The Daily Press.
HONGKONG, DECEMBER 6TH, 1879.
Tre most notable feature in the speech of His Excellency at the meeting on Thursday of the friends and supporters of the proposed Public School for Hongkong was the an- nouncement that the Secretary of State for the Colonies had instructed bim to strike out the words "elementary" and "secular" from the grant-in-aid scheme, Although there are objections to be urged against the support by the State of any religious teaching in schools, yet in a Colony constituted as this is, where there is considerable difficulty in providing for the proper instruction of the young, few will be found to take serious objection to the change. At the same time we have never been able to sympathise with the objections of our Roman Catholic friends to availing themselves of the grant. on the terms of the old scheme, which provided there should be a certain number of hours' secular teaching, leaving it open to the conductors of schools to impart what religious teaching they chose before and after those hours. The alteration will enable them to mingle the religious with the secular teaching, and thus practically the State will contribute to both. Many people believe that home is the best place for a child to learn religion; many more think it just as well that he should take it with his spelling and arithmetic; but all will agree that education either with or without religious teaching is better than none at all. We hope that bere we shall have no further religious difficulty. Let those who wish religion taught in the school support such schools; in a Government in- stitution like the Central School, however, no doctrine should be taught. This is the principle that has been acted upon at that institution for many years to the advantage of all parties, thereby securing general har- mony, and we trust that it will continue to be the rule. At the Protestant school it is intended that religious instruction shall be given, and thus those parents who desire their children shall have such training will be afforded the desired opportunity.
Now that it has been resolved that a Public School for Protestant children is to
be established, we trust that care will be taken to render it an efficient one.
It can-
not be too plainly understood that something better than a school of the national type in England is required. From the remarks of his Lordship the Bishop in reply to Dr. EITEL, there would appear to be some doubt as to the quality of education that will be given in the establishment. While fully aware that the bulk of the children here who go to school are too young to receive any, but the most elementary training, there are others who are quite old enough to cou- mence the study of Latin and the modera languages. Their number will, moreover, increase with every year. The fact that such instruction is likely to add to the cost of maintaining the school should not be allowed to be a bar to its being given. Many parents who might not be able to af ford to send their children to Europe to be educated, would yet be able to pay moderate fees to a school in Hongkong, and would like their children to receive a similar odu- cation to that given in middle-class schools at home. The Christian Brothers impart to the hops at St. Joseph's College a good edu- cation in all branches of knowledge, and the Protestant School should be in no way be- hind it. The object of the new school ought not to be merely to teach the three r's and the catechism, because most of the children į could learn these at a dame's school. Of course for most of the pupils it must be a preparatory school, but for some it will probably be ✡ finishing school also. For the latter, therefore, we trust that the means of attaining at least a rudi. mentary knowledge of the classics and a mastery of one or two modern languages will be provided. These acquirements might very well be charged for as extras, and very few parents would grudgo paying for them as such. The importance of good education cannot be over-estimated, and in these days, when its elementary forms are being so uni- iversally imparted to the rising race, parents are deeply desirous that their children should commence the battle of life with all the ad- i vantages obtainable. No doubt, however, the newly formed Committee will see the ne- cessity of making provision for a bigher edu- cation for the older pupils, and thus make the school suitable for the complete edu- cation of boya who have grown up in the Colony.
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