LOYALTY QUESTIONED.

Taranaki Daily News, 22 May 1916, Page 4

LOYALTY QUESTIONED.

DEFENCE MINISTER IN' REPLY. ' (From Our Own Correspondent.) , ' Wellington, May 19. . In the House of Representatives thlt afternoon, Mr. J. Payne (Grey Lynn), put a question to tlic Minister for Defence with regard to the nationality of Colonel G. C. WoKe, of the New Zealand Defence Forces. Mr Payne suggested that Colonel Wolfe should not be allowed to retain n position in which he could acquire information regarding tin Defence Forces of the Dominion. The Hon. J. Allen said that Mr. Payne had;beer, placing upon the order-paner of the .House question* containing Insinuations against the loyalty of certain members of the community. If Mr, Payne would send to the Defence Department the names of the men about whom !ic desired information, the nece*. sary inquiries would be made, but the Minister suggested that, in the meantime, it was not fair to parade before the. public the names of certain men as though they xrqre enemies, merely because Mr. Payne or the Anti-German League found something suspicions about these names The Minister added that he had seeiir-d reports regarding the persons mentioned already, ana would lay all the information' before the House if members desired it.

The Minister proceeded to read from an official file the records of men whose names had been mentioned by the AntiGerm <n Lengue or by Mr. Payne. He said that Colonel G.' C. Wolfe was the son of Maor-Gener.il James Wolfe, late of the British Ar.ny, and late British Commissioner for 3asutoland. Colonel Wolfe had been born in Plymouth, England, and had served in thev British Navy, rctiriig in 1907 with the .tank ofcaptain. fie joired the New Zealand Defence Forces in 1900. and was at present Inspector of Brill nails and Rifle Ranges. Lieutenant .lames Henry Holtzen had been born in New Zealand. His mother was English and his fattoer was a Dane, wno had foupht against the Germans in 18(13, Captain Dr. Bernstein, officer in charge of thr- Waikato Sanatorium, had been oorn in Yorkshire, where his family had resided for, at least 120 years. ' Lieutenant V. C. Bosselmann had beei bom at Nelson in 1895. His father was a native of Germany and his mother was English. He had secured a commission in a cade.t corps in 11)13, .and was at present a student of Canteilmry College. Lieutenant F. L. Buchler had been qprn in New Ze-iiand, His father and his grandfather had been lorn in England, the grandfather being a British officer. The family had been known as von BueVler in the latter part of the 18th century 1 . Lieutenant A. A. >:. Flohr, continued the Minister was an ex-Imperial Army' officer, whoso parentage was known to the War Office, fie was not of enemy alien descent. Captain F. W. Furkert had been b.irn at Ross, in 187(1, ' HhJ father v.as German and his mother English. He had no active connection with tho forces. Lieutenant R. McGregor Goldaman had been bofn in Duned'm, his .father and his mother were both torn in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Miss Martho Gros.. had been allowed to leave New Zealand under an arrangement between the British and, German Governments, that women should Hot be retained. She had been brought to New Zealaal by Dt, Crstie as a nurse,.and there was no reason to suspect that she was anything else. She had been unable to obtain employment in New Zealand after the outbreak of war. Dr. A. S. Herbert (formerly Wnhlmann), Was British. His great-great-great-grand-father had been a British subject boA in London, and nil his descendants had been British subjects. Cay tain G. A. Herman had been born in New Zealand. His father had been born in New Zealand and his mother in Ireland. His father's father was German. Lieutenant Ivan Hirschberg had been born in Mastertou and his father had heen born' in Greytown. His grandfather had been a. German who married a Miss Jane Hall in Wellington, in W>B. The Anti-Ger-man League had diawn attention to the enlistuvMit of a s nn of Mr. Carl Jooston, late German Consul, at Christclimvh. Mr. .Toostcn'fc eldest .*on was aged five years, and was not a n-einbcr of the Forces. Lieutenant. A. K. Kretc'nnav win the son of Germans, who arrived in New Zealand in 18151, and were naturalised prior to the birth of their son He was employed vi the Defence Department. Lieutenant -L. W. Mcnli had been born in Taranaki, in 1801, his parents being Swiss.

Another name mentioned had been that of Lieuteant Franz Scliwf, added the Minister. This mnn had arrived in Kew Zealand as ni> ensign in a British regiment about tl-- year 1800, and had joined iho. New Zealand forces in 1860. He died about the year lflftfl, but notification of his death did not reach the Defence Department, and he remained on the list of reserve officers. Apparently Mr. Payne had searched, the army list for names that had a Merman appearance and had found this name. Mr. Dickson (I'arnell): "Did ho And Madame Boeufve among them?" Mr. Payiio: "B(. decent in referring to the wife of an Allied Minister, ytfu common brute." Mr. Dickson ra'sed a point of order, and the Speaker demanded the withdrawal of the, words, "you common bnitei" Mid an expression of regret. Mr. Pnync.: "1 withdraw and express regret." After mentioning other names on similar lines, tlic Minister for Defence said that if it waß the wish of the House he would give answers when other names were mentioned. But lie had no hesitation in saving that inquiries In connection with the allegations of the kind alroay made meant an unnecessary waste of" the time of busy Defence officers.