THE HONGKONG GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, 23RD NOVEMBER, 1878. 567
proprietor, to work by night instead of day when necessary. In other words, the Chinamen would be detained on board the ship prisoners, not allowed to land until they put their names to a contract of service. And what was the meaning of it? The Harbour Master publishes every year the emigration rules of Hongkong, and one of the rules is this--passed by the Governor in Council at the instigation of the Secretary of State that there is to be no enigration whatever where there is a contract of service except to British Colonies. That was known to the gentlemen at Honolulu, and to all the officials concerned, and by that which I now publicly state to be a false, frandulent, and illegal act, these gentlemen endeavoured to evade that regulation. The Sandwich Islands do not constitute a British Colony. No contract service labourers could leave Hongkong for that place but by signing a false paper here because the licence paper said they were free and under no contract of service and then having got them into the waters of the Sandwich Islands they would be made contract service labourers, with no British Magistrate to protect them. To whom am I indebted for the exposé of that fraud? To the Tung Wah Hospital Committee. In the days of the Macao coolie trade it was they who first exposed it, and over and over again in this Colony there have been abuses exposed by the action of the Tung Wah Hospital. They deserve great credit. And I may say, too, though it concerns their own people, that I think, as the head of the Government here, I may congratulate that Committee on the result of the collection they made this year, for the relief of the sufferers by the famine in China-$108,000 among their own countrymen in this town. So much for the Tung Wah Hospital. I agree with my predecessors that the building is a credit to the Colony; the Committee I regard as amongst our most useful citizens.
My Honourable friend has also brought forward to-day the question of Education. Now my Honourable friend is fairly entitled to ask why is it that the new Central School, on the purchase of a site for which we have laid out so much money, has not been commenced, and to that a very simple answer can be given. I received not long since from Sir MICHAEL HICKS-BEACH a despatch in which he asks me to furnish him with my recommendations on Education generally in Hongkong. He had, indeed, previously, immediately on coming into office, addressed a similar despatch to me, and therefore I was able to tell him the despatch in which he repeated his previous inquiry had crossed a despatch of mine in which I had given my recommendations to Her Majesty's Government. Now I think it would hardly be fair to Her Majesty's Government-it would be highly unpractical-at the very moment when a Governor is called upon to give his recommendations, if we were to proceed at once to have plans and estimates drawn for the new building, when, for aught I know, Her Majesty's Government may not agree with may Honourable friend that the present building is too small. It is possible Her Majesty's Gevernment may say, you must in Hongkong spend a little more money on the children of the poor, you must not confine your grant to a middle class institution, you must devote a little attention to the 12,000 poor children who, Mr. STEWART tells us, are running about the streets uneducated; and it is possible Her Majesty's Government may tell us, when you have done that, when you have grappled with crime at its source, you may spend as much money as your un-official friends may desire. My Honourable friend used the phrase that the Central School was ignored. I venture to think he cannot have paid much attention to what has been done in the Central School since I came to the Colony. The Central School was one in which we all understood the Chinese were taught English, but you remember what I discovered myself on that subject. Have I done nothing at all to endeavour to carry out a little more teaching of English in the school? Has the Honourable gentleman no recollection of an Education Eference that met on the question of teaching English?
Honourable W. KESWICK.-It was the building I referred to.
His EXCELLENCY.-Yes, precisely; but if it was a part of our recommendations that there should be five other schools in the Colony-five preparatory schools-does that in no degree lighten the burden that will fall on the Central School? If we are to have five other schools, and that my Honourable friend is aware is a part of the scheme that has been proposed and which I believe he approved-I sent round the papers to him and to all the un-official members of Council-it was a project costing $10,000 and you have all approved of it. I think it is a very good scheme, but if you have five additional schools costing $10,000 it may appear to Her Majesty's Government that that to some extent will diminish the number in the Central School. I cannot say what Her Majesty's Government will determine, but being asked to report fully and lay my recommendations, such as they may be, before Her Majesty's Government, and those recommendations being now under consideration, it would be highly improper for me to prejudge the whole case, and enter on a costly scheme which might not be approved. I will go further. My Honourable friend has referred to that great difficulty which exists all over the world-the ecclesiastical question. I shall say nothing as to the ecclesiastical dignitary, to whom my Honourable friend has thought proper to refer; but, if my memory serves me rightly, I did state in public in this Colony my views about the education we should have. I said it, certainly, at an institution presided over by another ecclesiastical dignitary, a man of great learning, of great experience in education, and whose institution I was very happy to attend the day that I did so. I refer to St. Paul's College. It was the first time that I had the opportunity of attending that institution and it was when the annual prizes were being distributed. I attended and distributed the prizes, and in accordance with the custom, I made a few remarks. I was surprised to learn when I went to St. Paul's College, that it was the first time for ten or twelve years that any Governor of Hongkong had been at any similar distribution of prizes at that institution. Sir HERCULES ROBINSON used to attend, and so did his predecessors.
Honourable P. RYRIE reminded His Excellency that for serveral years there had been no teaching at the College. His EXCELLENCY.-But it had been in operation for some years before my arrival. Without saying anything now reflecting on any one else, I was the first Governor for ten or twelve years that went there. Well, what did I say? I then publicly announced my views on the education question. I am not sorry, though it is without notice, that
my Honourable friend has referred to them, because it is well to have these things discussed publicly and ventilated. Is my Honourable friend prepared to spend as much money on St. Paul's College as on the Central School in proportion to the number of pupils? If it educates 200, and the Central School 400, would my Honourable friend think it fair to spend the money in that proportion? That is, twice as much or the Central School as on St. Paul's College? I think I can answer, that my Honourable friend would say, no, I am in favour of spending by far the larger proportion of the grant on the Central School; but what is the result? It has two results; first, that you destroy the voluntary efforts of St. Paul's College. Bishop BURDON said to me, how can I afford to bring out teachers from England? You give us a paltry grant that may