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24. The Hongkong Public School, conducted at St. Paul's College, with an enrolment of 28 boys, all of whom were the sons of English speaking parents, presented only 14 boys for examination, the others having failed to attain to the requisite number of attendances or left. None was old enough to be presented in a higher standard than the fourth. One boy failed in two subjects, and all the others passed in every subject. Two boys were also examined in Algebra, as a special subject, and passed. Although, therefore, the school had but a small number of boys to present for examination— but one more than at the previous examination, the result of the examination was highly creditable to the Master, and indeed the one boy who failed was too young and nervous to be expected to pass. The class of residents, for whose children this Public School was specially designed, is too small to give any solid prospect of securing a larger attendance in future. The fees charged are also very high. In my opinion it would be more advantageous to the school, to revert to the former plan of admitting a number of respectable Chinese youths to be taught together with the English speaking boys, as the increased number of scholars would enable the Committee to reduce the fees and to increase the staff, whilst the mixing of the two races would produce a healthy emulation without at all endangering the discipline, to which Chinese boys are far more amenable than European youths.
25. Under Class III of the Code, viz., for schools in which a European education is given in the Chinese language, we had in 1881 three schools, two of which are conducted by the Basel Mission in the Hakka dialect, and one by the Berlin Ladies' Society in the Punti dialect. One of the Basel Mission schools is a day school for boys, the other a boarding school for girls. The boys' school of the Basel Mission, with an enrolment of 47 boys, presented only 19 boys, of whom 18 were present, for examination, the remainder having either ceased to attend or failed to attain the requisite number of 200 daily attendances during the year. Of the 18 boys examined, 5 failed in 1 subject each, and 1 in 2 subjects, and the result was that, out of 18 boys examined in the first three standards, 14 passed. Considering that some of the boys examined were clearly too young to be expected to pass in arithmetic, this result showed that good teaching had been given, but the great irregularity of the attendances in this school, compared with the attendances in day schools for Hakka children in the immediate neighbourhood, appears to me to indicate that the kind of education given in this school is not much thought of by the parents of the boys, who evidently care more for a good Chinese than for a good European education. That it is not the religious teaching which the parents object to, appears clearly from the fact that crowds of the same class of children are thronging into the other Grant-in-Aid schools in the immediate neighbourhood, where as much religion is taught, but a Chinese education, instead of a European one, is given. The time which this boys' school of the Basel Mission devoted to the teaching of reading and writing colloquial Chinese in the Roman character, and to arithmetic, makes a serious inroad upon the time required for learning to read and write in the Chinese character and, in my opinion, mars, if it does not hinder, real proficiency in the latter. The disadvantages, however, which this system of education appears to imply, do not seem to have equal force in the case of girls for whom, if the two instances of the girls' schools conducted by the Basel Mission and Berlin Mission are a sufficient guide, this system would seem better suited. At any rate, the girls clearly gain under it better results than the boys. The Basel Mission Girls' School, admirably organised and conducted as a boarding school, shows this system to its best advantage, as all the girls are tolerably grounded in the written Chinese character, whilst the facility with which the girls in the highest classes write prose composition in the Hakka vernacular, using the Roman character, is a clear proof that there is considerable power in this system in the direction of educating the mind, apart from the greater variety of mere instruction conveyed by it. Of 43 girls examined, all passed in every subject, with the exception of 11 girls in standard IV, of whom 3 failed in 1 subject each, 1 failed in 2 subjects, and 1 in 3 subjects. The latter two failures were clearly caused by individual incapacity. The result of the examination proved the teaching, which is here given by properly trained teachers, to have been excellent in all respects. Nevertheless, it was evident to me that the system followed in this school does not admit of the same proficiency being obtained in the written Chinese character as is found in other girls' schools which give a purely Chinese education.
26. The only other school in the Colony, worked under this same system, is the girls' school of the Berlin Foundling House Bethesda, which is also a boarding school like the Basel Mission girls' school, and this school also produced, through its excellent teaching and organisation, very favourable results. None of these girls, however, were presented in the two highest standards. Out of 37 girls examined, 4 failed in 1 subject each, and the result was that only one failed to pass.
