Boy Scouts

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 7979, 9 December 1911, Page 14

Boy Scouts

[BY SCO XTTH ABTE E..J

Notes of tho doings of patrols iu the Wellington province are Invited by “Scoutmaster," care oT the “N.Z. Tiraea." Every scoutmaster has a story to tell of the weekly movements of his troop, if he will only tell it. By the interchange of newa the boys get to know what in being done, and so they aro encouraged in their work.

Character Training. General Sir Robert Baden Powell, in the last issue of tho "London Headquarters Gazette" writes: Character training for <nr boys, then, is the essential groundwork for making our men. into a nation of good citizens. It is equally essential for making them into coulters. Now, one great organisation which is doing a great good for the boys is that of the Cadet Corps, It gives them an outdoor life and physical development; it gives them tho training of soldiers, the lovo for their country, and a sense of duty and discipline which is not given them inside the school walls. I have been an ardent Cadet man since I was a bugler in tho Charterhouse Cadet Corps; I have had: Cadets under mo on active service; I have held the rank or Honorary Commander of several Cadet corps; and I liaVe seen their great expansion in our oversea domini ns; bill, gradually, as I hnvo got older and studied their ways and looked around, I Pave defected many sli-.ricontings aod many defects in the Ciulct system. Not long ago my suspicions wore turned into almost certainly by Mr John Burns. “Yon are going in tho wrong direction with those Cadets of yours,” he said, “because the more you train and drill a boy to he a soldier m his youthful years, the less he will want to become a eoldior when ho comes to tho ago for soldiering. You have to be careful how- you put the glamour of wearing the King’s uniform before him, because it may wear off as he gets older; ho gets bored 'with the drill, and he may never want to take to it again." One secs, on locking into the returns, that that is very much what has happened with the Cadets; only a very small percentage have gone into tho service nftenvards. Now that tho system is improving, and the work is getting more interesting—less of tho goose-step and moro-ot the held work—no d.-übt that state of ’things will improve, but still there aro undoubted drawbacks to the Cadet organisation. Wo should owe a great deal to Cadet corps if they could ‘ mako up for tho cmissh ns of the school edVicatim of tho If you look at the largo mass of the middle-class and lower-class boys, you will find, as they grow up into young men, they havo no sense of discipline, they aro very self-assertive —though for very littlo reason—and they are wantingin self-reliance and in fortitude, which are essential qualities whether they are going to bo citizens or soldiers. That point is brought home to ns by our oversea dominions where “no Englishman need apply," where formerly an Englishman i sed to be the very typo of fellow that was wanted. One sees it, too, in the army, thriftless fellows coming in with no idea of discipline, and officers having to try and hustle it into them at an age when they aro probably too old to pick it up. So a great possibility would seem to lie before Cadet corps, at any rate in the United Kingdom. What it may be in some of our, oversea dominions, where there is an obligatory system, I do not know; the authorities may be able to keep them longer as Cadets and to give them a more thorough training in real sound discipline, So that it becomes part of their character. But wo British do not readily accept a merely repressive form of discipline, with' punishment for faults. It does not take hold of us. What wo act up to is more a sense ol "playing the game," a sense of honour and "good form." These appeal to an Englishman much more than any dread of punishment, ■ and supply a much sounder and more permanent form of discipline, and one which we can instil into him if we can only get the hoy early enough, before he has grown into tho hooligan or the lout. SPORTS AT ISLAND BAY. On Saturday afternoon last the members of tho Island Bay troop of Boy Scouts gave a display in Mr P. Beckett’s grounds, under the direction of Mr C. Trimm. There were about a hundred spectators present, the charge for admission realising a substantial sum. District Commander H. N. McLeod inspected tbe appointments of the grounds, consisting of two huts, built by the senior and junior members of the corps, shelter tent, trestle bridge, and various other arts of scout-craft. During tho afternoon a competition between the Kelburne and Island Bay troops was held, the latter winning. Following are the results;—Distancejudging and observation—C. Harper 1, A. Shaw 2. First fiid (open competition) —Rutherfbrd and Lewis 1, Robinson and Dronwell 2. Ur Deamer said that he had had a hard task in awarding first place, the work done being excellent. The winners belong to the Kelburne troop. Knot-tying competition—P. Andrews 1, R. London 2, A. Curlew 3. Pole-tying—C. Trimm 1, A. Curlew 2. The bun-eating competition was won by A. Shaw. Mr Frost, pipemajor of the Wellington Pipe Band, rendered several selections upon the bag-pipes, which were much enjoyed by all. The demonstration concluded with a tug-of-war between tho two troops, and was won, after a hard struggle, by Kelburne. NEWTOWN TROOP. ■ Tho Newtown Scouts are all working hard for their concert on December 18th. A squad of hoys will give a display of first aid, and several will show their skill .at knot-tying. The campfire scene at the end of tho concert should prove of great interest to scouts as well as to the general public. There -will be an opportunity of seeing the latest style of camp-hilly, which is sure to bo popular in the future, and should be tested at the Christmas camps. Scouts may inspect it after the concert.