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cramped. Although the Committee had in mind transfer to another site on the Island there would be a better chance of securing a really first class site if the University was erected on the mainland. Such development, however, could not be justified unless security of tenure was had. This would not be the case unless the leasehold of the New Territories was greatly extended
On the other hand, with abandonment of the present site which is held on leasehold from the Crown, the value of the buildings would be sacrificed. Presumably most machin ry and all scientific equipment could be transferred to a new site. Transfer to the mainland of the University as a long term policy would encourage development in the New Territories.
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Much more use should be made of the New Territories in the years to come. The scenery there is magnificent. There is a large are a under padi and other cultivation in the wide valleys. The value of these territories should be great in providing a recreational outlet for city-ridden folk. Hong Kong has its own pleasure resorts and so has Kowloon, but they have nothing to equal the mountain scenery in the New Territories. In past times it has been the custom for certain classes to live on the Island, to a considerable extent on the Peak but, with relatively cheap air-conditioning of buildings, it is no longer necessary to climb up hills to get coblness. The Peak has not a good reputation because of the seasonal low clouds and mist that are prevalent, and it seems unlikely that it will be patronized in the future to quite the same extent as it has been in the past. No doubt, too, social divisions generally will be broken down a good deal under post-war reorientation. The policy in this case would be broadly for the urban area, with established industries, to expand on the Island, leaving Kowloon and the New Territories to provide residential sites and further areas for industrial development.
The existing course for the medical degree, as well as that for the Diploma of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene should be retained. It is eminently suitable that the Hong Kong University should furnish a Diploma of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, because it was here that Patrick Manson, the father of tropical medicine, made his classic studies on filaria and other tropical diseases,
The first course
for the Diploma.hau only been started when the invasion took place and no one has yet acquired it. Teaching and material for the. course are adequate and teaching will be improved later if further interchange with other University teaching staff is secured. The question of a Diploma in Public Health should be one for considerat.on. Concentration should be meantime on the two existing medical courses.
In addition, there should be established a Dental School of moderate capacity. Dentistry has not been sufficiently encouraged by the Government in the peat and there is great scope for a dental
A Dental School service amongst the large school child population.
was well established at the singapore College of Medicine some years before the outbreak of war and its output of graduates was of increasing benefit to the Colony and the Malay States. I have already suggested the appointment of a Dental surgeon fully qualified to organize a school dental service. He might also be lecturer on dental surgery at the University and, with the assistance he would require, could organize a teaching course for local dental studenta.
/ith