The Timaru Herald. SATURDAY, JANUARY 24, 1906. THE CADET MOVEMENT.

Timaru Herald, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 12909, 24 February 1906, Page 4

The Timaru Herald. SATURDAY, JANUARY 24, 1906. THE CADET MOVEMENT.

In his ranaifcfi at Anlibuilon a few daj-f* ago. when referring It> the cadet nwrement, tic Premier declared lliat in a. country -whe:* thie tyttem was introduced there would oerer be any need to mention conscription again, and lie connnieotosd generally on tie beneficial re-Knit* that bare been and are likely to be produced in this colony by thin Mrxlem. 3t -will be .admitted that Mr Seddon -wra* correct in the view* he «xpreKned an to the aerit* of the movement. Of all the innovation* by which it has been nought to improve our edtu-aiional w-Ktem during rectal years notie is nitre (dgniiicatii than the public -school cadet xchtsme. Themovement in favour of including drill and military cxeicisten in Ihe ordinary school curriculum gained considerable itnpctu* fiom the outbreak of the -war in South Africn. and the de+patcb <f the colonial .contingents, vbich neve largely raKponrable few* fanning the fire of military anxaig the people of tne colonies. But the trend in the dincction mentioned -was fairly - notircabte t-evmc lime before the Boer war eventuated, and the movement ■sroald have ma.de a. f-tt-ady advance even ■withcut the Ktimiuw it received intm that famous ftruggle. According to the present Xexr Zealand Education Act provision has to be ma.de in nil public nchoob for instmction in military drill to be given to all boy*, and it cannot be doubled* that frcm the Stolen point of view thix kind of instruction in among the most beneficial that the boy* of the colony receive duiing their ncbool years. It as intercMing to learn from official etafchstace that at the end of 19W the number o£ boy* and girls receiving instruction, in mujt-ary and physical exercises wa» 112,634, while at the ead of J-nr* of last jmr there were 246 cadet corps in the colony, with a fitrcngth of 12,524 member*;. Thee*

"young soldier*'" are equipped .vriAh Ihe "model rifles*' -which have been imported by the Education Department for the purpose of drill, and with a percentage of miniainre Martini-Henry rifles for, target, practice. It is satisfactory -also to ieara from the last leport of the- Education Department that the Kpecial 'clauses which hare been held in centra] districts for instructing school teachers in military drill are now comddejefl no longer nafcewauy. the majority of these for mrhose they -witre established having already j)rofited by them t<> a sufficient extent. Af we remaiked above, ihe benefits that have accrued to the State and to its youthful members from tbi» institution ■"■! the cadet system do not admit of do-übt, aad the New Zealand Education Department ha* been congratulated by competent authorities on the steps it has taken in thii* matter. In the fii'sl plac*-, the cadet movement, as Mr Seddon pointed out iir his speech at Asßburton. aerves t>o jtolve the pi-oldcm that fa.ee* the rulers of anation in vrhich. for various I'easons, con- . sariptjeva sever has* had and perer

have popular opinior, on its side. Further, the drill, discipline, and exercise involved in the training given to the cadets cannot fail to have' a valuable influence on thr rising generation both from a moral and from a physical point of view. As a feeder for the volunteers, the cadet system may be confidently expected to maks its effects felt in an appreciable manner in a few years' time. Already New Zealand possesses a .larger number of volun- .. teers and cadets in proportion to its population than any other part of the Empire, and it can "rely on maintaining this preeminence in the. future as long as the oadet movement is fostered systematically toy annual encampments . and competitions of various descriptions.- In this branch of national training New Zealand is considerably in advance of the Old Country, as there is no recognised cadet system there in connection with the public schools, though, of course, some schools and some TTolunteer companies have cadet corps attached to them. Attention has been drawn in recent years in Britain to the difficulties attendant on maintaining the present system of voluntary enlistment in. the militia and volunteers, and many impartial obr servers see no solution of the problem :, : of national defence except some form of compulsory military service. It is here, however, that the importance of the cadet movement reveals itself; for it gives to

the citizens of the future at the most —r* convenient time in their lives that military 1 training which experts are agreed the members of every nation ought to possess if that nation means to be able to maintain its position among the - military Powers of the day. Moreover, in such a country as the United Kingdom the cadet system would encourage a taste for the military calling among the younger generation, and, if it existed there, the authorities would most probably find less difficulty in obtaining enlistments for the militia and volunteers-.""' The syst-e-ihi that is in force in New Zealand has met with the approval of such well-known officers as " Lord Methuen, and the latter has done a great deal towards trying to have a similar system introduced into the Old Country. The cadet movement has been thoroughly organised also in Australia, Canada and Natal, and has satisfied the authorities wherever it has been tried. Itgives the countries that adopt the system an incieased number.of citizens competent to bear arms in a case of emergency, and for this reason is worthy, of. the support of the public in eveiy part of the E:n- ---■ pir-e