THE POLES OF INGLEWOOD.

Taranaki Daily News, 10 April 1916, Page 6

THE POLES OF INGLEWOOD.

| CLASSED A,S "ENEMY ALIENS." A STRONG PROTEST. Recently the Polish residents in the neighborhood of lnglewood received notice from the authorities to report themselves at the lnglewood police station weekly and not to go beyond a radius of twenty miles without ilrst obtaining a police permit. On Saturday, three representatives' of the Polish colony waited upon Messrs IT. Okey and W. T. Jennings, M.P.'s, in the absence of the member for the district (Mr. -I. B. Hine), who is in camp at Trentham, and laid before them their case. Tho deputation consisted of Messrs J. Stachurski and Vincent Dravitzski, of Ratapiko, and Joo Mischefski, of Durham road. They represented that although not naturalised British subjects", being Poles by birth, they had no sympathy whatever with the Germans lin the present war. Indeed, their fathers left Poland/because -of the tyranny of the Germans. Most of them arrived in Taranaki almost forty years ago, and had been loyal subects ever since. They pointed out that they were under the impression until the war broke out that they were naturalised ' British subjects on account of their being here for over twenty-five years.

The members of the deputation were only infants in arms on their arrival. Mr. J. Stachurski, for instance, was but 2Ms years, and lias taken, since he reached manhood, an active interest in the public affairs of the district, being a director of the Moa Dairy Company and a member of the school committee. He married a Now Zealand-born woman and lias nine children, ."nil loyal New, Zcalanders," as he put it.

Mr. Vincent Dravitzski has ten children and has been a farmer in the Ratapiko district for many years, Mr. Joe Mischefski has been on the Durham road for 20 years and has 14 children living, being a member of the school committee for 10 years. Mr. Jennings s aid he bad known these men for many years, and testified to their loyalty and industry. They had done great work in the lnglewood district, and proved worthy settlers in every sense of the term. These men were of opinion that 25 years' residence entitled them to be naturalised British subjects, otherwise they would have taken steps before to take out their naturalisation papers. He would have pleasure in submitting their eases to the Minister and endeavor to get the stigma upon their loyalty removed. Mr. Stachurski said that the Poles knew only too well the methods of the Germans. They had cruelly treated tl-eir fathers in Poland for many, many years. It was only now that outsiders could appreciate the dreadful cruelty that; inspired the Germans' actions in. regard to subject people. For a Pole under British rule to wish them well or to sympathise with them in any degree was unthinkable; he could not he right in his head if he did. The Poles of the lnglewood district felt humiliated at being classed "alien enemy subjects," and they earnestly desired the imputation removed as speedily as possible. The local members of Parliament arc bringing the matter under (he attention of the Minister for Internal Affairs, with a strong recommendation to remove the restriction upon the liberty of the Polish settlers.