CORRESPONDENCE. ENEMY SUBJECTS. ST. JOHN AMBULANCE ASSOCIATION.

Taranaki Daily News, 28 July 1915, Page 8

CORRESPONDENCE.

ENEMY SUBJECTS.

ST. JOHN AMBULANCE ASSOCIATION.

(To the Kditor.) Sir, —Tlii' disposal of enemy subjects in tliis dominium is n ([iicstion that should lie scrion-ly underta'ken by the authorities nt tile present- time. Xo person should ibe optimistic enough to sliut hi; eyes trp the seriousness of the position now existing in Europe. and 110 '-.tone should be lei't unturned to achieve victory at the earliest possible! moment. In order to attain this end. there --hoiihl be no loophole of assistance. however »mall, left to the enemy. The freedom of alien nnomy subjects may worn to many to be of little or no importance, 'but ire should like to ask what is t.o prevent, any of these people ifram .sejul'ing valuable information to their headquarters a* to doings 111 our country. It would be an easy matter for them to communicato with nii agent, sai - , in Holland or Sweden, or even in England, and it is safe to say that there are plenty of such agents everywhere, who. once "they pet information, will see that it reaches its destination. Xow, we have much of importance happening here, the knowledge of which would lie va,limbic ,to the em-iny—such <i.s the nuuiiier of mien sent to the front, the nnm'ber on the water e,n route, the muuiber in camp preparing, the dates of departure of transports, the progress of recruiting', lor,at rc.w'ipap'rs' reports oil past devel- | opWnts, and the general situation, be- j side:- a lio: t c.f oil:or hints useful to the enemy, and all or any cf sujli intclllg.nce being a. help to our foea will have a tendency to prolong this awful war. Xow, .although we mn.v not be able to intern a.ll enemy subjects, the writer sees 110 reason irhy the whole of them should not lie kc.pt under lock and key in n literary sense. IVe are about to I borrow .CVO.OOfi.OOO, and a of this could tie set aside for the purpose of providing work for all the enemy subjects in the. dominion. Arrest all of them, dvaift thraii into gangs under a couple or .more aimied guards, and distribute them throughout the country on necessary works such as the infik of roads ('which are badly wa.nt.cd. in any case), the construction of railways, the 'inVprovcmciit of .harbors, and any other .permanent or remunerative works. Pay them for their labor, of course, and have penalties for attempts to escape, or for actually escaping from their .camps, firstly, in the form of forfeiture of wages, si.nd. secondly, by imlprisonrnent for a second atempt. They should not be allowed anv outside communications whatever, and have no newspapers allowed them, nor should they hi? allowed to write to .anyone ont-'de the domimion, and the whole of their oorrespondence within the dominion should be strictly censored.

If this process appears harsh, we must remember that " war war." and we must mot 'be too tender-hearted in adopting means to safeguard ourselves and leave no opening whereby our common enemy nvay gain one grain of advantage.—T am, ietc.,

SETTLER. Te Kiri, July 20.

Sir.—lt is now nearly six months since 'an appeal wa« made through your columns on behalf of the St,. John Ambulance Association for clothing and comforts .for the sick and wounded, a,iul the response was so prompt and generous .that our warehouse was immediately ■replenished with all sorts of gjwmente, household linen and comforts. Since the autumn a vast new army has come into being in England, while other armies haive converged .from'the dominions overseas; our fleets are fighting, not only in -the .northern seas. but also in the Mediterranean as well; our troops arc waging war on African and Asiatic sands, as .well as in the t >cnches of France and 'Flanders. The casualties arc- very heavy, and not only do our own sick and wounded need a ipracticfiHy unlimited supply of everything tor their com,fort, hut we should liave failed in our traditions if we had not sent some succor ifco our Allies in France, Bclijium and Eat,tern Europe. We. are thus faced with increasing demands, while the .supply upon which we have .to shows a marked falling off, so that our shelves are cmptvinp faster than we can keep the.ni filled. Our sick and wounded 'deserve all tlmt_ we can five them: if they haive sacrificed health and limlbs, sight, and senses, let us, at least, see. that fchev have comfortable bedding in which to rest their isulTeriing healing dressings with which to recover thorn of their Wounds, clean and eool clothing for hosnital and convalescence, and some of those obvious comforts, air cushions, invalid foods, long chairs, toilet requisites, stationery -and so forth, with which we hasten to the bedside of the swfc. These are the davß in which no one of us can ever give enough. All contributions will be very thankfully received and acknowledged bv rtlie chairman, St. John Ambulance Warehouse, SO, St. John's Square. Clerkenivell, E.C.—r am, etc., ADELINE M. BEDFORD. SG, iSt. John's Square, London, E.G.