estimates that its following in the Colony is no less than the 22,000 recorded before the war. Methodism also flourishes and resort has been had to the expedient of an 8.30 a.m. service at the Methodist Church in Wanchai in order to relieve pressure on the main noon-day service.
St. John's Cathedral for some time after the liberation of the Colony was used for services by the Free Churches and also by Chaplains of H.M. Forces, but the rehabilitation of the Methodist Church in Wanchai and the provision of a new Naval Chapel in Wellington Barracks (which is shared by all deno- minations) has terminated the necessity for such an arrange- ment. The shell of the Cathedral itself was rehabilitated during the year at a cost of $135,000. The next step will be the restoration of the interior including the bells and the organ.
The Roman Catholic Church maintains 12 public Churches in Hong Kong and Kowloon and many Chapels in different villages in the New Territories, and supports now an establish- ment of 150 priests and 270 Sisters which is substantially more than before the war. In the Church of China the Diocese of the Bishop of Hong Kong extends far beyond the borders of the Colony to cover the provinces of Kwangtung, Kwangsi, Kweichow and Yunnan. Due to the increase in work in the western parts of the Diocese, a sub-division has been made whereby the latter two provinces have been formed into a district known as the Yun-Kwei District. An indication of the increasing volume of work is that during the year under review it became necessary to consecrate an Assistant Bishop. A new development is that now, instead of each parish being responsible for the payment of the stipend of its clergy, the responsibility devolves on the Diocesan Office, although each parish contributes 60% of its weekly collections and yearly donations.
The Churches play a very full part in the educational, social and charitable work of the Colony. Many charitable institutions and much relief work are undertaken by them, but, as social welfare is the subject of another chapter in this report, no detailed mention of particular activities is included in this section. Among the charitable ventures are numbered the Salvation Army Children's Home and the special relief work for the poor and destitute carried out by the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. The educational work is done mainly in the Grant-in-Aid Schools, which are referred to elsewhere in this report: a new departure in 1947 was the establishment of six primary schools for workers' children undertaken by the Bishop of Hong Kong in conjunction with labour unions. The social
123