thing but the apparent indifference of Government to a subject which in our view involves interests of the highest importance.
The greatest difficulty however is found in retaining Chinese Boys at English School a sufficiently long time to educate them properly. No sooner do they acquire a smattering of English than they are eager to seek their fortunes elsewhere and make money out of their much coveted acquisition and nothing appears to have been done by Government or other persons to remedy this defect.
We were informed that not one Government Appointment has ever been offered to these College students as an incentive to exertion or an inducement to the boys to qualify themselves in a special manner.
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The most obvious cure for the evil seems to be the establishment of a sufficient number of Scholarships, and the promise of permanent remunerative Government employment to the Scholars, as appointments for which they were qualified fall vacant from time to time.
At this stage of our enquiry the interests of the Colony and those of the Diplomatic Departments in China appeared to us identical. We Members of the Hongkong education Committee cannot but feel confident that if any system of Colonial education is to be adopted (as we sincerely trust it is) its establishment must be found in a British Colony of this kind. In it is of the first importance that the