ENEMY ALIENS.

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 250, 16 July 1919, Page 6

ENEMY ALIENS.

—. a THEIR POSITION AT LAW. By Telegraph—Prose Association. Auckland, July 15. An interesting judgment concerning tlia rights of enemy aliens to sua and ho sued was given in the .Magistrate's Court by 31 v. J. AY. I'oynton, S.M., tliih morning. The ease was that in which the British Petroleum Development Co., Ltd., proceeded against Henry Uanisch and Beatrice lianisch for allotment moneys on shares in the company. The defendant Kanisch, the judgment stated, was born in Bohemia, his parents being Austrian subjects, and lie was naturalised in New Zealand. His wife is of British parentage. They app'.iea separately for shares in a registered company, and paid deposits—.£62 10s. on his part for 500 shares', and >£12 10s. on his wife's part for 100 shares. This was on January 21, 1918. Defendants j were now being sued for 7s. 6d. per sliavs on tho allotment moneys. The defence set up wa's that the. defendant Eanisch, being an alien enemy, could not hold shares in any company in New Zealand, and his wit'e, who was also an alien enemy by virtue of her marriage with hiiii, was in the same position. Defendants further counter-claimed for the amounts paid by them as deposits on tiic shares. His Worship held that although, for many years naturalised in New ZeaJaud, the defendant was deemed to be an alien enemy by the emergency war _ legislation, ami as such he,was forbidden to hold shares on stock in a company in New Zealand. This also applied to Ins wife, so that neither could bo made ' to pay the money claimed. The Magistrate also found that the money already paid by the defendants on account of the shares was recoverable by the defendants. Judgment was, therefore, given for defendants on both claims, and also ou the counter-claim, with costs ou the full amount. Security for appeal was fixed at ,620. ' . ,