The Report of the Council of Victoria University College concerning the case of Professor von Zedlitz.

• 1. As Victoria College has been deprived of the services of one of its professors by the direct intervention of the Legislature, the principles involved seem to the College Council of sufficient importance to justify a clear and permanent record of the whole transaction.

• 2. George William von Zedlitz, who was appointed to the Chair of Modern Languages at Victoria College on 31st December, 1901, was born in Germany in 1871, the son of a German father and an English mother. At the age of 7 he was taken by his mother to England, residing there with her, and only returning to Germany during his schooling, which German tuition terminated when he was 14. Since then, except for occasional visits to his native land and for two years spent at a school in Switzerland, his domicil, education and environment have been entirely British. His education was completed at Wellington College, England, and Trinity College, Oxford, and after holding a mastership at Loretto School for a few years, he came to New Zealand early in 1902 to take up his appointment at Victoria College.

• 3. Though he has had a British domicil for about 30 consecutive years, Professor von Zedlitz is not a British subject. He did not naturalize before war was declared between Great Britain and Germany, and, unlike the English law, the law of New Zealand will not permit of his naturalization during the war. He had, on the other hand, lost his German nationality under the German law of 1870, as soon as he had been absent from Germany for 10 consecutive years. As, however, under an amending law of 1913, German nationality thus lost may be revived, the English Courts have held that it is not to be regarded as having absolutely lapsed after 10 years’ absence. For the present purpose, therefore, Professor von Zedlitz may be considered a German subject.

  page break

• 4. Of the Professor’s work during nearly 14 years of service, it suffices to say it has given complete satisfaction to each succeeding Council, to the Professor’s colleagues, and to his students, and that the general opinion is that this College has had no more faithful, zealous and efficient servant. His influence and teaching have been what might have been expected from one educated at an English Public School and University.

• 5. On the 4th August, 1914—the day of Britain’s declaration of war against Germany—Professor von Zedlitz, appreciating the difficulties of his position as an unnaturalized German in a British University, wrote to the then Chairman of the College Council, expressing his willingness to resign. After consulting various members of the Council, Mr. Ostler assured the Professor that there was no necessity for such a step, and the matter then dropped.

• 5. Any doubts as to a possible conflict between the attitude of the Council as affirmed by its Chairman and either the policy of the Government or the law of the land were removed by a Proclamation which was issued on the 19th August, 1914, and declared:

  “that all subjects of the German Emperor or of the Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary being now peaceably resident within the said Dominion are, and at all times since the commencement of the present state of war have been, within the peace and protection of His Majesty in the same manner as if they were the subjects of His Majesty, and that they may sue and plead accordingly in all Courts of Justice within the said Dominion in respect of all contracts, rights, injuries and other causes or matters whatsoever, saving always the prerogative right of His Majesty in time of war to do with such persons as afore-said, and with all other of His Majesty’s enemies, in all respects according to his good pleasure.”

• 7. The internment of enemy subjects was of course a matter of public policy, in which the Council had neither direct concern nor voice ; but the demands made from time to time in the public press by anonymous correspondence and otherwise for the internment of Professor von Zedlitz necessarily had a vital, though indirect, bearing upon his retention by the Council. It was presumably on this account that the then Minister of Internal Affairs the Hon. H. D. (now Sir Francis) Bell—forwarded to the page break Council, on the 8th January, 1915, a copy of the correspondence on the subject which had passed between himself and Professor von Zedlitz during the preceding month.

  “The effect of the correspondence,” wrote the Minister in his covering letter, “may be of use in allaying any feeling of doubt which might otherwise exist whether the position of Professor von Zedlitz as a resident in this country has been considered and defined by the Government.”

• 8. This correspondence (of which a copy is attached hereto), p. 15) showed that with the concurrence of the Minister of both Defence and Education (the Hon. James Allen), the Minister of Internal Affairs had on the 2nd December, 1914, called the attention of Professor von Zedlitz to his position as an alien enemy resident in New Zealand.

  “I am aware,” wrote the Minister, “ that you are of German birth and race, and that you have retained your national character and sympathies, which are at this present time as widely different as possible from the sympathies and aspirations of England and of New Zealand. But in our view, and I hope in yours, you are a guest of this country, and indirectly in its service, and therefore not free, directly or indirectly, to give information or assistance of any kind to our enemies.”

  The Minister accordingly asked the Professor for an explicit assurance on this point, and the Professors reply, and the undertaking enclosed with it, were acknowledged by the Minister as “conveying in entirely satisfactory terms the assurance” which had been asked for. The result was that the Professor’s parole was accepted, and he was allowed to retain his liberty.

