CHRISTS COLLEGE.

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 16203, 4 May 1918, Page 5

CHRISTS COLLEGE.

TKASSFOP.MKP lN' r ° BAR HACKS. LIKUT.-COI.OXEL SLKKMAN** , SCHEME. The has replnf-oJ the n - C"iir:st'> Collet'', which yfstordaj >o-. cnmc a iniiita.y barracks. and " ill ■--■on-, tin 1:0 so until next Tuesday tinder tho superintendence ot tile Director of Military Training (Lieut. -Colonel J. L. Sluem'an. 1.G.5.1. agisted by other expert officers. inchi'iin.- M.i.joi A. E. Coinvav. Captain I"arthin&, Captain Brocks (Army .uymnastkstall'), and Captain Knight. The olijcct ot' the barracks i* to courage; the military spirit ot the joUt.li • of tho Dominion and to increase tlO efficiency and discipline 01 "Ct:rist*s* College contingent. 1. long I veil recognised by all ,ul, " ; t.ny experts tnat no scheme o national defence can snccessm utiles;, comn'enceci with the boy. I the training of the New Zealand Cadet depends to a inline decree the iutllie etheieney of the l'ernlorial lorce. upon tiie Territorial lorce jests 11 spo: ..sii.iiity <>] the protection o Nim'.- Ziml:iih!. Witii tins object the iJireelor ol .Military Training; h hold-, in;; a barracks of instruction in each ■ «>t the hi:; secondary schools in tin; I Join in ion. Aj; one 0) the live Imperial ullieers originally selected to t lorin the Oiiicrrs'" Training Corps in : his action can be regaic.ecl, i;.s a proof of the value that is plact ti ( r.pon cadet training. I Tlio instruction witnessed by a , •'Pros-s'' representative yesterday ati Christ's College, was that- of the bar-, racks sonare ol an Imperial regiment . ac Home. (UlicLis anil n.c.o.'s were lormecl into -qiK.tis. and drill anil Military inan.'Jt.in i\ wei'e held all uncfei i the charge oi ex; erienced instructors, j the majority of whom have seen sei-j vice during the piese;it war. Ihe keen-, nt'is.s ot tlio cadets wus evident, i Lieut.-Colonel Slt'i'iiuui expressed luni-1 sell as completely s;itislied "\vitn what: he had already M:en of tin? contin-1 gent : in fact, he stated that it was tin- , dutibtediv the most eiiicient in the j Dominion. j During the next three days an immense amount of work will be per-1 formed proportionate to the respective, ages of "those attending the barracks,; including instruction in attack, de- . I once, advance. and guards and otner essentials ol mill-; iarv training. Not the least impor.-, ant part of this is the orderly-room ; held dailv bv the commandant, at; wliu-5. malefactors who have committed ; tlie oli'ence of possessing dirty ■ buttons or of being one minute late 1 (Mi parade are brought lor censuic. : Bv such means, punctuality, regard; for personal appearance, obedience to. orders, and initiative, are encouraged, 1 all cf which qualities will be ol the' utmost value in both n civilian nnri a military c:ip:ieiiy. , , i 111 rcplv [0 a question, Lieut.-Co-oneJ Sleeman stated that the barracks me-j thod Fulfilled two purposes, the first to stimulate the efficiency or the cadets, and the second to direct their attention to the importance of workin rr for commissioned rank. Ihe : ullTcer of to-dav was valueless unless : he was an exp?rt instructor. Commissioned rank without instructional capacity was lufcilo tor this reason. An officer's instruction required to be commenced many years before a commission was granted. In Eng!aii;l Cadet Corps similar to the Lhrisl s : College Corps eouhl be said to nave ; saved the Empire at tlie comment e-; merit ol the war. firstly by supplying, the old ar-my. anil secondly by supply- j in" the new'army with ample reinforce-; luents of well-trained junior officers; who during their school time had de- i voted much leisure to cadet study 111 the Officers' Training Corps. By such i means England was able to (ind over | 11,000 well-trained young officers within a week of the commencement of this great war. , Lieut.-Colonel ftleeroau emphasised the necessity for recognition of the intense value of cadet training and pointed out that efficient officers meant a direct saving 111 both life and treasure. . Short!v before cloven 0 clock yesterday. Lieut.-Colonel Sleomnn, accompanied bv members of his s"taff, inspected the Cadets at their instructional work, and afterwards conferred with the officers in the orderly-room, which has been established in tho Canon TLaic memorial building. t Subsequently the 9fficers and n.e.o. s of the unit, numbering about 30. were paraded before Colonel Sleoman in the orderly-room, and addressed by nun on the training they would have to undergo. Jn explaining to the boys the reasons for holding tho barracks, he said 110 was talking to them because upon them rested the authority of tho unit. Tho non-commissionod officers should ; be representative of the authority. In j tho Imperial Army they wore no re-I garded. and if they supported their | I officers'everything was well, but if they , did not they were "fired, out. He . was going to expect a great deal from ] those he was speaking to, for ho re- 1 garded them as the pick of the con- j tingent. He wanted to compress a great- deal into a little time. The | officers with him were all busy men, who were engagod on the training of 1 for tho front, and it should show tho high importance attached to cadet training that the Director of Military Training and other staff officers should be spared for such an occasion. Many of those now in tho school might be at the front before the war was over. Within the year a number of those from Wanganui, Nelson, and "Waitaki had had the good fortune to get away. The "barracks" would stimulato the cadet raovoment, and show the public how important it was. He wanted to pay the. "College Cadets the compliment of treating them exactly as a regiment of the regular British Army ■would be treated, but this •would mean strict discipline and efficiency. The cadets would be talked to exactly as the officers would talk to trained soldiers. They would be treated as men and not boys. If the officers appeared harsh, it would be only superficial. He appealed to tho cadets, when on parade, to be soldiers, emulating the men of the old Army. They should he smart, punctual, and obedient, accepting any reprimand. He wished them to convey these matters to .the other cadets. Colonel Sleeman added that over since seoing the Christ's College contingent he had stated throughout the Dominion, to the Defence Minister, to the General, and to the Governor, that they were the best unit in New Zealand. He had said so before other schools, and tho result, he was glad to say, was that there was the keenest competition, and some other units wero forging ahead at a' tremendous pace. Ho wanted Christ's College to retain its reputation. There was always a "star" regiment in the Army. Every officer thought it was his own, quite rightly, but generally the Colds tream Guards and the Grenadier Guards were the pick of the regiments. He urged those present to talk to their men as if they were soldiers, and not as if they were children; and whilo not seeking to make crime, they should emphasise the enormity of even small breaches of discipline, and after one warning "have the offender up." no offender should be brought to orderly-room if he had honestly trieu, and failed. In conclusion, Colonel Sleeman named the officers who wcre assisting him.