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of our undergraduates come from China; and it should be our special care so to educate and equip them during their sojourn among us that, when they return to their father-) land, they may rank among its best! and most useful citizens.
"The time-honoured system of Chinese classical education was des- troyed in the destruction of the Manchu Empire. Nothing has yet been created to take its place; and it is doubtful whether the genius of the Chinese people, working in isolation, will be capable of im- provising an educational system such as the necessities of the Twen- ! tieth Century require: because the urgent demand in China to-day is certainly not for a mere resuscita- tion of obselete methods, but rather for an entirely novel system which, by passing the ancient classical teaching through the alembic of western culture and modern science, shall, from the amalgamation of these elements, forge a new educa- tional implement for the benefit of present and future generations of the Chinese race.
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A Chinese Faculty. "It is a task of stupendous dif- ficulty,'
‚""but it is a problem which must be solved, and that soon- unless the mental and moral stand- ards upon which the China of the past prided itself are to be debased
and forgotten. In the solution of this problem, the Hong Kong Uni- versity is, by reason of its geo- graphical situation, peculiarly well. fitted to participate and eyen to take the lead.
"This University, as you know, proposes when funds permit, to organize within itself a Faculty of Chinese such that Chinese students I may take a degree in subjects which will assist them in their official or professional careers in their own country. It should be no longer the custom that a Chinese, whom his parents wish to train in western knowledge, must travel at a youth- ful age to Europe or America to spend ten or more of the most im- pressionable years of his life away from China, returning with veneer, no doubt, of Western culture but a most lamentable ignorance of things Chinese.
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"This University would be a far better training place for such men and, while pursuing here their academic studies, they would also be able to see for themselves how
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Great Britain governs and develops is mainly Chinese. Thus they would a Colony of which the population come to realize that the political education of a people cannot be crammed, that freedom is not to be snatched by sudden revolution but was slowly broadening down from precedent to precedent, and they would then be better fitted to show their fellow-countrymen how to re- store and to maintain law and order. In a word they would learn the lesson of patriotism.
Patriotism Not Enough.
"But
a noble saying, spoken in the face of imminent death, warns us that enough.' From the centre of home patriotism is not and hearth, and far beyond the bounds of their native land, the love of men and women must widen to clasp the earth. 'Within the four seas all are brethren,' said Confucius; and we do well to lay these words to heart, for patriotism in many countries-and in this, China is
no exception-has often meant nothing but hatred of the foreigner.
"Here again the Hong Kong high ideal of bringing about a sin- University must set before itself the cere understanding, not only be- tween the British and Chinese races, but between all the races inhabiting and frequenting this most cosmo- politan of all colonies. Doubtless in the years that lie behind us East and West have often been grievous- ly at fault when dealing with each other but a conscientious examina- tion and a true comprehension of all the facts will inevitably bring with it a spirit of conciliation and of mutual forgiveness. Tout com= prendre c'est tout pardonner.
"You may think that I pitch my expectations too high, You may ob- ject that bricks are not made with- out straw. You may urge that a University can only work upon the human material which it receives, whether as undergraduates or as staff. But I will remind you of Mr. Baldwin's fine saying that four, monosyllables are words which con- tain salvation for the whole world, and they are 'Faith,' Hope,'
Love,' and 'Work.'
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"If this University is to win through to better days and fulfil the high destiny which-I believe- awaits it, then we must have faith in that co-operation between the British and Chinese races of which our wonderful Hong Kong is so splendid an object-lesson: we must have hope in the future both of this Colony and of China: we must crush out all anti-foreign hatreds and spread the gospel of love both East and West: and we must work and work and work in season and out of season until faith and hope are achieved in sight, until love is justified of its sacrifices, and until the ideal is at last the real.' (Loud applause.)
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