• 9. The sending of this correspondence by the Minister of Internal Affairs to the Council at a time when its retention of the Professor on its staff was being challenged in a similar manner to that in which the Government had been called upon to intern him, seemed to the Council at that time, and it still seems, to admit of but one construction. It was at once an intimation that on the question of in­ternment the Government had declined to yield to the popular intolerance, and an invitation to the Council to retain the services of the Professor.

  page break

  As the general removal of unnaturalized Germans from the Public Service has been one of the main grounds urged for the removal of Professor von Zedlitz from the service of Victoria College, it is material to add that this removal had been carried out before the Minister for­warded his correspondence with the Professor to the Council.

• 10. In the month of May the position had become acute. The sinking of the Lusitania with more than 1,000 non-combatants on board by a German submarine on May 7th had sent a thrill of horror through the civilized world, and in New Zealand, as in other parts of the British Empire, in­dignation at the crime inflamed popular hatred against the guilty nation, and stimulated the demand for stricter treatment of German residents, both in regard to internment and otherwise. One inevitable result was to increase the pressure upon the Council for the dismissal of Professor von Zedlitz from its employ. On the 19th May the matter was brought before the Council by Mr. C. Wilson, and referred to the Finance Committee for a report.

• 11. A Sub-Committee, consisting of the Chairman (Mr. Clement Watson), with the Hon. J. G. Aitken and Mr. C. B. Morison, K.C.. waited on the then Minister of Internal Affairs, the Hon. H. D. Bell, in order to ascertain what was the position of alien enemies in respect to subsisting contracts, so that the Finance Committee could report to the Council upon the legal as well as upon the moral position. The Hon. the Minister, in placing the position Before the Sub-Committee, stated that the Government would do nothing to help the Victoria College Council to put an end to its contract with Professor von Zedlitz. This interview being reported to the Finance Committee and to the Council, confirmed its members in the impression made on them by the reading of the correspondence on the previous 20th of January, that the Government was thoroughly satisfied with the parole given by Professor von Zedlitz, and was satisfied, and even desired, that he should be retained in office. Neither then nor at any later date was there any indication conveyed by any Member of the Government, either officially or privately, to any member of the Council that any new condition had arisen in respect to Professor von Zedlitz, as affecting his honour and loyalty, and the Council could only believe that, in retaining the services of the Professor, it was page break acting with the full approval of the Ministry, as well as in the best interests of the College and the community.

• 12. At the meeting of the Council on the 16th June, I915, the Finance Committee reported:

  • “ (a) That a Royal Commission has been appointed to deal with the relation of aliens in respect of the public safety.
  • “ (b) That in the interest of Victoria University College, the Committee is of opinion that Professor von Zedlitz should be retained in his position.”

  With this report the Committee presented memorials which had been spontaneously sent to it by the respective signatories. Ten of the twelve members of the Professorial Board had signed one of these documents, and 50 present and past-students in Modern Languages had signed the other. Both documents expressed a high opinion of the services of Professor von Zedlitz, and entire confidence in his teaching and character. (Copies of both documents are hereunto annexed, pp. 13 and 14.)

  On the motion of the Hon. A. L. Herdman, the report of the Finance Committee was adopted, after an amendment, moved by Mr. C. Wilson, that the Professor should be asked to resign, had been rejected by 8 votes to 2.

• 13. On July 23rd, 1915, the Royal Commission, referred to in the preceding paragraph, and commonly known as the Aliens Board, the members of which were the Hon. Mr. John Roberts, C.M.G., Messrs. A. D. Thomson and George Elliot, held an inquiry into the question of the internment of Professor von Zedlitz and the circumstances of his holding office as a Professor. The findings of the Commission were, we understand, entirely favourable to the Professor in regard both to the question of internment and to his retention of his Chair.

• 14. The popular outcry against the Council and the Professor nevertheless proceeded without abatement, and on the 25th August, 1915, the Prime Minister was asked in the House of Representatives “whether, in view of the strong public opinion throughout the Dominion, the Government will take steps to deal with the case of Professor von Zedlitz in the same way as they are treating other alien enemies ; and if not, why not?”

  page break
  Mr. Massey replied as follows:—

  • “(1) Whether Professor von Zedlitz should retain his position or not is a question to be decided by the Victoria College Council, and not by the Government, he being a servant of the Council, and not of the Government.
  • “(2) The House should understand that the Government has, since the outbreak of war, strictly carried out the instructions issued by the Imperial Government, to the effect 'that care should be taken not to arrest persons whose known character precludes suspicion, or who are personally vouched for to the satisfaction of the Government.'
  • “(3) In addition to what has been said above, the Government wishes to make clear that, if necessary, legislation will be introduced before the end of the session to deal with the situation, inasmuch as it is of opinion that neither in University Colleges nor Public Schools is it desirable that un­naturalized enemy subjects should continue to give instruction to the youth and children of the Dominion.”

