GREAT EXPANSION.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 808, 4 May 1910, Page 5

GREAT EXPANSION.

JUNIOR CADET ENROLMENT.

(By Telegraph—Press Association.)

• . ' . Auckland, May 3. ■Llw great expansion of the junior cadett movement which has taken place »mce the passing of the new Defence Act was referred to by the Minister for .Education (Hon. Geo. Fowlds) in his Bpeech at the opening" of a miniature rifle range at Devonport public School this afternoon. The number of cadets on.in t0 < ' a ' e " '1 16 Minister, was 18,089, and there were 2510 scouts. The fitter had nothing to do with the "Boy Scouts" movement, but consisted of boys attending small schools with an attendance of 7 from _ five to ■ fourteen, where it was not. possible to form junior cadet . corps. The total cadets and scouts, to date wa? thus 21,899, whereas the total at the end of last year was only, 13,000. Thrro h;irl thus "beep an increase already this year, under the new scheme, of 5899. . The number of units hod also increased from 310 to Cl 9. Of 2231 schools ),hat had. been communicated with, onlv 320. had supplied returns, and it was Astimawd that, when all the returns were in, the .total number of cadets working under the new scheme would be shown to - be no fewer than 25,000 as against 12,000 ' under the old scheme.