November 30, 1903.]
a solvent condition. We shall, however, have some considerable increas of income during this current year from our invested capital. You will have seen that the Government have made us a grant of $12,000 During this last year we have only had interest on this for about six months; in future, of course, we shall have the whole year's interest. Further, till now we were only able to get 41% on this money because no suitable investment offered; now however it has been invested in 6 % Hongkong Hotel debentures, so that altogether we shall have an increased income of nearly $180. Still thi will not be enough to cover the amount we need for passage money, and I think we each should endeavour to bring in some additional subscribers, With these remarks, I will move the adoption of the report and accounts, but before doing so I shall be pleased to auswer any questions which any subscribers may wish to ask.
There were no questions
The CHAIRMAN moved the adoption of the report and accounts.
Mrs. SLADE seconded, an the motion was agreed to.
The CHAIRMAN said that the next business before them was the subscriptions for the en- suing year. He had already stated that, in his opinion, they ought not to ask for a larger subscription than $10 as they ought to be able to get very many more subscribers for the Institution. He proposed that it be $10, the same as last year.
Mr. FRASEE seconded, and the motion was agreed to.
The CHAIRMAN-There only remains one hing for us to do now, and that is to elect a Committee for the ensuing year. Members of the Committee must be subscribers, of course bat our subscriptions for last year have all lapsed and, therefore, I think you may e'ect almost any lady in the Colony. The Committee has to consist of two doctors, in practice in the Colony, and five ladies.
The new committee elected for the ensuing year was as follows:-Lady Goodman, Mrs. Siebs, Mrs. Tomes, Mrs. H. W. Slade, Mrs. C. W. Dickson, Dr. Stedman and Dr. Jordan,
This was all the business.
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
THE REPORT OF QUEEN'S COLLEGE.
The following are the chief points in the cover- ing letter to the Colonial Secretary of Mr. E. A. Irving, Hon. Secretary to the Governing Body of Queen's College, and the general recom- mendation at the end of the report on the College by the Hon, A. M. Thomson, Mr. E. A. Irving, and Mr. S. B. C. Ross :-
It appears to the Governing Body that the teaching at Queen's College should be so organised that a boy who has succeeded in reaching the upper classes ought (with reason. able diligence and ability) to have acquired a fair knowledge of Chinese, a reasonably good knowledge of English, as it is spoken and written and printed, and onght to be able with considerable facility to translate from one language to the other. These attainments will be to him, in after life, of much greater value than a superficial knowledge of algebra and Euclid, for instance, or long lists of tributary rivers, &c., stored away in his memory, till time effaces them. Knowing Chinese and English, | the literatures of both countries lie open before him if he pushes his studies, as opportunity offers, after he leaves the College. The Go- verning Body do not undervalue special subjects, but speak only of relative importance. The Governing Body can well appreciate the difficulty some masters, who do not know very much English themselves, must have in imparting their knowledge of that language to the boys in the lower part of the school. But speaking generally, they agree with the recommendations of the examiners. The question of suitable readers is a difficult one, and the Governing Body is of opinion that it might be referred to the committee now sitting to consider the teaching of English among other subjects taken in connection with the Oxford Local Examinations,
GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS.
Colloquial English. This should be (what it certainly is not at present) the most important instrument for teaching English. From the outset boys should be taught to talk to the master and to each other. That this can be done is beyond dispute. If it were done, we should not find that boys after 3 or 4 years' education in English were unwilling to reply to the most simple questions.
History and Geography.-It is highly desir- able that a syllabus should be carefully thought
the school without variation from year to year. Mathematics.-This is much the strongest subject, and we recommend that less time be devoted to it and more to the teaching of English, until the deficiencies of that subject are improved.
Reading-Reading is studied in the Lower Classes as it were under two heads, reading without and reading with, a comprehension of the meaning of what is read. This system is quite indefensible and should be amended.
The third annual report of this deserving in- stitution states that there has been no change the nursing staff. Against 257 and 290 days respectively in the previous year, they have been engaged during the last twelve months 265 and 260 days, which indicates the continued apprecia-out and laid down, so as to extend throughout tion and demand for the services of trained nurses. Including the amount of accrued in- terest and taking into account debts outstanding and monies due, the working account, after repaying in full the sum borrowed from the guarantee fund, is $140.75 to the good for the year; but as this result is only arrived at by making use of the subscriptions for current expenses, instead of reserving them against cost of passages for the nursing staff, the cpmmittee can hardly rezard it 88 satisfactory. In last year's report it Was pointed out that a sum of about $600 should be annually set aside for passages. The committee do not recommend raising the amount of the subscription as they think that it ought not to be difficult to get a greatly increased number of subscribers-there were only forty-five last year, and there must surely be many more persons in this Colony who who are directly Interested in keeping this Institution from gradually eating away its guarantee fund and thus coming to an untimely end.
