468
exclusively; (b) a letter from the Colonial Secretary to Mr. Ho TUNG in which his consent is requested to the changes indicated in letters (a), (e); Mr. Ho TUNG's reply, in which he consents to the proposed change in the nature of the School subject to two conditions which are discussed in paragraph 6 below; and (d) a further letter from the Colonial Secretary in reply, conveying my consent to these conditions subject to your approval. Letters (b), (c) and (d) have been published in the local Press.
3. I was unwilling to trouble you in this matter until the Report of the Education Committee, which has been forwarded to you under cover of my des- patch No. 177* of the 6th instant, had been published. Section 16 of that Report expresses the opinion of the Committee on the subject of "mixed schools," an opinion shared by the Government and one approved by you in general terms in C.O.D. 408. I have also addressed you on this subject in my despatch No. 178† of the 7th instant, in connection with Dr. WRIGHT's criticism of the Report.
4. As a result of the correspondence, the School has now been reserved for European British parentage; and as such it was opened by me on the 1st instant. I attach a copy of the newspaper report of the speeches made on that occasion. It is to this change from its original purpose, and to the compromise made by the Government with Mr. Ho TUNG, that I have now the honour to request your
sanction.
;
5. It will be convenient briefly to recapitulate the arguments which have. influenced me in my decision. I was satisfied that the school would not have been a success as a mixed School. Chinese boys could not have attended it with profit to themselves, since English was designed to be the medium of instruction while the proper education of the Chinese demands instruction mainly through the medium of the Chinese language. The Report of the Education Committee, under the sub-head Anglo-Chinese Schools, section 21 B. reads as follows: "Western Knowledge ***** should be taught in Chinese until the students have acquired so good an understanding of English as to enable them to receive in- struction in English.' On the other hand the English community of Kowloon would have continued to regard the mixture of races as undesirable for their children, an opinion now generally recognised as sound. Thus the school would have benefited neither of the classes for whose conjoined advantage it was designed.
"
6. In deciding that the School should be maintained for Europeans and not for Chinese, I had in mind the recommendation of the Committee as communicated to me by the Inspector of Schools, that English should be taught in all Anglo-Chinese Schools by English masters, a view which is contained in section 44 of their Report. I was, therefore, able to satisfy Mr. Ho TUNG upon the first point raised by him, namely, that the Yaumati Anglo-Chinese School should be provided with an English master. His second stipulation that the School at Yaumati should be properly housed is also certain of fulfilment, A vote of $9,000 for this purpose wsa inserted in last year's Estimates, but it was not spent. mainly at the desire of the Inspector of Schools, who wished for more time to consider the needs of education in the Colony. I was therefore able to assure Mr. Ho TUNG that his requests were no more than the Government would in any case have desired to perform. I
may add that, subject to your approval, provision for English masters in the Anglo-Chinese Schools will be made in the Estimates for 1903.
7. If the suggestion of the Committee in section 60 of their Report can be adopted, namely, to utilise the Belilios Reformatory Building for a British School in the City of Victoria, the problem of giving an education to the European British children of the Colony will have been solved without any expenditure upon buildings. I have strong reasons for believing that the money devoted to British education will be best expended by dividing it between two establishments- one in Victoria and one at Kowloon-and on this subject I beg to suggest that you will consult Mr. IRVING during his residence in England. There seems to be now no doubt that so far as the purpose for which it was originally intended is concerned the Belilios Reformatory is a total failure anl is not required in this Colony. The building has not been occupied by any children since it was opened, and is not at present utilised for any purpose whatever. It is admirably situated, as the Com- inittee have stated in their Report, for the purposes of an English School on the island of Hongkong, owing to the large number of Englishmen employed in the neighbouring docks and workshops.
* No. 1.
† No. 2.
+
Not printed: “Daily Press 21st April, 1902.
Page 555Page 556