ENEMY TRADING.

Taranaki Daily News, 31 January 1916, Page 3

ENEMY TRADING.

WILL NOT BE ALLOWED. GOVERNMENT'S DETERMINATION. (From Our Own Corresppndent.) Wellington, Jan. 28. The Department of Internal Affairs has in hand an investigation regarding r an alleged attempt by German 'traders to do business with New Zealand retailers through a neutral channel. This matter was mentioned in Cliristclmrch a few days ago by Mr. L. M, Jsitt, M.P., who quoted a circular that ho had received from an American firm with German connections. Your correspondent mentioned ..this matter to the Prime Minister to-day. and Mr. Massey made an emphatic declaration of his desire to stamp out anything in the nature of trading with the enemy. "If any person in this country, commercial man or otherwise, knows or even suspects that enemy goods are finding their way into New Zealand, or that New Zealanders are doing business with the enemy in any way, the Government would like to have particulars. I shall be very glad indeed ;o ncoive information from any quarter bearing upon this question/ providing that something tangible in the way of evidence, can be produced. The Government is onposed to trading with the enemy in any ii ni and will do its utmost to put it do'.vn. '"Wc have done a great deil :!"<--ady in the direction of preventing niin? coods coming into this country and cutting of! business relations with the enemy Mi'.r.tries," added Mr. Massey, "but I can quite believe that more requires to be done. The Government is prepared to act directly cause is shown. The powers at our dispose!, under the Acts passed in 1014 and 11.115, are ample to enable lis to deal drastically with enemy trade and enemy goods if they reach this country." The question of the future trade relations between New Zealand' and Germany the Prime Minister was not ready to discuss at the present juncture. He indicated that the Dominion could not act independently of the Mother Conntry, at this stage at any rate, and that he' did not think it would be profitable to speculate regarding trade relations in the period following the war until the terms of peace had been defined. His own wish would be to keep the whole of New Zealand's trade Empire if that could be done, and he trusted that the Germans would never be allowed ;to recover the strong position they had held before the war,