sale looting. Every vestige not only of scientific equipment but also of fittings and woodwork was removed from the newly opened Northcote Science Building and from the medical schools. The only buildings which escaped serious damage were the main floor of the University in which is housed the main Library, and the Fung Ping Shan Chinese Library and Tang Chi Ngong School of Chinese Studies. Even after the Japanese surrender in 1945, some looting persisted, adding to the task of rehabilitation with which the University was faced in 1946. Fortunately the libraries suffered least. The University Library, including the Morrison Collection and the Hankow Library, was intact with the exception of a number of books dealing with the Pacific area. The Fung Ping Shan Chinese Library also remained almost intact, and of three private collections housed in the Fung Ping Shan Library for safe- keeping two still remained whole, while the third, belonging to the National University of Peking, was removed by the Japanese but has now been recovered in part and restored to the National University. No less serious than the material damage suffered by the University was the grievous loss sustained by the teaching staff. During hostilities one member of the staff was killed and one seriously wounded. The years of the occupation also took a heavy toll, three Professors, the University Treasurer and two Lecturers losing their lives.
Early in 1946 the Secretary of State for the Colonies appointed a Committee, established by Order in Council under the title of the University of Hong Kong Provisional Powers Committee, to deal in London with the liquidating of the University's obligations to its staff and to purchase supplies and equipment for an early reopening. The powers of this Com- mittee were similar to those of the Council. Supplies were obtained but the scarcity of shipping space caused serious delay. On December 31st, 1945, the Secretary of State appointed a Committee to advise on the future of the University, both immediate and more distant. The terms of reference were:
(a) whether or not the University of Hong Kong, as such, should continue to exist and if so the policy which should govern its resuscitation and
(b) the steps necessary to re-start such of the work hitherto undertaken by the University as is essential for the needs of Hong Kong, whatever the decision arrived at on the broader issue.
Discussion and examination of the Committee's report which was submitted in July, 1946, have continued throughout the year, particularly in regard to the financial aspects of the proposals, and by the end of the year it had still not been possible to make any announcement regarding the future of the University. The administration of the University continued on the same tem-
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