The Times. PUBLISHED ON TUESDAY AND FRIDAY AFTERNOONS. TUESDAY, JUNE 26, 1917 THE ENEMY WITHIN OUR GATES.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 6, Issue 287, 26 June 1917, Page 2

The Times. PUBLISHED ON TUESDAY AND FRIDAY AFTERNOONS.

TUESDAY, JUNE 26, 1917 THE ENEMY WITHIN OUR GATES.

"We nothing extenuate, nor set rlown auaht in malire."

THE war has now been going on for very nearly three years and during that time the Government of New Zealand has successfully evaded any attempt at a proper settlement of the question as to what we arc going to do wit h the numerous (lermans and sons of German parents we have amongst us. There are at last signs thai the impatience uf (he e Hint ry al the dilly-dally-ing delay upon I his subject is reaching a head, and we shall Ik considerably surprised if during the approaching session of Parliament (Cabinet is not forced to take definite and effective steps for dealing with what has const ii mi cd not only a grave scandal but a serious menace. That a National (lovcrnmcnl has bc( n able to shelve this matter time and again may prove us to be a tame and spiritless people, but on the other hand it hardly presents to us the spirit of loyally

and patriotism we should like to see in tne Government of one of the Dominions of the British Empire. Rightly or wrongly the public is possessed of the idea that this inaction is due to some person or persons in high places being either of German blood, or of that unfortunately warped disposition, not unknown among politicians, which causes them to be suspected of having an undue tenderness of feeling towards our enemies. That the people have grounds for their uneasy belief that the enemies within our gates are treated with a quite unnecessary tenderness is shown by the fate of the "Naturalised Subjects Franchise Bill" last session. Tf the National Cabinet had a full and proper sense of its responsibility as guiding the destinies of a selfgoverning portion of the Empire, why did it kill that measure when it had reached final stage of its passage. The Bill provided tkat naturalised subjects of enemy origin should be incapable °f sitting in Parliament, on local bodies, of acting as Magistrates,coroners or jurymen, or of voting at any election. These provisions were copied from an Australian measure which became law nearly a year and a half ago, and if it was necessary to take these steps in the Commonwealth it was certainly no less necessary here. In fact, in our opinion, Parliament should go a great deal further and enact that not only naturalised enemies should be under the disabilities enumerated in the Bill but that all persons with one or both parents German, whether born upon British soil or no, should come under the same disqualifications. We hope the Bill will be brought down again this year and passed in the teeth of the Government if necessary, with the amendments we have indicated. Most of our readers are aware that only a few months before the war began Germany passed what is known as the Dilbmck law enabling Germans naturalised in other countries to retain their German nationality. We have no use for men who claim the privileges of British and German citizenship at the same time, and if the National Government is too spineless to intern them the least it can do is to prevent them holding any office or exercising any privilege giving them possibility of power to injure our own people. It is mere nonsense to talk of the German who came here twenty years ago as if he and his off-spring changed the evil characteristics of their race by living among decent people. He is still as much a Hun as ever —as clearly of the race who murdered Captain Fry and maimed and starved their prisoners of war as before. Can the cunning, the ferocity, the ruthlessness of the wolf be trained out of it by kennelling it with the sheep dog ?

With regard to the small percentage of our enemy population we have in internment, is there any conceivable reason for their being kept in idleness, and at the same time fed on a dietary scale far exceeding that given to the Home-service garrisons that are guarding them. To see Herr Potstansand out shopping with a private soldier of our own race acting as his flunkey and following him with his arms full of parcels would produce a riot were we not as before said a tame and spiritless people. While there are roads and railways to be made is there any reason why these men should not at least be made to earn enough to repay what they cost us ? England and Canada have shown us precedent enough.

The unfortunate thing is thai it is an open secret that our National Cabinet is upon lliis, as upon nearly every really important question, hopelessly divided. The only remedy is for Parliament to ruthlessly discriminate between the sheep and the goats, and to till the places of the latter with men of discrimination and action. Undue tenderness of feeling for a politician is as much out of place during wartime as undue tenderness lor our enemies. To keep in office Ministers who are incapable of, or are adverse to, treating our enemy aliens in the only proper manner is gravely at variance with wise public policy, and if insisted upon can only result in the downfall of the whole Cabinet.