43
40
5290 41
13.
Mr. Sloss said that was his position. But he
did not want to press the Committee.
52.41 The Chairman saw danger telegraphing to Hong Kong to ascertain the one point on which Mr. Soss would like corroboration of his own estimate.
As Sir Herbert Eason and Dr. Venn had pointed out, the estimate would depend on the belief that the university was going to be re-opened. He was a little afraid that the making of such enquiries would in themselves give rise to the general expectation that the university was oing to open in September next and to disillusionment later if this proved out the question.
56.42
Dr. Priestley put the suggestion that it might be better to pay for students to go to Chinese universities for a year rather than start too soon.
54.43
Mr. Sloss said that unfortunately the Chinese universities were themselves in a state of turmoil and confusion at present.
55.44
Mr. Smith said any promise to re-open the university would have a substantial effect on secondary education in the Colony. They had to get the schools up to a certain standard; the university was an added incentive. But he hoped that the education of the Colony would not depend on any promise of a university education at the end
564540
aprer
Professor Hinton thought it would be better to make up their minds that they could not start until at least 1947.
Hip, 81000
had been a history of makeshifts.
50.45
Fthe
said the history of the University
believed that if they telegraphed an
The Chairman
•
enquiry now they would probably receive an inflated estimate in view of the number of people anxious that the university should be started, as soon as possible He expressed the opinion that if only in relation to the engagement of staff, they could not advise starting in September 1946. If that was the Committee's view, they should be rather cautious about encouraging the return of optimistic estimates. Could they formulate provisionally their wishes, as a result of the discussion, with regard to the broad central issue of re-starting the University of Hong Kong with the general purpose envisaged by the Founder, and at the next meeting consider the main categories of difficulties or objections to that course - the financial aspect, the political complication of Malaya,
Was etc., that had come up during the present meeting.
it the view of the Committee that they could safely defer till the next meeting the question of telegraphing to Hong Kong?
159: