REGISTER OF ALIENS

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20052, 26 September 1939, Page 4

REGISTER OF ALIENS

POSITION IN GISBORNE LISTS NEARLY COMPLETE CHINESE IN MAJORITY The work of registering aliens at the Gisborne police station has been almost completed, practically all the persons required by the regulations to fulfil their obligations having done so. Very few applications are being received now at the Gisborne watch-house, the bulk of the aliens having assisted the police in their work by registering promptly.

About 170 registration certificates have been issued and large numbers of naturalisation papers have been presented -and inspected at the station.

Chinese predominate in the registations, 50 per cent of the applications made being from aliens of this nationality in the district. The large number of Chinese living in town is augmented by others living or working at the numerous market gardens in the suburbs and outlying districts.

Registrations! include Chinese, Danes, Norwegians, Swedes, Finns, Swiss, Americans, Russians, Germans, Lithuanians, Austrians and Bohemians.

Among those who have reported are refugees who have been compelled by the prevailing conditions and the state of affairs leading up to the present crisis to leave Germany.

Americans have reported in large numbers, the oil-drilling activities at Totangi accounting to a large extent for the presence of so many citizens of the United States in the district. No applications ,by Japanese have been received, the only Japanese residents in the district having been naturalised some time ago. Members of the Nordic races, always regarded as good law-abiding citizens, were not slow in making their registration applications, a large number having become naturalised. Several naturalisation papers dated back to the Great War, while some are of more recent issue.