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It is interesting to note that it was at one of the prize-giving days of St. Stephen's that Sir Frederick Lugard, then Governor of Hongkong, suggested the idea of founding a University of Hongkong is now an accomplished fact.
St. Stephen's College grew so considerably that a move to larger premises became imperative about seven years ago. Fortunately, the means were forthcoming, and in due course arose the splendid buildings out at Stanley. The school (with a boarding department as its feature) has been at Stanley several years now and has definitely proved the present healthiness of that formerly dreaded locality.
Different local schools have been touched upon from time to time in these articles, the summarised histories of several having been already given. It is of interest to note how education came to be directed and governed in the Colony, and how gradual order arose out of early spasmodic efforts to provide a fitting scholastic background for the rapidly-growing community.
The first organised educational establishments were those of 1843-1843, leaving it to be assumed that temporary efforts at schooling were all that the Colony had in its first two years of existence. In that period, however, the vision of what was to follow was not lacking, and as usual with pioneering efforts the original schools were all missionary ones. We find the Anglo-Chinese College founded by the London Mission in the early Forties, St. Paul's College erected shortly afterwards by the Anglican diocesan body (see 1-11-33), and the Morrison Institution on Morrison hill (see 23-9-33), one of the earliest schools here; and all three were intended to teach Chinese the English language, with, as a primary object, the eventual dissemination of Christianity among their fellow nationals. In 1845 what was termed an English Children's School was established under the patronage of the Governor of the time, Sir John Davis, and directed by the Colonial Chaplain Rev. Vincent Stanton. This was intended as an elementary school for Protestant children; and the Roman Catholic missionaries the same year opened one for their own converts, which, however, lasted only until 1847. The Chinese, always admirers of learning, had established their own "Confucian schools," nine of which were in operation by 1847, and we thus have an idea of the early educational activity which all communities were indulging in, most of it with a religious background.
In order, probably, to avoid what threatened to become chaos, the Government introduced a grant-in-aid scheme in December, 1847, which was intended "to provide non-compulsory religious education in Chinese schools under the direction of an Educational Committee," which consisted of the Police Magistrate, the Colonial Chaplain and the Registrar General. A despatch by the Governor showed that he visualised the Christianising of the Chinese through the training of Chinese teachers at these schools - a simple vision, but one that did not have the expected results.