The daily morning journal and courier., 1906-11-15


 Operations There-systematic Work Now Being Done by the South Afr;-
 can States.
 It is an old saying that the best guarantee of peace is a state of pre- paredness for war. Where a nation is like the Boers or Swiss, nation of sharpshooters, the fact becomes much accentuated, as was shown in the last Anglo-Boer war, when the republican forces, few in number held the whole British army at bay for three yearsa and reqiured all the great resources of the Empire to finally defeat them. This was due entirely to the excellence of the Boer markmanship and horseman- ship, which were equalled only by the colonial troops of Cape Colony and Natal, the majority of whose members had practically the same training as had the Boers themselves.
 The quality of the Boer shooting was due entirely to the familiarity of their youth with the rifle. Among the republican ranks were to be found many children of comparatively ten der years, who shouldered their guns and fought the campaign, side by side with their fathers and elder brothers, with remarkable steadiness and deter animation. Many a Tommy Atkins" wsa sent to his last account by the hand of a youngster, whose height Nf ha rfH hl handled, and who by all theory should have been at home with his mother Commandos included boys of tir- teen and fourteen years of age, who, in skill with the rife and alertness in scouting were the equal and often the superior of their adult comrades.
 The reason for this is not far to seek. South African boys, especially in the rural districts, grow up familiar with firearms. and at an early age, wherever opportunity affords, are per mitted to go game shooting with their elders, and often by themselves and by sheer dint of practice become more or less shots and judges of, distance while among all ranks rife practice is q favorite sport and numerous are the shooting clubs distributed through the country.
 The expertness of the Boer marks men, and their consequent succesges, raw levies as they were against the disciplined British forces are matter of history. They were mainly due to the latter's lack of training in shoot ing an inability to judge distances. Many of the soldiers recruited in Eng land, especially towards the close of the war, and sent out as drafts to the regiments in the field, had had no eX- perlence, and had not fired a shot in their lives, while even tho:e who had, were quite incapable of long-range shooting
 These unfortunates were sent out to meet the Boer, familiar with his weap- on and with the light and peculiar atmosphere conditions of the South African veldt (which renders correct SeaainG of distance so hazardous to the newcomer) and who practised in- dependent firing, without any con- federation of from or style. Taking every kind of cover Qor the Boer is a born skirmisher,) he was more than a match for the superior numbers, dis cipline, and (often) weapons of the British troops.
 At the capture of the armored train at Chievely, this was illustrated by the fact that the Boers engaged had been firing at calculated range of 800 to 900 yards, while the rifles of the British troops who surrendered were found to be sighted at 1,700 yards, clearly show that this order had been given by a superior officer, ignorant of range judging. This accounted for the dis parity of those killed and wounded, the loss on the British side exceeding that of the Boers ten times.
 Lessons thus taught by the campaign have not been quite forgotten, and in England there is now a general move inent ahead for the training of youths at public schools in the use of the rifle Field Marshal Roberts has peristently advocated its adoption, but up to the present the response has been a half hearted one
 In South Africa, however where the war came nearer home, and it's lessons are more ueeply 6nBTdlneQ, the n6CeS- slty of maintaining the excellence of the colonial shooting, and training the younger colonists to the same high standing has appealed to the people and the Government. The result has been the establishment of the cadet system, whereby the boys at public schools and colleges are trained to shoot, and drilled to fair extent, un- der the direct supervision of the mili- tary authorities. In no country prob ably has a better general military training for the young been inaugural ed than in the Transvaal-a training based on bitter experience gained in the field-although Cape and Natal do not lag far behind.
 Under the Transvaal system the ca dets form a junior branch of the local military forces. Each public school or college is encouraged to raise and main tain a company from amongest the students. There are now over fifty different institutions, distributed throughout the colony, which have rabsed companies forming separate units of the brigade, and over four thousand young lads are obtaining a systematic training in military drill and shooting, under Government super vision.
 The Covernn,ent furnishes nacessarv