INFORMAL ENTRY

Taranaki Central Press, Volume IV, Issue 423, 3 May 1937, Page 7

INFORMAL ENTRY

OVERSEAS ARRIVALS Little To Deter Judging from appearances in the Wellington Magistrate’s Court during the past few months. New Zealand is fast acquiring an Empire-wide reputation as a country of opportunity to which anv enterprising British subject can obtain admittance without navir o, his fare, states the. Po r t. This comes about as one of the rcsuits of the recent repealing of the nn-'nfvinf on / ot. tmrpthpr with Nev; Zealand’s r«»nid climb back to pros--1 nerjtv. While the Act was in forc«. magistrates had the power to order the return of stowawavs and desert- ‘ p’-s to the. land from which they camp. This had the effect of placing an adl ditiona] burden on the shoulders of j the shinning companies concerned, but it im nosed a check on adventurI ous spirits, and at the same time stonned an undesirable form of imnr- . gration. ! Of the two methods of getting into ■ New Zealand without money, the | more popular seems to be that of de--1 portion. Providing the deserter is a , British subject, all he has to fear if he is apprehended or gives himself lup (as is surprisingly frequent) is a term of probation, a fine with a short sentence, or a term of about 30 days. Increasing Problem.

j The problem of the deserter Is an ' increasing one, especially in HomeI trade vessels. Such concerns as the I New Zealand Shipping Company, the | Federal Company, the Shaw, Sjavill, °nd Albion Company, and the Blue | Star Line have a recognised item to ! contend with in the replacement of i bands who desert in New Zealand. ! Operating fast cargo and passenger I liners between Great Britain and I New Zealand, these companies linn to a close schedule. The absence I of several members of the crew at i sailing-time may delay a ship for a whole day, and a valuable cargo will be. correspondingly late in reaching the Home market. Judging from sight, the tvnes of vouth appearing at Wellington to answer charges of desertion are by no means criminal, except for, a very few instances. They seem to represent a fair cross-section of the young tradesman class. After conviction many of them are never heard of again. Presnmahlv thev settle down to the new Hfe, and make good their entry into I New Zealand by conscientious work. [ Some, unfortunately, come to light | n vain in connection with offences | such as thefts and car conversions. The influx is not entirely from Engj land, however. Occasionally desertI ers come from Australian and Can- | adian ports. From time to time a forj eigner attempts to enter the country, I but then the Customs Department steps in, and an appearance in court | is followed usually by confinement at Mount Crawford, for a maximum period of six months, pending deportation. The men who are coming in by the deserting method are “getting by” with a rather sketchy examination. Providing that they can satisfy the authorities as to their nationality, they are guaranteed the right of remaining in the country. The problem becomes one for the magistrates before whom the offenders appear. Realising that, no matter what was done, the men would eventually become New Zealand citizens, magistrates were loth at first to inflict terms of imprisonment on deserters, considering 'that it was not a good thing for a young man to start life here in prison. Probation and fines were at first imposed, but apparently did not act as a deterrent. Quite a number of the offenders are minors, and the treatment they receive is necessarily mild. The same applies to stowaways, who are also prominent on the Magistrate’s Court charge sheet. Almost invariably they come from Australia, usually by the passenger liners. Sometimes they are youths who have gone to Australia to find work, and who, disillusioned and without money, take the only way that offers to get back to New Zealand. Some are Austialians anxious to try a new country, and some are merely wanderers in

search of new horizons. Many of them are mere youths. What concerns the shipping companies, however, is that they a]] have to be fed and housed from the moment of their discovery, a few hours after sailing, until the ship ties up at Wellington. The company is not put to the expense of taking them back to .Australia, but neither has it much chance of recovering the passage money. And the authorities still have the problem of checking an informal kind of immigration.