The Dominion. MONDAY, JULY 15. 1918. THE ALIEN PERIL

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 254, 15 July 1918, Page 4

The Dominion. MONDAY, JULY 15. 1918. THE ALIEN PERIL

The alien danger is a matter which concerns New Zealand and other parts of the Empire as well as the Mother Cour/cry, and the statements made \jy Sin George Cave on this very important subject, as recorded, in, our cable columns to-day, shouija receive the most careful attention of our Government and military authorities. The secret machinations of the enemy have fronj time to time been manifested in. this part of'the world. Though we are far away from the actual battlefronl-s, . the Germans have more- than once got within striking distance of us, and we may bo quite sure that they would bo quick to make full use of any opportunity of inflicting injury on us and ours. It is impossible to doubt that the enemy has his emissaries within our gates who are ever alert, and ever watching for a chance to do us harm. Our shipping is, perhaps, our most vulnerable point. The safety of our ships is s'o vital both to ourselves and to Britain that we may be sure that the enemy will resort to cunning and deceit in every form for the purpose of harassing our overseas trade. We cannot afford to be off our guard for a moment. The foe will strike in the most unexpected way and from the most unexpected quarter. It would be folly to wait until the blow comes. Those whose duty it is to guard against the alien danger should be constantly on the watch in order to prevent the possibility of disaster. The unavoidable risks of war aro so many and great that it would _be inadnessto court disaster by taking any avoidable risk. It is the business of the responsible authorities to be continually engaged in perfecting our defence against tho hand that would stab us in the back. They might well overhaul their precautionary measures in the light of tho facts disclosed in the latest debate in the House of Commons on tha treatment of aliens.

It is not only the enemy alien that has to bo watched. -German gold may procure the services of aliens of other nationalities for espionage purposes. Every unscrupulous device of fraud and trickery is being used in order to take us unawares. Sin George Cave tells us that except in the early weeks of the war spies have rot been found among enemy subjects', but among other aliens. This interesting revelation should receive the careful attention of the New Zealand Government. It cortainly cannot safely be ignored. _ Strong protests have been raised in England regarding the ineffectiveness of the measures taken by the Government to grapple with the alien problem, and it is satisfactory to know that more drastic steps are now to be taken. Mr. Lloyd George has, given his assurances that the new measures will be carried out vigorously and rigorously. • The necessity for strong action is" shown by his statement that there is never a British set-back after which he does not get numerous letters from Germans in Britain crowing over the incident. This proves conclusively how necessary it is to keep enemy aliens under the strictest supervision. Half-measures arc worse than useless. The men who would thus gloat over our misfortunes would, if they got the chance, plot and plan and scheme to injure us in every possible way. Wc cannot, as Mr. Lloyd George says, degrade ourselves, by attempting to compete with tho Germans in inhumanity; but we must not commit the folly of over-trustfulness and thereby endanger our own country. The action of the British Government in submitting to Parliament Llie British Nationality and Status of Aliens Bill will meet with general approval throughout the Empire. This is a matter which concerns the self-governing Dominions, and they have a right to be consulted regarding the provisions of the Bill. Indeed, we have tho express assuranceof Sin Geohge Cave that India and all the Dominions except Australia 1 have signified thoir approval, and

I Australia has not indicated any dissent. This question of tiic naturalisation of aliens has licen discussed at length by the Imperial (Jonferoncc. It is admitted on all hands that tho existing position requires drastic amendment, and that there should be unity of action in this rn.atter_ in .nil parts of the Empire. The Bill docs not deal comprehensively with the whole question, but Sir George Cave expressed the hope that the idea of a more thorough revision of nationality legislation has not been abandoned. The British Empire must find effective means of protecting itself against Germany's sinister methods of "peaceful penetration." \\ r a now know by bitter experience the nature of the German canker, and we must take steps to eradicate it from our commercial life. Speaking recently at an informal meeting of the Koyal Colonim Institute, Mu. Joynson-Hicks, M.P.. urged that Britain should .join with the overseas Dominions "in stem, strong measures to ensure that tha British Empire should bo for tha genuine sons of the Empire for which they were fighting, and that never again should the German nation be allowed to cat into our commercial life as it had before and during the war." Mr. JoyssosHicks also remarked that to-day there are 6000 Germans in Britain unnaturalised, and not interned, who continue to carry on nusinw, holding the fort for German commerce after the war. Such facts as these prove convincingly that tho measures now being adopted by the British Government to deal with the alien peril arc urgently needed. It is gratifying to know that something is being done to cope with this very veal and far-reaching danger. This is both a war problem and a peace problem, and the future of the Empire largely depends upon its solution. Wo will have to erect effective safeguards against the enemy's unscrupulous trade campaign as well as against his insatiable desire for world dominion.