• 15. It will be noted that in this statement the Prime Minister first admitted that the retention of Professor von Zedlitz in his Chair was entirely a matter for the Council, and not for the Government, and then added that, if the Council refused to dismiss him, the Government would take the necessary steps to overrule the decision.

  The Prime Minister made it doubly certain that the sole object of the proposed legislation was to deal with this one case, and to coerce the Council by his remarks in the debate which followed:—

  “The answer speaks for itself, and he did not think that anything could be clearer or plainer: that, if steps were not taken by the Professor himself, or by the University Council who controlled the position to remove him from his present position before the session came to an end, the Government would introduce legislation for the purpose.”—Hansard: Vol. 173, p. 145.

  We may add that no previous intimation of the Government’s intentions had been conveyed to the Council. On this and other crucial points its knowledge was limited to page break what its members could gather from the proceedings of Parliament as reported in the newspapers.

• 16. For the reason that Professor von Zedlitz had been a faithful and loyal servant of the College for nearly 14 years, and had done no act to justify the College termin­ating his engagement, and the continuance of his services being, in the opinion of the Council, in the best interests of the College and its students, the Council was no more disposed to yield to the threat of interference on the part of the Government and the Legislature than to the popular clamour which had inspired it and forced the hand of the Government.

  But to Professor von Zedlitz the matter naturally pre­sented itself in a different light. With the loyalty and consideration which have never failed him in his relations with the College Council, he wrote on the 1st September, 1915, a letter to the Chairman, in which he stated that he had not been prepared to resign under the pressure of wild rumour and anonymous attacks, but that in view of the “irresistible pressure” threatened against the Council by the highest authority in the country, he desired the Council to deal with him as it pleased, and placed himself entirely in its hands for the purpose.

• 17. On the 14th September the Prime Minister introduced the Alien Enemies Teachers Bill. This measure was general in form, disqualifying all enemy subjects from employment by the governing body of any Educational Institution, supported wholly or in part by grants from the public revenues, terminating any existing contracts for such employment, and providing for such compensation not exceeding one year’s salary, as the governing body might think fit. Professor von Zedlitz followed up the circulation of this measure with a further letter to the Council, dated 15th September, in which, after referring to the Bill as introduced “expressly for the purpose of compelling the Council to dispense with my services,” he urged the Council to allow him to retire from office, that he might comply with the wishes of the Government, and not be the occasion of legislation which would affect others.

• 18. In ordinary circumstances, the acceptance of a resignation is a matter of course, but the circumstances of the present case were extraordinary, and probably unique. At its meeting on the 15th September the Council was of page break opinion that a resignation tendered under such conditions could not honourably or consistently with the dignity of the Council be treated as voluntary.

  Dr. C. P. Knight had given notice of a motion to give Professor von Zedlitz twelve months’ notice to determine his engagement, but, by permission of the Council, he withdrew it, and explained that he had given notice be­fore the proposed interference of Parliament was known, and did not now care to proceed with it.

  The Council unanimously agreed to present a Petition to both Houses of Parliament against the Alien Enemy Teachers’ Bill, and to postpone the consideration of the Professor’s resignation in the meantime.

• 19. On the 17th September the Council’s Petition was pre­sented to both Houses of Parliament. The principal grounds taken were—

  • (1) That Professor von Zedlitz had given complete sat­isfaction in his position, and that his teaching, example, and influence had greatly strengthened the position of the College, and its success had been largely due to his teaching and influence.
  • (2) That anything which approached the abandonment of principle at the dictation of prejudice, hatred, fear or the like is antagonistic to all the best in­fluences of education, and that it is impossible to gauge the reaction for evil that such a course may have on the youth of the Dominion.
  • (3) That while conceding that any question whether or not an alien is to be trusted at large is one for the Government of the country only, the Council re­spectfully submits that when the personal charac­ter of an alien is assured, and his liberty is held to be not incompatible with the public welfare, there should be no interference by the Legislature or the Executive with the rights of other lawful authori­ties each within its own sphere to contract and deal with such alien as freely as with a British subject.
  • (4) That the Council believes its action to have been in accordance with the principles which have guided British Universities in the present crisis, and con­siders that a lasting injury will be done to the value of educational appointments in New Zealand, and of all other appointments for which applica­tions are invited from beyond the Dominion, if page break legislation is passed to invalidate retrospectively an appointment which was perfectly lawful and proper in its origin, and is still regarded as entirely satisfactory by both parties to the contract.

  The Council accordingly prayed that no legislation be passed which would have the effect of interfering with the free exercise by the Council of its functions under the Victoria College Act, 1905, and the Acts amending the same.

