AUSTRALIA'S CADETS.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1461, 8 June 1912, Page 11

AUSTRALIA'S CADETS.

20,000 SHIKKETiS. The owl of the first year of compulsory training in Australia' is being reached, with mixed misgivings and ' satisfaction (states the Melbourne. "Age"). Tho new system, thanks to those qualities in Australians which caused Lord. Kitchener to describe them as "nuighifitent fighting material," has weathered several squalls which might with enso have wrecked so . delicate a barque. On the whole, parents and cadets are satisfied that, for the first vear the success has been fair, and , that "should mistakes in. administration be corrected and a better spirit be induced among tho "loafing section" of the trainees, the scheme will become the most ' useful national work of the Federal Parliament. That this loafing section is inordinately large is. shown .by new official tables giving the actual work performed amongst the cadets:— Other Total 'Officers. Hanks. Strength. N.B. Wales'....' 605 33,742 3.1.347 Vetoria 575 23,925 29,500 Oueensfnnd ...... 185 11.803 • 11.968 v Wstu. Australia 63 3,900 4,052 "Tasmania 61 3,193 3.254 •Australia 1,489 81,652 83,141 Average PerAtteiid- centage ■ o.oco AtleiidPer Musketry ance Statutory Com- to Parade, meiiced. Strength. \.S. Wales 23:019 1.289 68.5 Victoria 19,524 6,1 IS 66.2 Queensland 8.131 1.201 ' 68.8 Westn. Australia 2,393 1,704 59.2 Tasmania 1,546 ' 280 47.5 •Australia 54,618 10,595 65.6 *Excluding South Australia. These figures show the position on March 3t last, Hint being the end of Hie third quarter. The only returns from '' South Australia are that an average of 4948 officers and cadets attended, nr a percentage of about. 55 of the strength. It is plain that large numbers of cadets are shirking their legal obligations. Under the Defence Act they are obliged to attend tho statutory parades or make up for their absence by two additional voluntary parades. Allowing for unavoidable absences, only 75 per cent, of tho compulsory trainees met their obligations during ( the last quarter, and plainly great numbers are laying themselves open to the rigorous prosecutions promised for nonattendance. These 20,000 shirkers will surely land themselves and their parents in a'tad position unless they commence at once to take advantage of the extra parades ordered by the Minister for those who have not attended the full number of drills, rrosecution is certain to follow.