N.Z. NURSES UNDER SUSPICION

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 107, 22 May 1937, Page 5

N.Z. NURSES UNDER SUSPICION

-Pi«m Association.)

"Are You Communists?" Ask Police PROTEST T0 MINISTER

(By Telezraub-

AUCKLAND, Last Night. A last-minute exhaustive police interrogation of the three New Zealand uurses, Sister Shadbolt, Nurse Sharples and Nurse Dodds, who are to join the ambulance service of the loyalist troops in Spain, was carried out shortly before they left Auckland by the Awatea on Wednesday evening. Officdals of the Auckland Medieal Aid Committee for Spain complained tonight that the questions pnt to t,he nurses were definitely of a political character. It was etated that during the farewell demonstrations at the Otahuhu railway workshops on the day before the nurses ' departure, Sister Shadbolt reeeived a message that the police required their passports. Accompauied by the chairman of the committee, Mr T. Stanley, they proceeded to the police station where an officer, after reading a communication from the Internal Affairs Department, submitted them to a searching inquiry, although dt was contended, the departmental letter was a clear request for an assurance that persons leaving for Spain were travelling there under th» auspices of certain specified. organisations. These included the Spanish Medieal Aid Committee. The nurses were informed that the passports issued to them only a few days previously would not allow them to leavo New Zealand without further inquiry and endorsement being made. The nurses refused to comply with the demand for their passports. An official of the committee explained that they were then told they would have to be submitted to interrogation and two hours were oceupied while they made leugthy statements Alleging that the questions , were of a political character, the official said they included such demands as: — - Are you a Communistf *Po you attend political meetings? Do you support the Communisfc party? How long have you known Mr Stanley? Do you belong to any organisation? Are your people Communists f Do you know* that another Communist spoke at the Town Hall meetingl Do you know who the other Town Hall speakers were? In addition, each nurse waa asked what she knew of the others. The passports were finally endorsed, but, Mr Stanley forwarded telegrams to the Hon. W. E. Parry, Minister of Internal Affairs, and to Dr. McMillan, chairman of the committee in New Zealand, stating that the police were subjecting the nurses to a lengthy cross-examina-tion which was clearly of a political character and requesting him to intervene to prevmit intimidation and obvious obstruetion taetics and to stop the statements from going to Scotland Yard. Mr Parry replied that he had referred the message to the Minister in charge Of the Police Department, the Hon., P. Fraser, who is also actiipg-Prime Minister. Interviewed by telephone, Mr Fraser said the first intimation he reeeived" of the interrogation was contained an the telegram he reeeived from Mr Parry, who forwarded the message he had reeeived from Auckland. As he was touring in Hawke's Bay, Mr^ Parry obviously had no means of familiarising himself with the faets and wished Mr Fraser to do so aa soon as possible. Immediately, I asked for a report on the matter and until it is reeeived, I am not in a position to comment, " Mr Fraser added. 4 ♦