ALLEGED GERMAN SPIES.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 1579, 20 July 1916, Page 3

ALLEGED GERMAN SPIES.

It will ho remembered that two months ago two foreigners were arrested in Levin on the suspicion that they were German spies, and that after being interrogated in Palmerston, they were removed to Wellington, it was officially stated, for internment. One of the allegations was that the men had been behaving suspiciously in the vicinity of the Rangioru camp. It now transpires that one of the men was a Russian deserter from a ship, and he has been sentenced to imprisonment for theft. The man, who gives the name of J. Schack, came before Mr E. C. Cutten, S.M., at Auckland on Monday on a charge of having deserted from the ship Kia. Ora in December, and on two charges of theft. According to the evidence lie was a man of some education, and his own story was that he was in Germany when the war broke out, and was for three months a prisoner of war, but was eventually released, and made bis way to London, where his brother-in-law kept a small garage and cycle shop, he said. The first thing known of him in New Zealand was (hat he had shipped on the Kia Ora as a trimmer, and had deserted in December. Some time later he and his companion, who were posing as Russian journalists, were arrested at Levin. They wore interned, lint Scliack was aide to establish his Russian nationality, and was set free after two months’ internment. About a fortnight ago he was arrested on the present charges. Evidence relating to the theft charge was to the effect that accused worked for a time at, G. Henning’s garage, prior to his internment, and when enquiries were made concerning his nationality and movements, it was found that among some goods lie had left with a person in Auckland were a number of motor and cycle accessories, valued at about £3 10s, some of which coincided in description with things which had disappeared from Henning’s slock. Schack declared that he had brought the things from London with him, but after a considerable amount of evidence had been taken, his Worship decided to convict, and accused was sentenced to three months’ hard labour.

It transpired during the bearing of the case that the prisoner had left a wife and two children in London in poor circumstances.