THE SENSOR CADET.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1602, 20 November 1912, Page 8

THE SENSOR CADET.

❖- : . GOOD MATERIAL IN THE ROUGH. IMPERIAL OFFICER'S VIEWS. '"Now that the territorial force is fairly started on lines which should render its futuro development towards efficiency littlo moro than a matter of time, perseverance, and careful administration, the senior cadets are beginning to attract their proper share of public attention," writes Lieut.-Colonol J, T. Burnett-Stu-art, D.S.O. (late Director of Military Operations at New Zealand General Headquarters), in an interesting article published in the last issue of the "New Zealand Military Journal." Hitherto, he observes, tlicy have been rather overwhelmed by ths more pressing needs and the greater glamour of the territorial force, and have consequently been allowed to drop back out of their proper place in the general perspective of the schorae. Jonior Cadets a Mistake. "It is not proposed in this article to make any reference to the junior cadets beyond the expression of n purely personal opinion that the military training of children under the ago of fourteen is a mistake. With boys below that age, and gills, too, the formation of character and tho care and development of tihe body are of such paramount importance that any time that can bo spared, from actual lessons u;ould seem to.be better devoted to these objects than to playing at soldiers; and no better means could be devised for doing this than those offered by tho. boy scout organisation. It is full eariy enough to talk a boy of war when at the ago of fourteen he becomes a senior, cadet, for preparation for war is to bo. the keynote ol' his cadet training. "It is far better honestly to admit this obvious ■ truth than to. confuse the issue by the issue of more comfortable but less definito terms. The business of tho military authorities in New Zealand, as elsewhere, is wdr; it follows, therefore, that the object of all training in the senior cadets, for which the military authorities are responsible, is the production of soldiers. It is for this reason that the cadets are ofiicered from the unattached Jist of tlio territorial force.by men who must' possess tho same qualifications and pass the same professional examinations as other territorial officers. Soldiers in' Embryo, "Wo cannot afford to forget that we in New Zealand liavo delilierately set ourselves tho. task of producing and possessing a citizen army which shall be fit to stand up against tho armies of other nations, and that with a less amount ■ of training than is demanded of its soldiers by any other country.. Therefore,-from thoinioment a boy is enrolled his training as a soldier must begin. Naturally, the methods applied- must be suitable to his age and opportunities; but he 'is- old enough at fourteen to grasp the solemnity of the oath which lie has taken,, and to understand the nature of the duty which he is bting called oil to perform, with the necessity for it. It is the first duty of his officers to explain these things to him so that he may em bark on his soldiering with some earnestuess of purpose, and not regard it entirely as either a lark or u bore. "Though it is important that his training Should begin at once, it is still moro important that it should:begin on the lines that will 'lead him'to'the-'-required end. There is no timo for any misapplication of energy. Precisely stated, the required end is this: that when"tho time comes for transferring the cadet to tho territorial forca ho shall be fit to take his place in that force not as a - recruit, but in the ranks; that he shall have learnt to drill, to handle and care for his rifle, to shoot up to the standard required of • recruits, and to be smart and obedient. We do not want recruits iu the territorial force—they waste time; and it is to the boy's cadet training that we must deliberately look for the passing of' tho recruit stage at least in the non-technical units. The object we have iu viow, then, is quito clear, and it lies with those responsible to. lay down a carefully-iilanned syllabus of cadet training that will lead to its consummation. . , / Our Lads—Amenable to Discipline? "It is often said that the average New Zealand lad is not very amenable to discipline. As an unprejudiced observer I am bound to say that my .own experience, and-that of other Imperial officers with whom I have discussed the question, point quite the other way. As a matter of fact, all peoples of British nationality are peculiarly amenable to discipline once they are brought under it, being of that law-abiding, common-sense , disposition which, accepts direction aftd control when it sees the reason for it. The difficulty of many New Zealand boys appears to mo (I speak with diffidence) to lie, not in their objection to disciplino, bnt N in their unfamiliarity with it in their homo and even in their early school lil'o. I am not speaking of the superficial discipline which enables tlio junior cadet to form fours creditably once a fortnight, but of that real disciplino which teaches a boy to be modest in act and speech, to bo respectful and obedient where respect and submission are due, to fear God," and to keep tho fifth commandment. All a boy wants is to he introduced to discipline in order to understand it and submit himself to its requirements; hence tho great necessity of explaining to him what' it means. It canpofbo cxpectcd that a boy who. has always been allowed, by his parents to do what ho pleases will submit himself jeadily to the control of an outsider without soiae explanation. . . . "AH this points fro getting tho best officers w# can for service with the senior cadots—men who oan not only teach tho boys to be soldiers, but who can guide them and win their confidence. There is | an innato senso of chivalry and duty in almost all boys which mil respond to sympathetic handling; of this tho success of tho boy scout movement is sure proof. But tho handling must bo done by the Tight men. It is the fact, that many such men have already como forward that gives ns the right to hone that many more will still be found. The future of the New Zealand territorial force, nnd even »f Now Zealand herself, is to a great extent in their haads. I ' Tho Blessed Word "Militarism." "There is an unpleasant word that has been much bandied about by those opposed to universal training, cspccially the training of boys, and that wo should do well to dispose of—tho word 'militarism.' 'Militarism' means, as far as I can gather from the uses to which it is put. the gradual subordination of civil to military conditions in a State, and tho consequent domination of society by the military element. A moment's thought will reassure us that , such a stato of affairs is not a nossiblo result of tho defence scheme now in force in this country. Indeed. I do not think it a possibility in any British community. The essence of our svstem is its complete subservience to civil' and economic conditions."