CADETS AND TERRITORIALS

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Volume 58, Issue 166, 15 August 1929, Page 8

CADETS AND TERRITORIALS

From Our Special Parliamentary Reporter.

CAUSE OF REJECTIONS. GENERAL YOUNG'S RE-ASSUR-ANCE.

Ml'ILLINGTON, This day. That there is 110 cause for alarm at the number of rejections_ from the Territorial Force for physieal reasons is a reassuring statement made hy the G.O.C., Major-General Young, ra his annual report presented in the House of Representatives yesterday. _ The physieal standard of our Territorial force, savs the G.O.C., is equal to that required for the British regular army, although tlie medreal examination is not so searchrag for our young men of 18 years, who have stiil a few years to develop. It is not considered _ that tTie percentage of rejections, in view of the high standard set, is such as to cause alarm. r . . A larger proportion of rejections than usual took _ place ^st year consequent 011 Territorials and Oadets being drafted into categories, according to physieal development, and it was erroneously concluded that the ahnormal number of rejections mdicated that the physique of our youtlis was falling off and that the traimng of Cadets was not having the beneficial effect that was claimed for it by supporters of compulsory military training. _ . _ A1 , It is therefore emphasised that . classification, aecording to age, weight, , lieight, and cliest measurements was an innovation prompted by the necessitv of reducing, by the most s economical and fairest method, the number for training in the Territorial foree. The expenditure for defenee purposes from the Gonsolidated Fund, including aviation and assistance to rifle eluhs, was £464,595, a deerease of £17,164 on tlie previous year. This represented 6s 3.8d per head of the population, as against 6s 7.5d for tho previous year. The amount expended on general training and administration was £27,769 less than in tho previous year, while the expenditure on aviation was £10,605 greater. The net expenditure from the Public Works Furnl vote "oontingent defenee" for the year was £67.652, heing £27,666 greater than for tlie previous year, hut including £43,974 for construction and development work at the Hobsonville aviation base. The expenditure per head of population for the comhined defenee (ndministration and training) and oontingent defenee (eon* struetion and works) was 7s 2.8d.