The sun., 1918-07-12
BRITAIN TOOUST
ENEMY ALIENS
Sinking of Hospital Ships
Spurs the Government to
Protective Action.
MEN WILL BE INTERNED
Women to Be Repatriated and
Banks and Other Businesses
Wound Up.
MEN WILL BE INTERNED

LONDON, July 11.-Parliament debated
to-day the question OF the treatment OF
enemy aliens and persons of enemy
alien origin. which has been the subject
Of much discussion recently in the press
and on which committee Of the House
Of Commons on July 8 issued a report.
The committee recommended the i'm
mediate internment OF every male enemy
alien over IS years except those who
for medical or other reasons should be
exempted, and the repatriating of all
female enemy aliens except those whose
husbands had been granted exemption
from internment.
The committee also recommended the
immediate discharge of all such persons
employed In any Government depart
ment and that all enemy businesses
should be wound up within three months
Views of Home Secretary.
Sir George Cave, Secretary for Home
Affairs who opened the debate, referring
to the public anxiety OH the question,
said he believed this anxiety was due to
insufficient knowledge of the steps taken
to protect the country from anything
like enemy alien danger.
The Government proposed. he said. to
ask committees in each county to un-
dertake the revision of all exemptions
from internments in the case of men
case of women
The Government purposes bringing
under review the certificates of naturali-
! zat!on granted during the war. he added.
1t was also proposed that no person not
natural born British subject should
be allowed to change his name without
license from the Home Office. the
! Home Secretary said. This provision
would be retroactive.
The demand had been made, said Sir
George, that persons OF enemy origin In
Government offices should be summarily
dismissed. What enemy origin meant
he did not know.
No further Applications for patents
would be received from enemy subjects.
and the trading with the enemy act
would be amended to enable enemy bust
nesses to be transferred to public
trustee. II also was proposed that the
Board OF Trade should have power TO
wind up and strike off the register any
companies
Secretary went on. had been used as a
means OF getting a hold on British trade
and connections and injuring British
business. 1t therefore was right TO treat
/ them in special way. The Government,
in view OF this consideration. deemed
that 1t was justified in introducing legis-
! lation which would make 1t impossible
for period of years after the war to
open any enemy bank in this country
Premier Lloyd George said the pro-
posals laid down by Home Secretary
Cave should be carried out vigorously,
vigorously and with fairness.
1t was difficult, he said. TO preserve
ones temper when one heard of aliens
Growing about German victories. There
was never a case OF a British setback
when he did not get numerous letters
written by Germans in Britain Growing
about it. These letters bore British
postmark and obviously were written by
Germans. That sort OF thing must be
stopped.
There are only few thousand aliens
left uninterned IN England A consider
able portion of them are old people
Another fairly large contingent has
some one serving in the British army,
and there is a sharp difference OF opin-
ion on the question of interning these.
"Intcrn AL" Cry ExtrcmIsts.
Intern them all ia the watchword
Of the extremists. led by the North
ciffe papers. Other papers, like the
Westminster Gazette. the Daily NcUs.
the Daily Chronicle and the Manches-
ter GuurdiGn, liken the present move
mcnt TO witch batting and the his
toric mo popery" agitations.
The DdHy NeWs said to-day:
ss ic 70 hn 1pt. y, to
infamous clamor let Parliament see to
L that there is no picking and choosing,
no hurrying Of little people and screen
ing Of big people. Let 1t be clear that
Lord Milner must be interned with the
little grocer of enemy origin on back
street. whose son perhaps has been
killed in the war"
Since Lord Miner, Secretary of State
for War. although with German family
antecedsnts. Is considered by many the
strongest power in the Cabinet. fulfl-
ment of this demand is unlikely