167
The Revenue derived from School Fees was $46,383.25, $31,478.50 of which was received from Queen's College.
The Expenditure including that on Queen's College was $159,373, being 2.33 per cent. of the total expenditure of the Colony.
The teaching of Hygiene has again received much attention. It is a compulsory study in the 4 highest Classes in all schools where English is taught. Steps have also been taken towards the preparation of a syllabus suited to the Vernacular schools.
Progress was again tested by a competitive examination between the schools for prizes and a shield offered by His Excellency the Governor.
For the Advanced Course there were 64 competitors. composed of 36 boys from 5 schools, and 28 girls from 5 schools. The result was highly satisfactory. Taking the 3 best candidates from each school as a basis of calculation, 8 schools out of 10 obtained 80 % of full marks or over, and one of the remaining schools nearly as many. There were entered for the Elementary Course 123 competitors. Their work was not proportionately so good, Five scholars obtained over 60 %, and four over 40 %.
Evening Continuation Classes were opened towards the end of the year. The following table shews the subjects taught and the number of students attending each class.
Engineering Section
Subject.
Mathematics...... Applied Mechanics
Building Construction.
Machine Drawing
No. of Students.
39
28
25
16
Chemistry
11
Science Section
Physics..
18
Hygiene
Book-keeping. Elementary
15
Do.
Advanced
7
Commercial Arithmetic
2
English. Junior
35
Commercial
Do. Senior
10
French.
Elementary
15
Section
Japanese
Do. Advanced
German
Shorthand. Elementary
15
8
12
17
Do.
Advanced
10
During the year illustrated lectures were delivered at most of the schools on facts relating to the Empire. The lectures, which, together with the slides, were provided by Mr. MACKINDER, were greatly appreciated by the scholars, whose interest in the various subjects was increased by the ocular demonstration of them. With the exception of minor matters, such as the darkening of rooms to make the lantern slides clearly visible, which was a some- what difficult matter, and the length of the lectures, which had to be given in two parts as they were too lengthy for one sitting, the teachers are full of praise for the courses of lectures supplied, and are satisfied that they have proved highly instructive to their pupils.
V. PUBLIC WORKS.
The principal public works in progress during the year, exclusive of the Railway, dealt with in section XII of this despatch, were the Tytam Tuk Waterworks (1st Section) and the Kowloon Waterworks, both of which have been described in previous reports. The former made good progress and the latter fair. Though not completed, the Kowloon Water- works were sufficiently advanced to enable them to be utilized for the supply of the Kowloon Peninsula, the water being turned on on the 24th December. The extension of the distribu- tion system to the important villages of Sham Shui Po, Kowloon City and Taikoktsui was undertaken towards the end of the year.