IMPRISONMENT FOR DEBT.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 1615, 26 September 1916, Page 4

IMPRISONMENT FOR DEBT.

RULES APPLIED TO SOLDIERS.

War Regulations gazetted some weeks ago place certain restrictions on the arrest of soldiers for debt. A memorandum in General Orders draws attention to these regulations, and explains that the effect of them is ’‘That no soldier of the Expeditionary Force can he taken out of His Majesty’s service by arrest without the consent of a ‘military authority (a) under the L)e.stitute Persons Act, (b) under the Imprisonment for Debt Abolition Act. Soldiers are not exempted from arrest by the police for crime, but only from arrest under (he (wo statutes above-named, which substantially are for maintenance of dependants and for debt respectively. It must be noted that the exemption does not go further than these two cases, and that (here is nothing to prevent summonses for debt being served upon soldiers, or any ordinary process of the Civil Courts being taken against them. For instance, a soldier owes a civilian a sum of money; the civilian can sue him for the sum of money,, and can get judgment against him, and he can exercise all his remedies under (he judgment except to arrest the man’s person under the Imprisonment for Debt Abolition Aef.”

The “military authority” referred to in the War Regulations is such an officer as may he appointed for that purpose by the Minister. Those actually appointed are the G.0.C., the C.G.S., and all O.C. districts.