY

BEFERENCES IN THE BUDGET.

The following references to trading with the eii'einy are made in the T'inan-' cial'Statement placed before the House of Representatives last evening:— "To assist the British Government in preventing supplies reaching tho enemy many restrictive regulations under Oi-ders-in-Council have been issued during the past year. No goods may be exported to Switzerland, the Netherlands, Denmark, . Norway, or Sweden without special application to the Minister of Customs, Hides, leather, wool, tallow, and fatty substances yielding glycerine can be exported to Britain or British Dominions only. To more effectively prevent trade by enemy firms through neutral countries regulations have been issued providing that any company, or. firm shall be regarded as an enenjy company or firm which hud, prior to the war, its chief place of businfess in enemy territory, and it is further provided that, where the Attorney-General is satisfied that any business is carried on either in or out of New Zealand for tho benefit of ■enemies,, such business may be declared to be an enemy business, and any. such business existing, in' Ne- Zealand at the ■present time must be. placed in the hands of the Public Trustees as Custodian of Enemy Property. There has been reason to believe that small quan-' tities of goods made in Germany havo ■through neutral countries in spite of the precaution which has been taken to .obtain the certificate of the British Con fiular.officers at neutral- ports of exportation. Numerous instances of goods marked. "Made ,in Germany" have been brought-to the notice of the Department of Customs, but full investigation has. frequently shown that such goods either Came out of the enemy steamers which were interned in .neutral ports upon the outbreak of the war, or that they had been held in stock in shops and wholesale warehouses long before hostilities commenced. It is consequently unsafe to assume that all goods marked "Made 111 Germany" have been unlawfully imported. Nothing, however, lias or will ba. left undone , to., stop the importation, of allenemy.'-goods." ..