27. All the remaining Grant-in-Aid schools are worked under Class I of the Code, giving a purely Chinese education in the Chinese language only. But as all these schools, 23 in number, teach principally the Chinese Classics and supplement the ethical teaching of the Confucian Classics by religious Christian teaching, the work done in these schools has, in my opinion, a high educational value. Until the beginning of last year the Protestant Missions of the Colony held the monopoly of this system of teaching. Last year, for the first time, the Roman Catholic Mission placed one school, worked under this system, under the Grant-in-Aid Scheme, so that now 22 of these schools are Protestant Mission schools and 1 is a Roman Catholic school. Five of the Protestant Mission schools are under the superintendence of a native catechist and were opened by him on behalf of a few Chinese merchants who supply the funds. These schools are, however, distinctly Protestant, though not
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24. The Hongkong Public School, conducted at St. Paul's College, with an enrolment of 28- boys, all of whom were the sons of English speaking parents, presented only 14 boys for examination, the others having failed to attain to the requisite number of attendances or left. None was old enough to be presented in a higher standard than the fourth. One boy failed in two subjects, and all the others passed in every subject. Two boys were also examined in Algebra, as a special subject, and passed. Although, therefore, the school had but a small number of boys to present for examination- but one more than at the previous examination, the result of the examination was highly creditable: to the Master, and indeed the one boy who failed was too young and nervous to be expected to pass.. The class of residents, for whose children this Public School was specially designed, is too small to give any solid prospect of securing a larger attendance in future. The fees charged are also very high. In my opinion it would be more advantageous to the school, to revert to the former plan of admitting a number of respectable Chinese youths to be taught together with the English speaking boys, as the increased number of scholars would enable the Committee to reduce the fees and to increase the staff, whilst the mixing of the two races would produce a healthy emulation without at all endangering the discipline, to which Chinese boys are far more amenable than European youths.
25. Under Class III of the Code, viz., for schools in which a European education is given in the Chinese language, we had in 1881 three schools, two of which are conducted by the Basel Mission in the Hakka dialect, and one by the Berlin Ladies' Society in the Punti dialect. One of the Basel Mission schools is a day school for boys, the other a boarding school for girls. The boys' school of the Basel Mission, with an enrolment of 47 boys, presented only 19 boys, of whom 18 were present, for examination, the remainder having either ceased to attend or failed to attain the requisite number of 200 daily attendances during the year. Of the 18 boys examined, 5 failed in 1 subject each, and 1 in 2 subjects, and the result was that, out of 18 boys examined in the first three standards, 14 passed: Considering that of the boys examined were clearly too young to be expected to pass in arithmetic, this result shewed that good teaching had been given, but the great irregularity of the attendances in this school, compared with the attendances in day schools for Hakka children in the immediate neigh- bourhood, appears to me to indicate that the kind of education given in this school is not much thought of by the parents of the boys, who evidently care more far a good Chinese than for a good European education. That it is not the religious teaching which the parents object to, appears clearly from the fact that crowds of the same class of children are thronging into the other Grant-in-Aid schools in the immediate neighbourhood, where as much religion is taught, but a Chinese education, instead of a European one, is given. The time which this boys' school of the Basel Mission devoted to the teaching of reading and writing colloquial Chinese in the Roman character, and to arithmetic, makes a serious inroad upon the time required for learning to read and write in the Chinese character and, in my opinion, mars, if it does not hinder, real proficiency in the latter. The disadvantages, however, which this system of education appears to imply, do not seem to have equal force in the case of girls for whom, if the two instances of the girls' schools conducted by the Basel Mission and Berlin Mission are a sufficient guide, this system would seem better suited. At any rate, the girls clearly gain under it better results than the boys. The Basel Mission Girls' School, admirably organised and conducted as a boarding school, shews this system to its best advantage, as all the girls are tolerably grounded in the written Chinese character, whilst the facility with which the girls in the highest classes write prose composition in the Hakka vernacular, using the Roman character, is a clear proof that there is con-- siderable power in this system in the direction of elucating the mind, apart from the greater variety of mere instruction conveyed by it. Of 43 girls examined, all passed in every subject, with the exception of 11 girls in standard IV, of whom 3 failed in I subject each, 1 failed in 2 subjects, and 1 in 3 subjects. The latter two failures were clearly caused by individual incapacity. The result of the examination proved the teaching, which is here given by properly trained teachers, to have been excellent in all respects. Nevertheless it was evident to me that the system followed in this school does not admit of the same proficiency being obtained in the written Chinese character as is found in other girls' schools which give a purely Chinese education.
26. The only other school in the Colony, worked under this same system, is the girls' school of the Berlin Foundling House Bethesda, which is also a boarding school like the Basel Mission girls' school, and this school also produced, through its excellent teaching and organisation, very favourable results. None of these girls, however, were presented in the two highest standards. Out of 37 girls examined, 4 failed in 1 subject each, and the result was that only one failed to pass.
27. All the remaining Grant-in-Aid schools are worked under Class I of the Code, giving a purely Chinese education in the Chinese language only. But as all these schools, 23 in number, teach principally the Chinese Classics and supplement the ethical teaching of the Confucian Classics by religious Christian teaching, the work done in these schools has, in my opinion, a high educational value. Until the beginning of last year the Protestant Missions of the Colony held the monopoly of this system of teaching. Last year, for the first time, the Roman Catholic Mission placed one school, worked under this system, under the Grant-in-Aid Scheme, so that now 22 of these schools are Pro- testant Mission schools and 1 is a Roman Catholic school. Five of the Protestant Mission schools are under the superintendence of a native catechist and were opened by him on behalf of a few Chinese merchants who supply the funds. These schools are, however, distinctly Protestant, though not
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