1887-1903
HONG KONG, 1903,
15
The Kowloon School for European British subjects has now been open for nearly two years. The attendance during 1903 averaged 46.4, as compared with 39.3 in 1902, an increase of 18 per cent.
The District Schools were entirely re-organised at the beginning of the year. Special attention has been paid to the improvement of the Chinese Masters in their methods, especially in the method of teaching English.
Of the Anglo-Chinese Schools, three at least—the Roman Catholic Cathedral School, the Ellis Kadoorie School, and the St. Stephen's Anglo-Chinese School—have given evidence of a desire to attach greater importance than heretofore to the study of spoken English. The last-named is an encouraging example of a well conducted school under Chinese Masters only.
The Vernacular Schools have on the whole greatly improved in the last two years. This improvement is most apparent in the schools which elected to come under the new Code at once, thus freeing themselves from a hard-and-fast line of study.
V—PUBLIC WORKS.
The principal public works in progress during the year were the new Law Courts, new Harbour Office, and extension of the Tytam Reservoir, the Kowloon Waterworks, the provision of temporary pumping plant for water-supply purposes at Tytam Tuk and preliminary works there to ascertain the most favourable position for a large dam, the reconstruction of street gullies, large extensions of the cattle depôts, and the training of nullahs for the improvement of the sanitary condition of some of the residential districts. A substantial start was made with the superstructure of the Law Courts and Harbour Office before the close of the year, and the extension of the Tytam Reservoir was nearly completed. The foundations of the main dam for the Kowloon Waterworks, which is to be 90 feet in height above the level of the ground, were ready to receive concrete; a large covered service reservoir to contain two million gallons was well advanced; and the preparation of a site for the filter-beds and the cutting of a tunnel for the main from the reservoir were in progress. In consequence of the inadequacy of the water supply to meet the growing demands of the City of Victoria, and pending the construction of permanent works in the Tytam Tuk Valley for augmenting the supply, a temporary pumping engine capable of raising half a million gallons daily was erected there and the necessary main laid to the Tytam tunnel. A small dam to impound the ordinary flow of the stream during dry weather was also constructed. Trial works were in progress throughout the year.
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