B.—ll

1911. NEW ZEALAND.

NEW ZEALAND JUNIOR CADETS (REPORT ON THE).

Presented to both Houses of the General Assembly by Command of His Excellency.

Tin Commandant of the Nh:\v Zealand Juniob Cadets to the Hon. the Minister of Education, Wellington. Sik, Wellington, 11th July, 1911. 1 have the honour, pursuant to subsection (2) of section 36 of the Defence Act, 1909, to submit the following repori on the Junior Cadets of New Zealand lor the year ended 31st March, 1911. The following summary, compiled from returns received from approximately 2,000 schools (public and private) in the Dominion, will show that the total strength of the Junior Cadet Force (including Seoul Cadets) is L'ii.OCiT. which is an increase of nearly 5,000 on the number for 1910. The Scout Cadets do not include any units belonging to the Boy Scout organization ; they comprise patrols formed at small schools where it would lie difficult to work Cadet detachments. Their training is similar to the Boy Scouts' training. The details of strength are as under : —

On the coming into force of the Defence Act, 1909 10, providing for the compulsory training of Junior Cadets, which necessitated the taking-over of all assets and lawful liabilities by the Government, it was found that a very large amount of the equipment in the possession of Cadet units was worn out, in some eases being as much as from eight to ten years old. and required replenishing, in addition to which each new unit as it was formed had to be fully equipped. Consequently, 10,000 sets of equipment (including model rifles, belts, and haversacks), lo.ooi) caps, and 6,000 jerseys had to lie purchased during the year. Owing to the large amount of work at Headquarters due to the reorganization, re-equipment, the taking-over and adjusting the assets and liabilities of the Public-school Cadets, which existed prior to the adoption of obligatory training. I found it impossible to do much inspection-work- during the transitory period, which may be said to have continued during the whole year. Wherever 1 did go, however, I found the utmost enthusiasm shown by all ranks, and. generally speaking, satisfactory work being done by officers, non-commissioned officers, and Cadets. I was able to advise many schools in the selection of sites for miniature ranges, and was also able to settle many minor difficulties on the spot.

Number of Number of I "nits. Officers. Number of Cadets and Officers. junior Cadet officers Scoutmasters J unior Cadet units Scout Cadet units Cadets (all ranks) Scout Cadets (all ranks) Totals Totals for 1909-10 .. 913 320 490 645 "" i 1! J_ 1,135 1.233 .. : 1,013 1,100 22,939 6,128 29,067 24,300 I i l_ I Increase 1910-11 122 133 4,767