ADVANTAGES AND DEFECTS 63

are to help the soldier to bear fatigue, privation, and
danger cheerfully ; toimbue him with a sense of honour;
to give him confidence in his superiorsand comrades ; to
increase his powers of initiative, of self-confidence, and
of self-restraint ; to train him to obey orders, or to act in
the absence of orders for the advantage of his regiment
under all conditions; to produce such a high degree of
courage and disregard of self, that in the stress of battle
he will use his brains and weapons coolly and to the best
advantage; to impress upon him that, so long as he is
physically capable of fighting, surrender to the enemy is
a disgraceful act; and finally to teach him how to act in
combination with his comrades in order to defeat the
enemy. . . .”
.. . The privileges which he inherits as a citizen of
a great empire should be explained to him, and he should
be taught to appreciate the honour, which is his, of serving
 his King and his country.”
These are not mere words, they are the definite aims
of the Officers Training Corps, and an organization with
such high ideals is worthy of the most active encouragement,
 not by any means merely from a militarist standpoint,
 but from the point of view of development of that
fine type of character which is necessary for national
supremacy in the future times of peace.
Much of the value of an Officers Training Corps depends
 upon its voluntary basis, the necessary discipline
is consequently submitted to willingly, for a cadet may
resign his membership at any time. Participation in
such an organization is indeed looked upon as a privilege,
but once it is made compulsory the subject becomes a
part of the school curriculum, and the opportunities of
the master-officer are consequently seriously impaired.
These opportunities to a large extent are dependent on
the fact that in the school corps a master has an opportunity
 of becoming thoroughly acquainted with quite a
5

[ £{