GERMAN PRISONERS

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 272, 6 August 1918, Page 5

GERMAN PRISONERS

COMPULSORY WORK QUESTION. For some timo past then: liavo been statements and suggestions made to the effect that wo in New Zealand were treating our interned German prisoners with too much leniency, and that we, ought to jnako them work. The reply of the Minister of Defence has always been that the Government has no power to compel interned enemy civilians to work, but in order to satisfy himself that New Zealand practice was in. accord with (hat in the 1 United Kingdom he telegraphed recently to the British authorities 011 the matter. The terms of Sir James Allen's cablegram were as follow.— "Will you please cable for the information of my Ministers, firstly, whether interned civilians in tho United Kingdom are compelled to do work at internment camps other than ordinary fatigues, such as cleaning their rooms, and, if so, to what extent and of what nature; and, secondly, whether in the case of ablebodied sailors and labourers the English' practice forbids working them for an hour a day compulsorily for health reasons." The reply, received through the Secretary of State for the Colonies, was;— "No enemy alien civilian interned in ,tlie United Kingdom is compelled to do work of any kind other than fatigue duty connected with the camps, whether for health reasons or otherwise." It has always been admitted by the Ministers that tho Government has power to compel the labour of combatant prisoners of war. We have of theso only the men captured with' Count von Luekner, of the raider See. Adlor, and they are such a small party that it would not be worth while to make them work. In order to do so a guard would havo to bo kept over them, and their work would not be worth the expense of guarding them. As tho telegram of the Secretary of State shows, the interpretation of the usages by the New Zealand Ministers has been tho correct one.