222 Australian Life 



in the programme of education, the instruction 

 consisting of the reading aloud of chosen pas- 

 sages from the Bible and works of a moral 

 character. Of the two systems, the former has 

 given the more general satisfaction, and in spite 

 of warm remonstrances from some of the religious 

 bodies, it seems unlikely that any alteration will 

 be made in the free, compulsory, and secular 

 educational system. 



There is nothing exceptional about the course 

 of education provided, unless it is the importance 

 attached to physical drill. All children are drilled, 

 but the elder boys are attached to the Australian 

 military forces, by means of the cadet corps. 

 Almost every large school has its band of cadets, 

 who wear neat khaki uniforms and are armed 

 with light rifles, in the use of which they are fre- 

 quently instructed. Every year, these boys have 

 shooting matches, and the scores prove that 

 among the youngsters there are many who have 

 already become skilled marksmen. On leaving 

 school, the cadet can attach himself to a corps 

 better suited to his altered mode of life, and from 

 that body may pass into the Militia force without 

 having suffered his military training to fall into 

 neglect. When the Prince of Wales visited Aus- 

 tralia for the opening of the Commonwealth 

 Parliament, four thousand of these cadets took 

 part in a review held at Melbourne. Foreign 

 officers from most of the European armies wit- 

 nessed the review, and much as they were struck 



