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Hongkong.
In November 1842, the Morrison Education Society School had moved over from Macau. After some months it occupied its newly built quarters on what became known as Morrison Hill.
The society had been organised after Dr. Robert Morrison's death by the merchants of Canton to honour his memory. Recognising his intense interest in education for the Chinese, the society was devoted to this purpose.
Dr. Legge welcomed the idea of a merger with the Morrison Education Society School. He realised that he would not be able to bring many students to Hongkong from Malacca, that it would be costly to build a school building and that its administration would make a heavy demand on his time.
The London Missionary Society held a conference in Hongkong in August 1843, to discuss strategy now that Hongkong and six ports in China were open to foreign residence. Among the topics discussed was the future of the Anglo Chinese College.
There were a variety of opinions expressed. Some wished to turn it into a theological school to train church workers, thus abandoning the liberal and open policy laid down by Dr. Morrison.
An article in the Colonial Gazette advocated the reorganisation of the school on broad principles, suggesting it should provide instruction “in the useful and ornamental arts, the sciences, and above all medicine.”
Some of the missionaries thought the best location for the school would be on Chinese soil. If the school was at a Treaty Port, there would be a better class from which to draw students. There would also be a more abundant supply of qualified scholars to teach Chinese language and literature. Hongkong at this time had no settled respectable Chinese, let alone literati.
The idea was soon abandoned when Sir Henry Pottinger, the