483
in a serious commotion at Aberdeen on the night of the 31st May, when the boats in harbour fired off their guns under the impression that an attempt was to be made to carry off their children. It is satisfactory to learn that the influence of the Sisters on the children attending their school at Aberdeen was so great that the children instead of absenting themselves from school went there for protection. I visited Aplichau and Stanley one or two days after the disturbance. At Aplichau the attendance was a little below normal. One girl who returned to afternoon school when I was there did not dare to come further than the top of the staircase and when some allusion was made by the mistress in conversation with me to the rumour she ran off again. At Stanley the boys attended school, but most of the girls were absent.
G
4. RESULTS OF THE ANNUAL EXAMINATION, I reported fully on the results of the examinations of Government District Schools in my letter No. 27 of the 5th March. The results of the examina- tions of the Grant-in-Aid Schools will be found in Tables VI, VII and VIII, in which the actual number of passes and failures in each standard and the percentage for each school will be found.
In 1900 there were 136 scholars examined in the three highest standards of the Grant-in-Aid Schools in class III compared with 155 in 1899. But as the total number examined was only 988 as against 1,166 in 1899, there is relatively no falling off.
5. BELILIOS PUBLIC SCHOOL.-The Headmistress, Mrs. BATEMAN, returned from 19 months' leave in October. The annual examination of the school was held on the 18th, 19th and 20th July, and my report on it will be found in Letter No. 61 of the 7th August. There were 155 scholars present in the English Division as against 99 in the previous year. Of these, 53 were in the Upper School and 102 in the Infant School. The corresponding figures for 1899 were 50 and 49. Out of 194 scholars on the register 33 were British or Americans and 65 were Chinese. There were 39 Eurasians. Miss LONG, the senior pupil teacher, resigned her post at the end of November, and the Headmistress reports that after asking several of the former pupils of the school to undertake the duties she could meet with no success, until Miss CHUN YUT as a personal favour consented to take charge of the classes until such time as a teacher could be found to take the position permanently. So far no one has been found and the prospect of finding anyone seems as far off as ever. The examination of the Chinese Division was held in October, a more suitable time for judging the work done during the year than July. The number examined was 128 compared with 87 in the previous year.
6. GOVERNMENT DISTRICT SCHOOLS.-The number of schools remains the same.
The average daily attendance at the Chinese Schools was 274 and at the English 484 compared with 249 and 484 respectively in 1899. The work in the English Schools was interfered with by changes in the teaching staff. The attendance at the Yaumati Government School has doubled, and will no doubt continue to increase. The erection of a school building, the need for which was referred to in my last report, has been sanctioned. The system of partial payment by results has worked most satisfactorily, and there is a very marked improvement in those schools in which it is in force.
7. GRANT-IN-AID SCHOOLS.-The number of schools on the roll is 97 compared with 96 in 1899. The following schools were closed during the year:—
1. The Roman Catholic Mission Nova Escola Portugueza, a School for Portuguese children.
2. The London Missionary Society Kau-i-fong, girls' school for Chinese (Class I).
3. The Victoria English School for girls (Class III).
The following new schools have been opened
1. The Church Missionary Kau-ü-fong, girls' school for Chinese (Class I).
2. The London Missionary Training Home for girls, a school in Class II for giving a Euro-
pean education in Chinese.
3. The French Convent School, a school of very old standing for European girls.
4. The Diocesan Girls School, a Church of England School, principally for Eurasian girls. The schools formerly maintained by the Female Education Society have now passed under the management of the Church Missionary Society. Out of the 97 schools on the roll only 80 were examined. Of the remaining 17, 2 were dispersed before the date of examination; the premises occu- pied by them became unsafe for habitation and they were unable to find new quarters. Eight of the others are closed owing to difficulty in procuring teachers; another is closed pending the erection of a permanent school building, and the others are unable to find suitable quarters. A special grant equal to 30 per cent. of the rent is now made to schools occupying leased premises and will, I hope, afford the free Chinese Schools in Victoria some relief, but rents are rising with such extraordinary rapidity that I question whether this extra grant will induce teachers to re-open the schools which have been -