It is with much satisfaction the committee report having received a grant in aid of $11,0 0 from the Government, which is to be held in qonnection with the guarantee fand for invest ment purposes only. The sum to the credit of the guarantee fund on the 30th of September, 1903, stood at $16,377.12, of which $3,000 was invested in Hongkong Club 6 per cent. debentures, $13,000 on fixed deposit @ 4 per cant, $365.89 to credit of current account, and $11.23 due from accounts outstanding.
The thanks of the Institution are expressed to Lady Goodman, the Hoo. Secretary, Mr. H. W. Fraser, the Hon. Treasurer, and to Mr. Pinckney, who has audited the accounts.
Mrs. Harling, Mrs. Robertson and Dr. Gibson having resigned, their places on the Committee have been filled by Mrs. Siebs, Mrs. Dickson. and Dr. Jordan.
Chinese. The teaching of Chinese should be altogether reorganised.
Organisation. The less compet at Chinese masters should be placed under the supervision of English masters.
NOTES FROM THE BOTANIC GARDENS.
name
397
it is an exception, as numerous flowers are open at the present time. The flowers are almost sulphur-yellow in colour, tabular, and about 24 inches long. They are borne in short racemes in the axils of the leaves. The leaves are once pinnate with leaflets about 4 inches long by 2 inches broad. The species is a native of Brasil, and has been in cultivation for nearly a century.
The three months during which the occasional closing of the gardens was announced have now come to an end, and both will now be open every day as usual.
The winter-flowering annuals are now coming into flower, and the edgings of sweet aly ssTLIN to the large oval beds on the lower terrace în the old garden are now at their best.
|
The poinsettias are at present a blaze of colour in different parts of the gardens.
As this is the time of year when palms are very much in demand for decorative purposes perhaps it would not be out of place to mention one of the most useful varieties for this kind of work. The plant in question is Chrysalidocarpus tulescens, and there are fine specimens of it in thenew gard in in the palm plot and at Glenealy. There is also a good specimen near the Govern. ment Offices. It is a very graceful palm and forms big clumps about 15ft. high when planted in the ground, and plants from 8 to 10ft, high may be grown in pots, as may be seen from the specimens in the No. 3 house. Up to now the method of propagation
has depended upon division, but a few seeds were produced this year. These were sown about three months ago, and the seedlings are now two or three inches high. The species is a native of Madagascar and was introduced into England from thạt island in 1824.
The monkey which was kindly presented to the gardens last week by Mr. coth has proved a great attraction to the children, as well as to the Chinese who visit the place.
The rainfall on Friday and Saturday last was very welcome, and did an immense amount of good to vegetation. It amounts 1 to 1.29 inches.
CANTON.
[FROM OUR OWn correspondent.]
Canton, 25th November.
DISORDER IN KWANGTUNG.
No reports have come in since my last letter from Waichow, but I have learned that in the south-western part of the province there has been an outbreak of disorder, that is to say, something more serious than the chronic variety. A large band of brigands swooped down upon the village of Yin Tak (half-way to Kwanchau- wan from Canton). Intelligence of the raid had been received, and most of thy inhabitants succeeded in escaping, but all that remained; to the number of thirty-eight, were butchered: in cold blood; and every house was pillaged. The brigands are less merciful than in the eastern part of the province, where they seem to spare life if possible,
Was
1.
The officials, my informant tells me, take vigorous action after these raids; they can- not apparently prevent them. Up to the present nothing has been heard of the Yin Tak robbers. They probably dispersed. with their booty and avoided their pursuera in the manner of the Burman dacoits. At Ko Chow (a few miles further west) the officials acted with great vigour a month or two ago. The A specimen of Broughtonia lilacina which place a hotbed of thieves, and an is now carrying 8 spikes of bloom may be energetic official determined to make it an seen hanging from one of the crossbars in the example and a warning to its neighbours. He No. 2 houss. The spikes are about 18 inches accordingly ordered a body of troops to set long with several flower at the ends. The fire to a large temple in which the Ko Chow plaat evidently gets its
from the people took great pride. The temple was colour of the flowers, which are about 2 inches burnt to the ground, and the local fêng-shui across. The leaves are in hairs about 6 inches received a terrible shook. The village head- long and an inch broad. This orchid was men, resolved to attack the official through introduced into England from Jamaica, where | his uscience, since they could do him it was first discovered, growing on trees, in no bodily harm, assembled a large number 1793. It was
obtained from that island of children, and caused them to lament through the kindness of Lady Blake, to whose after the noisy Chinese fashion on the ruins of interest during the last five years the Public the temple. It may be imagined that the Gardens owe so many novelties.
officia', if he had any conscientious feelings, would suffer deeply when he heard of the grief of the youngsters deprived of their temple, but official spies soon informed him that the grief was bought with a few hundred cash, and the sword of vengeance descended on the necks of i the headmen.
A large growing creeper, Bignonia Cham- berlaynui, is now in flower trained on the trellis at the east end of the aviary in the old garden, and another plant may be ROON similarly treated on the rosebed terrace. As a rule this plant is a very shy bloomer, but this year