THE COLLEGE CADETS' ENCAMPMENT.

Colonist, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5778, 16 April 1890, Page 6 (Supplement)

THE COLLEGE CADETS' ENCAMPMENT.

The College corps to town on evening, after a most successful and enjoyable five days' camp at Brightwater. from all accounts they lost nothing by their enforced absence from the seat of war at the capital. The tents were pitched in a field belonging to Mr Andrews and adjoining the Wairoa River, and for convenience, comfort, end picturesque surroundings the situation could not essily have been excelled. The weather, except on Friday, when a cold and disagreeable southerly wind was blowing, was all that could be desired, for little or nothing was felt of the gale that swept Blind Bay with such force on Tuesday. The commissariat department was well managed, the meat and bread supplied from the village, and the groceries supplied by Mr Chishelm "being of the best quality, while the cooking left nothing to complain of. We learn that the cost per head per day was not in exoess of one shilling, which was certainly a very moderate expenditure. Owing to the generosity of the College Governors an da lew gentlemen who interested themselves in the success of the experiment, the charge did not fall heavily on the boys. Perhaps another year the experiment could be repeated on a larger scale, for, now tbat it is pretty definitely settled that cadets may not attend Government eocampments, some means must be found of keeping the cadet movement alive.

The programme observed in Camp was as follows :— Reveille at; 6; physical drill or line exercises for an hour before breakfast ; breakfast at 8 ; company drill, including skirudshing and the new attaok formation, at 10 ; dinner at 1 ; battalion drill in the afternoon, the battalion being represented by fonr skeleton oompanie3 ; tea at 5.30 ; lights out at 10. There were a few variations in the programme, for instance on Monday afternoon, when the youth and beauty of the ■village and some visitors from town appeared in the Camp, the rifle exercises were exhibited, some company movements %ere gone through, together with the skirmishing and attack formations expounded with plenty of Wank cartridge. On Sunday the corps marched to -Sit Paul's Church, where the Yea Archdeacon Males preaohed an able sermon. Guard mounting and relieving, and the posting Bnd relieving of sentries were practised on aeveral occasions. Spare moments were filled in with bathing, football, shooting on the local ran go, and Morris tube practice with a weapon kindly lent by Capt. Leggatt, ot the H Battery. Although there were one or two cases of slight temporary indisposition, there was no serious case of sickness.

On Monday afternoon one of the boys, named Young, gallantly rescued a comrade who had foolishly led his companions to Relieve that he could swim, and bad ventured oat of his depth. His cries and straggles were naturally supposed to be a stupid bit of pantomime, and it was only after he had gone nndar more than once that it dawned upon his fellow bathers that something more tban a piece of acting was taking place. We mention the incident as a warning.