JUNIOR CADETS.

Timaru Herald, Volume XCIV, Issue 14656, 25 January 1912, Page 7

JUNIOR CADETS.

&ND THEIR ADMINISTRATION. ORiITIOISM AND REPLY. ,-m> \ Husro arc close- on ona hundred " Ifeohool touchers nt tho Junior Cadet 'pSicorß' Qump at the Show Grounds, *nd 'they huvo proved themselves n (loyal' lent by some resolutions passed S& o meeting yesterday. i A CARPING CRITIC. v Recently "Senior Sub," iu the Wellington "Dominion," wrote a twotooliunn critiquo of Mm public school feudal eylrtein, adversely criticising tho of tho cadets, and this Avas tho subject under consideration Yesterday. "Sonior Sub" objects to the (expense of tho junior cadet system, '•"with it 6 Commandant, Headquarters Stuff, battalions, corps of teachers, officers, olaborat-o regulations, and so forth.•' Ho epccially rnmpluins of tho cost of sending the head of the DopartWnt, Major '.[.'. W. Alauloimld, to England for training, and of tho extra pay to his locum tenons. Tho writer Ju-oeeedS: — "Tho public, and mora

especially tho members of the teaching profession, have never been altogether satisfied irith the action of tho Government in appointing an outsider :o tho position of Staff Officer to bo Commandant of tho Junior Cadets, and the prospect of the Acting Commandant ultimately stepping into the shoe's of his senior, is viewed, with still less nutisfactiou. "What is tho position now? Under the compulsory provisions of the Defence Act a boy is linhlo to two years' training in tho Junior Cadets, or an equivalent-course as a Boy Scout; four years' trainiii;; in tho Senior Cadets: seven years' training in the Territorial Force; and one voar's enlistment n tlio Reserve. Thw is jnittiive the liability nt tho minimum defined by the -Act. What will probably happen is that tho authorities will at present, lit any rate, insist on the Junior Cadet training, the Senior Cadet course, and four years in tho adult forces, provided tho citizen soldier qualifies as efficient in that time*. Cutting out tho JurrVir Cadet.--., there still remains eicdifc years (rfjservioe, assuming tho above probability —which is a fa'r stretell. It mav bo argupd, with somo point, that tho tiainin;; of the Junior Cadets has been lately so denuded of its military requirements that it cannot bo seriously regarded as military traii-imp:: that at its host it provides :i training in freo gymnastics, an elementary knc-wtadjjo of musketry, and so on. Granted. Then, why pay £6OOO 1 odd a year to maintain a * highly centralized Denartm-ent to control this I irttraction ? This is tho position in a nutshell. Tho advent of thousands of Senior Cadets, who, from 14 to 18, will bo systematically trained, has removed tlio military raisou d'etre rf tho School Cadets, and tho work now asked of them could quite easily, and with less protoneo, ho done by the tr-ncherfc themselves. The joke- of thesituation is that while the School Cadets, boys from 12 to 11, have their companies, battalions, and all the semblance of a miniature army when paraded for ceremonial, the Sonior Cadet companies have no battalion organisation, and the nystom of control is decentralized as lor as possible. Tho battalion organisation for School Cadets has never been a success, a3 "L'Affairo Balla-choy" demonstrated. Tliero school battalions should .bo broken -up, and tho reinh of authority handed back to tho headmasters of tho under tho control of their education' boards. As f or tho Junior Cadet Department— well, prontlemon, we thank you for your services, and -will find something else far you to do.'" OFFICERS' RESOLUTIONS. Tho following was handed to Captain Stevens by Major Mekuffey yesterday : At a meeting of Junior Cadot officers, tho following resolutions were passed heartily and unanimously:— (1) That, we, Junior Cadet officers, both tho North and South Islands, assembled in company at Timaru, in viow of recent newspaper utterances, wish to emphatically reiterate tho protest mado ia3t yoar in similar circumstances. (2) "Wo arc opposed to the Junior Oadet Department being controlled by tho Defence Department. (3) Wo are opposed to the Junior Cadet Department being done away with, and tho substituting of local instead of central control. i) Wo consider that, in tho interests of education and defence, both Departments should be kept separata as at present.

An accompanying letter stated that the officers desired to express their complete confidence in the presont administration of tho Junior Cadet Department and their appreciation of the excellent work clone on behalf of tho Junior Cadets by the headquarters staff. The signatures wero added of SeniorMajor W r . G. Mehaffey, Major D. Murray, Major J. W. Smith, and Major F. Betbune. CAPTAIN STEVENS SEEN. A "Herald" reporter called on Captain Stevens, and asked if Tie Jmd anything to oay concerning tlie criticism, and tho resolutions passed by tho officers. Tho Commandant was reticent, stating that he would prefer to ignoro the newspaper article, which was similar to one published .immediately prior to last year's camp, so that tho critic •appeared as one "inspired." "You may say," said the Captain, "that the artielo is a mass of inaoetir.LOtes." The Department's grant was £7OOO per annum, out of which came tho cost of equipment, uniforms ruiniaturo ranees, and tho staff salaries. The svatem-nt that tho Dopartnient would cost tho country something like £6OOO a year was 'inaccurate and entirely uitlendinjr. A.s a matter of fact, the 30,000 cadets controlled by the Department averaged a cost of less than os per head.