810
ST. PAUL'S COLLEGE. UNIVERSITY VICE-CHANCELLOR AT THE PRIZE-GIVING.
The courtyard of St. Paul's College was crowded, on March 18th, when the prize distribution took place. Before and after the ceremony the pupils took part in an excellent concert which also included a boxing exhibition. Those who attended included the Vice-Chancellor of the University (Sir William Brunyate, K.C.M.G.) and Lady Brunyate, the Bishop of Victoria, the Hon. Mr. J. H. Kemp, K.O., and Mrs. Kemp, Dr. and M. J. H. Sanders, the Rev. J. T. Holman, the Rev. and Mrs. E. W. L. Martin, the Rev. H. S. Crole-Rees, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Gerken, Mr. and Mrs. Norman Smith and others.
The BISHOP OF VICTORIA, who presided, remarked that the high place the school sacupied in the educational life of the Colony was due largely to the initiative, inspiration and unflagging zeal of the Headmaster, and the able staff behind
him.
The HEADMASTER (the Rev.
A.
D.
Stewart) in his report said that, having
bean absent from the Colony for the greater part of last year and, therefore, being in a position to took at things in some perspective, he felt that his best line was to give some general impressions of the school and its work as these struck him upon taking up his work afresh in the
eshoal.
In the first place there was a rapid growth of the sporting spirit"; to those who saw something of the early days of school games and sports in the Colony it was a matter of real wonder to see what rapid progress had been made. There was a day when a football team would walk off the field because of an unpopular decision by the referee, or stop playing to argue with the referee. Now it was rather, "Play the game, boys and play not merely to win but for the sake of the
game.
""
"Another impression made upon me," said Mr. Stewart, "is the great demand there is now for education. Every school tells the same story of crowded class rooms. We ourselves can tell of rapid increase from a mere handful of barely a dozen students in 1909, to something over 500, on our register to-day. If we include the off-shoots which have sprung up, there are now close upon a thousand students connected with this school. While there is a pleasing element in this, one feels that there is a real danger. The sentiment which is finding popular assent on every side, knowledge is power,' is one that is full of peril. And we feel most strongly here that knowledge, let loose without the restraints of morality and religion, constitutes one of the great est dangers to present day society.
·
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS &
[March 25th, 1922.
Hitherto it has been mainly on educa-, the students. It was a very interesting tional lines but we hope to see it carried revelation to me to discover that some farther in the near future into other whom I considered our best students were avenues of social service. At present, a also excellent oooks, excellent house-boys free school is being maintained by the (laughter)-and could carry a pole in subscriptions of the boys and is managed a way that would put the coolies of Hong- and inspected by a committee chosen by kong to shame-(laughter); that, at the themselves. A free night school, too, is carried on in this College building on six running night and day, ran a night shift same time, they kept our power station nights of the week, managed and taught in the Telephone Exchange and that they offered to serve as ward boys and dressers entirely by the boarders in the Hostel.
in the Hospital. That was to me a cause extreine satisfaction. (Applause.) of That I think you may all do, whatever you may happen to think about the strike.
"This same spirit of service is making itself felt further afield, three of our past students have entered the Christian ministry and two more are hoping to do so shortly, while a number of others are devoting their lives to Christian educa tional work both on the Staff of this school and of several others in South China.
"As to the scholastic side of the work, little needs to be said beyond the fact that the school was visited in December last by the Inspector of English Schools and I have neard from him that the school has earned the highest grant. This reflects the greatest credit on last year's Acting-Principal, Mr. E. G. Stewart, and the other members of the Staff who, as usual, have given of their very best to the school. The school suffered severe losses in the resignation of Mrs. Martin, on the occasion of her marriage, after ten years service in the school the value of which cannot be estimated; or Mrs. An- drews, on her departure for India; and of Mrs. Walmsley, upon her return to England, We have sustained further serious loss in the departure of Messrs Wei Wing Yuet and ip Chor Shang to take up business. Mr. Wei had been Senior Mathematical master for a number of years and Mr. Ip had done splendid work both as Headmaster of the Junior School and as Housemaster of the Hostel. To fill these vacancies we have been fortunate in securing the services of three Bachelors of Science of the Hongkong University, Messrs. Fok Nai Hang, Yeung Kwai Chiu and Lok Sik Tin. We are also glad to welcome the Rev. H. S. Bailey, a Cambridge M.A., who has just joined our Staff."
