1812
Report of the Morrison Education Society.
543
noon, and was very cordially received by his excellency. A copy of the resolution carried at the late meeting being handed to him, he expressed himself much gratified and flattered by being nominated a patron of the Society, assuring the gentlemen of the deputation that it would ever be his anxious wish to forward by every possible means, private and public, the highly important objects of the institution : he looked upon elementary education, not only as a means of im- proving the civilization of the Chinese, but as the only rational medium, and an indispensable precursor to their conversion to Chris- tianity; and he considered the Morrison Education Society and other similar associations, to be of public utility, and entitled to a certain degree of attention and assistance from government, and therefore, when the pleasure of her majesty with regard to Hong- kong is made known, this point, he said, would receive his early at- tention, for he thought it right that some regular allowance should be made here, per month or annually, as is already done in India.
Throughout the conversation, sir Henry evidently showed himself to be much interested in the welfare of the Society, and remarked that he had perused with great pleasure and satisfaction all its re- ports. Before taking leave of the deputation his excellency requested that he might always be informed in what manner he could best pro- mote the interests of the Society, and the laudable objects which it has in view.”
Encouraged by these evidences of interest in the Society's opera- tions, and others from other quarters, and pressed by the most urgent necessities of the case, the trustees on the 9th of April took mea- sures to carry into effect the resolution made at the last annual meeting, by Mr. Dent, "to procure an additional teacher, with refer- ence to the prospect and desirableness of an extension of the number of pupils." Considering how well and how cheerfully the committee of gentlemen in Yale college, New Haven, u. s. A., had acted for the Society on a former occasion, no hesitation was felt in renew- ing the request that they would make the election of a second in- structor to come to China. This request was forwarded to the be- forementioned gentlemen in April, and in the ensuing winter, it is hoped, the Society will have the pleasure of seeing another here devoting himself to that service, which is daily becoming more and inore necessary; for it is impossible, for one to occomplish, on the score of teaching, all that the school now requires, while the cir- cumstances of the times on which we have fallen, demand a great enlargement in the scale of our operations, and consequently much