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THE ARTS
judged by normal standards. It is irrelevant that a film of 'Porgy and Bess' played to nearly empty cinemas or that '(Nights of) Cabiria' was shown for one night only. One should rather consider the promise of a nine year old Chinese boy who can play a concerto, acceptable by critical standards, in public and with an orchestra; the thousands of young people who enter eagerly for the 157 different classes of the Schools Music Festival; the count- less amateur calligraphers, carvers and painters in community centre clubs and other organizations; and the cameras sold in as great quantity to the permanent residents as to the transients; and the revival under the Governor's patronage in January of the Hong Kong branch of the Royal Asiatic Society.
GOVERNMENT COLLECTIONS
The Government owns a large collection of pictures, prints and photographs which illustrate the growth and development of Hong Kong and life in Hong Kong, Macau and the China Coast area during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. After the comple- tion of the City Hall these will be available for display in the Art Gallery. An unofficial committee advises the Government on the purchase of modern paintings with local interest, and eleven such paintings have been acquired on the committee's advice since 1958. Next year the Urban Council will assume responsibility for the purchase of pictures in preparation for their management of the City Hall. A quarterly inspection by qualified experts was introduced to ensure that the Government collections remain in good condition.
A preliminary catalogue of all the books now in Government collections but to be kept in the City Hall Library was coming near to completion by the end of 1960. These include the collection bequeathed to the Government by the late Sir Robert Kotewall, consisting of some 18,000 Chinese books and 4,200 Western books.
The Colonial Secretariat Library houses 12,000 volumes. These include many Government publications; books written especially about Hong Kong, including publications by local authors; reference books on such subjects as Public Administration, Soci- ology, Economics and Political Science; and standard works on the history of the Commonwealth and of the countries of south-east