ADDRESS BY SIR WILLIAM BRUNYATE.
"I said I should like to meet you on the football field, because I am quite convinced that I want you all to play games, or, at least to try to; and I myself am a living example that it is easier to try to play games than to play them well. I am not quite so sure about my desire to see you all educated, and that because I never quite know what you
I agree, aim at in education. listened to Mr. Stewart's report, that if you are to be educated it cannot be done better than here. I have seen a great many schools in the last years; some very
as I
good and some not so good; but I do feel you are very fortunate in having here a combination of a strong Government to provide you with necessary money which is not provided by the trustees; to have an Education Department which sees to your organisation; and to have the moral influence which comes from your devoted teachers. I am glad to hear that you have just taken amongst your teachers three of our old graduates-- (applause) in the sense that I do not think you will get better teachers. (Ap- them Bachelors of Science, but I regret plause.) I notice that Mr. Stewart called that they are Bachelors of Science and Engineering; I know that that means they can show you what mathematics and science really mean, but I don't mind telling you that I rather grudge them to engineering
CC TRY TO UNDERSTAND; NOT MEMORISE.
""
"Then, as to your own work, we con- duct examinations and you yourselves have taken some of them. You were not as successful as you might have been this year and I hope you will be more success- ful now you have Mr. Stewart back. But I have seen some of your papers and have read the reports of your examiners and this I can say to you; Do try to under- stand what you are being taught, I do not mean in the lower forms, try to under- stand what you are taught and not to memorise it.
Sir WILLIAM BRUNYATE, after thanking the Bishop for his welcome to Lady Brunyate and himself, remarked that he had hoped to meet members of the school in connection with the distribution of prizes for the Football League, but he was prevented owing to the necessity of providing for feeding the little community
Do remember, in other over which he presided-during the recent words, that the examiners are not always strike The Headmaster, referring to the easily fooled, and when the examiner strike, suggested that he was looking to carefully sets you a question for the an- prepare students of the school to face swer to which he knows you have not social problems while they were still at been prepared, and you give the answer school. I strongly suspect," said Sir for which you had been prepared, he William, "that the best preparation knows, and we know, what has happened. for dealing with the social problems It is not a matter of passing examina-
this of
life 15 to pursue one's tions, but it is a matter of preparing ordinary school work. The problems
yourself for the work of life; for that pur- are So difficult. To many
You do of the
pose you want to understand. social and political problems which are
not need to know history; you need to awaiting us here in China I frankly, do understand it. If you understand history, not know the answers. I do implore if you understand geography, if you un- student's here and elsewhere to adopt the derstand the Bible, then you will be able same attitude and believe that it will be to face these social problems, ultimately, a long time before they know the an- of which Mr. Stewart speaks. (Applause.) swers."
Well, I must not detain you any longer because you are here, first of all, for the prize distribution, and secondly to con- tinue your concert, but I would add that amongst those to whom I am to distribute the prizes are some we shall hope to wel- come at an establishment up Pokfulum way. later on.”—(Applause.)
"This leads me to my third impresssion; the importance of keeping the ideal of social service before the students of this generation. Here we have the penaces for the peculiar ills from which this pre- sent age is suffering, a good example of which we have just had in the recent strike. Morally, strikes are indefensible, and yet they are unavoidable so long as men persist in the belief that their pos- sessious are for themselves alone, rather than that they are held in trust for others. Nothing but a sense of true citizenship, a readiness to put the in- terests of others before one's own, can One thing I can say, apropos of the avert such upheavels as that which we have just passed through.
"With some such aim before us we have sought for some years to keep the ideal of the true citizen ever before the boys and have rejoiced to see signs of the ideal being put into practice.
4
THE UNIVERSITY IN THE STRIKE.
strike, and that is that when a strike becomes general it is the business of us all to face it and to keep things going. I have no doubt that Mr. Stewart was able to keep things going here, with the help of his staff and boys; I know we at the University were, thanks mainly to
The Vice-Chancellor then distributed the prizes.
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