• 20. The principal point made which was not directly covered by the Petition at the hearing before the Public Petitions M. to Z. Committee of the House of Representatives on the 29th of September was that teachers who would otherwise be disqualified by the Bill should at least be given the opportunity of naturalizing—an opportunity which is provided for all aliens in the United Kingdom by the British Nationality and Status of Aliens Act, but which has not been given by the law of New Zealand. Neither on this nor on any other point had the Petitions Committee any recommendation to make, for the reason that the “subject-matter of the Petition involved questions of policy,” and the Bill passed through all its stages, both in the House and in the Council, on the voices . . .and it is now law.

• 21. So far as is known, the Legislative Council did not deal in any way with the Petition presented to it, and afforded no opportunity to the Petitioners to be heard before a Committee.

• 22. The College Council held a special meeting on the 9th of October, with a view to dealing with the case of Profes­sor von Zedlitz, but found that it was not then known whether the Alien Enemy Teachers Bill had become law by receiving the signature of the Governor or not. If it had become law, then it was impossible for the Council to deal with the resignation of the Professor, as he would then have been ousted from office by the passing of the Act. The Council therefore postponed consideration of the matter until its next meeting, and on Wednesday, the 20th October, carried out the function cast upon it under Section 3 (Sub-section 2) of the Alien Enemy Teachers Act by voting the compensation for loss of office permit­ted under that Act. The following is a copy of the reso­lution passed by the Council, two members dissenting:—

  “That having regard to the long period of years during which Professor von Zedlitz has occupied the Chair page break of Modern Languages at Victoria College, and to his valuable work in the interests of education in the Dominion, he be paid, in accordance with the provisions of Clause III. of the Alien Enemy Teachers Act, 1915, as compensation for loss of office by the said Act, the equivalent of one year’s salary, namely, £700 ; and that his salary for the month of October be paid up to the date of passing the said Act. And that the Council do hereby place on record its appreciation of the high standard that has marked the teaching and influ­ence of Professor von Zedlitz during nearly 14 years of faithful service to the College, and its ap­preciation of the entirely honourable spirit in which the Professor has discharged his duties both before and since the outbreak of war ; and that the Coun­cil expresses its deep regret at the unnecessary determination of his office by special legislation as being opposed alike to the best British traditions and to the interests of Victoria College as a British Educational Institution.”

• 23. Having regard to the facts:

  • (1) That as the result of the consideration of the case of Professor von Zedlitz by the Minister for Internal Affairs and the Minister for Defence, the College Council was in effect invited by the Government to retain his services ;
  • (2) That the Royal Commission appointed to report on Aliens in the Dominion had, after an exhaustive enquiry into the case of Professor von Zedlitz, found no fault with him at all,

  the Council viewed the action of the Government and the Legislature in yielding to a passing wave of popular prejudice as not only a deplorable abandonment of British traditions of fair play, but as a serious menace to the just liberties and the independence of our Educational Institutions.

• 24. The Alien Enemies Teachers Act having passed, it was made illegal for the Council to retain the services of Professor von Zedlitz, and as the Act imposed upon the Council the function of fixing the amount of compensation to be paid to Professor von Zedlitz for loss of office, it took into consideration:

  • (1) The fact that the termination of an engagement under such circumstances as are outlined above page break was a very much more serious matter to the Professor than the termination of an engagement in pursuance of the provisions of a contract.
  • (2) The fact that the case of Professor von Zedlitz was, we believe, the only case which the Government and Legislature had in mind in passing the Act and in fixing the standard of compensation at the equivalent of a year’s salary. The Council therefore adopted this standard of compensation on what appeared to it to be a definite invitation by the Legislature to do so, unless there were circumstances which would justify the Council in fixing a smaller amount, if it thought fit. There were no circumstances in the case to justify the Council in adopting a lower standard than that indicated, and the Council fixed the sum of £700, the equivalent of one year’s salary, accordingly. Moreover, the length and value of his services, and the fact that he had not during a period of 14 years had any leave of absence whatever, was considered an additional reason why the statutory maximum should not be reduced.

• 25. A large number of the members of the College Council had intended, by resigning office and by submitting them­selves for re-election, to obtain an expression of opinion from their electorates as to whether the Council were justified in declining to sacrifice an innocent man to a popular clamour. The Government, however, prevented this possible action by the addition to the Education Amendment Act (No. 2) of a clause enabling the Governor to suspend any such election by filling all vacancies with his own nominees. As the members of the Council are thus practically debarred from submitting their views and actions to their constituencies for confirmation or condemnation, the Council have deemed it desirable to place this statement on record for the information of their constituents.