RIGHTS OF ENEMY ALIENS.

Taranaki Daily News, 18 July 1919, Page 6

RIGHTS OF ENEMY ALIENS.

4N INTERESTING JUDGMENT. , , Auckland, July I.}, . An interesting judgment conccrnin« the rights .of enemy aliens to sue ana be sued was given in the Magistrate's Court by Mr. J. W. Poynton S.M, thi« mormng. T] le case wag Jn - TfH j e^ro ' aum development Co and" E£ e ? 6eA l ? ga ™ it Hen T Beatrice Ramsch for allotment moneys on shares in ths Company. The defendant,_ltanisch, the judgment stated; was born in Bohomia, his parents bein« Austrian subjects, and was naturalised ini New Zealand, His wife was of British parentage. They applied (separately for shares; in the rcgistere.i company and he paid deposits of £O2 10 s on his part for 500 shares, and £l2 10° on iiii wife's parts for 100 shares. This was on January 21, mis. .Defending were now being sued for 7s Gd per share allotment mon»ya. The defence set un was that the defendant Banisch. beinz an alien enemy, could nofc hold shares in any company in New Zealand, and his wife, who was also alien b<> virtue of her marriage with him, was in the same position. Defendants furthe'' counter-claimed for amounts raid br them as deposits on the shaws. His Worship held that although for many yean naturalised in New Zealand, defendant was deemed to be an alien enemy by the emergencv war le"islation, and, as such, was" forbidden to hold shares ou stock in the company in New Zealand. This also applied to ],(, wife, so that neither could im made to pay the money claimed. The Magistrate alto found that the money already I paid by the defendants on account of I shares was recoverable by defendant. Judgment was therefore given for defendants on both claims, and also on the "Ounter-cUim, with costs on the full amount Security for appeal was fixed at £2O.