CADETS-MARK TIME!

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 595, 25 August 1909, Page 4

CADETS-MARK TIME!

_ .*_ , OUR BOY SOLDIERS. A CRITICISM AND SOME SUGGESTIONS. ''■•'■'■■■'"•"•"'•"■■.' •■■■. ;(Bt"Ec'hei.on.) ""'Shun P' '' WiiFa click of tho rifles and a brisk scrape of the heels, the company of " 'cadets, standing .at ease .in columns of sections, stiffens to attention. • ■ ■■' "Tell off the company I" "Number one!— number, two three,!—number fourl" comos tho-:Bharp._fcsponsD from the section commanders... ..'."'"',.■. ■JTrom.th'e.riglit—tellpff by fours 1" Down tho ranks of the sections ripples simultaneously a-quick fusillade of numbers. ' i "'"Four's—right !"■'. With, fivo distinct-steps the company whcels-Mo section columns of. : itoUfS.'v ..''.'J:-; ' ''".' ''..'""'"' "Advance by fours from the leading section—Quick—March!" 'No. I.section swings pit/ bringing its riitestp the slope with mechanical precision as the' left loot hits the ground oh' its'" fifth.step, the other sections ' come" up at ; the incline, cover off, and the whole,, company, rifles at the slope, swings down tho playground. .. , ■ "Fours—left!" They are in line now. "Halt!"- Tho line halts, and the rifles come.down to the "ordor" with a click: • "Stand at—easel". The muzzles, of the' rifles slant forward with a jerk, and the boy soldiers 'relax:. It is a spectacle to please the :eye| this company pt sohool cadets in uniform They look trim and smart, and they' have '-'got them a11.0n," as the saying' is—waist-betos, ammunition pouches, Glen-garry-caps,' haversacks (for they are in marching order).' The bright, gold stripes of tho nou.-rcoms./ scarlet sashes of the .sergeants, 'tan, sword-belts, slings and ' knots, and'gleaming regulation swords of the officers, are all there.. It is a perfect reproduction, '..in"-miniature, of 'a regular adult' volunteer "company/ with a complete, establishment of sixty-three of all ranks. Some of them havermarksmen's-badges—these -know how to shoot. What else can they do? All company movements, and some elementary a kind. They, know how, to 'addross v their superiors on paradoj and cheerfully ' obey orders—when on parade— from juvenile "non'.-coms.," whose noses: they would as cheerfully punch after parade '■4-if they could. They do not disgrace themselves in a ; battalion parade, their buglers know their business fairly well, and so ,do their signallers. On the whole, we iild get something tangiblo out of them, some-' thing that can be measured up and assessed. And yet—P An Important Question. ' ■When the public school cadet system was first established it' was, presumed; not without ■'somo' reason, that our corps of boy soldiers would prove to be an recruiting ground for tho New Zealand Volunteer Army. Has it? In 1900 the' sum of £400, was voted for the supply 0f',2000 mode! rifles to public schools, these being issued oil simple conditions, "Tho usoi' of .theso, model, rifles," opined tho then Minister for Education (theOate Hon. W. C. .Walker), "seems to give greater'interest to tho drill, paving the way for"tho general instruction of the youth of the colony in tho clement tary principles of national' defence'." In ; that year 1011 model rifles were issued, and from this modest beginning thero was evolved the present' school cadet system. The Defence Act of 1900, which • became operative the following year, authorised tho 'establishment of cadet corps on a definite system of .organisation, and the growth of the movement during the subsequent "years show that, numerically speaking, it has : been. a success. In 1902 there were 101 corps, with an enrolled strength of 4851 cadets. In tho following'-year the cost of the administration of thepubhV school cadet corps for the • year '. appeared in the Minister's annual re!port as a''special : 'item:' : Dating from" that 3'ear,'.the jprogress'and: cost (in round figures) of too- 1 movement-, 'may, bo shown thus:—-■,'■:■;-' ''• ' ,•:'■ '■■' ■'■ ';• . !••'■■ Annual, ;.;;•''", ■. ,•• ' .'■■■•■ '■', Cost.' Year. . ' v .. : No. of Cadets.; . ■'& 1903 v.. •;■■■■■• '• 9,370 ■ v . 3,754 19Q4 10,858 ■■:• 7,729 1905 •..:.;...;...........:;.. 12,524: , *4,954 loos' ......; :.....;.:... a4,iisv•■,-- : .. .5,704 1907 ~.....:;.. ;...':..: 14,848. . .-.. .4,528 •1908..-............;.;.... 15,183 .. • t9,780 .'. ■ '*' Travelling allowances to teachers /at-tending'instruction-.'classes were suspended : ih 1905. . ..:' ''. '■•"":•;. "f.lii "1908-the' 'cdst,..bf administration was considerably increased 'by an expenditure of £4096 for "training camps... I The period .1903-1906. may be described as ithe evolutionary stage of the movement. At .tho end of. that period the.corps might bo to have been properly established on a national basis, fully organised, and in going.order. By the end of 1906 one might reasonably look for some perceptible impetus , 'to .the enlistments in the volunteer force, l if, as.had been contended, the cadet movement ,is to' provide.the 'army of the future. ! What are W ; Facts?j; ■■■ ■' The "following 'table" sets forth tho periodical'return: of-the .strongth of the New Zealand Volunteer Force ;(inoluding riflo clubs and defence, cadet corps) since 1901:— '.'■'-"'".,'''.'/:':, , In- '' De- '■' •'- - - : -V Strength, crease, oroase. ■1901-2: 13 y 934 - ... — "—' 1902-3-^v..-... : .„.:.:i8;490,. ,'4,556 — :i903,4:;.,:;..v....;....'.a8i552 62 - 1904-5 -:-:;.' :rt. ; : 19;276 . ■ 724 ' — ; 1900-o.^-......;...,.-20,070 '794 - 1906-7' -~.: £0,033 — - 37 1907-8' 19,947 ' - ' 86 1903-9 20,428- 481' ; The link between the. school cadet forcu and the •volunteer force is the defence cadet corps. How havo.these fared? They came into existence in 1902-03, and their progress sinco : then'has been as follows— . .

Period. Strength. Increase. Decreaso, r 1902-03 ..:■■ 2387 i. . — -' — ' .".. 1903-04. ... 3006 ' 119 .— \'< 1904205 <»!v'.-:i 3143' 137 : —' I:- 1905-06 ... 31'25, ■'■—.: 18 ; 1906-07 • ... 3091 ■ ' — 31 I' • , :.1907--03'''-.v-¥ ; '3lsß'\.- ..'64, ■••■: — ■ -'

; It will be 'noted that from 1901 to 1906 there was a steady increaso in tho strength of the volunteer force, due very largely to tho wave of militarism which was one of.tho inevitable consequences, of the Boor war. In 1908 the 20,000 niark was passed, and sinco then only'3sß men havo boon added, to" the strength. Decreases, are shown for. the periods 1906-07": and 1907-08, due to the extinction of certain unsatisfactory corps. The truth of the matter is that- whatever increase has been noted in the strength of tho volunteer force is due, hot to the cadet movement, but to a natural growth'. from the increase of the country's population. Isj then, the cadet movement, in its present form and policy worth while '(- I think not. What then? For tho answer to that,. I would: invite the attention of those interested in tho physical-and mental development of the boys of Now Zealand to a movement which embodies in its principles and aims so much that, appears "unquestionably sound and excellent as to inspiro the feeling that something—a great deal, in facfrr-of these aims and principles might" witn advantage displace somo of the more showy and superficial features of the New Zealand School Cadet Army. I refer to tho'boys' scout movement.