1878 — Page 215

外合共學童二千四百九十二名 十名如是本港各書館除國家經理者

教義學照去年春季報錄增入冬季 約瑟書院報錄查得學童一千一百二

書館計學童一百二十名另本港天主 學童一千二百五十二名而村落民間 色按各約練目呈報查去年民間書館 相去不遠惟本港民間書館則日有起 學或聖會義學腙核學童全數二年間 东鼎國家獲理者或居家就

論及文學形勢去演爭進臭如鼓舞學習英文者

督憲斑比乘即鼓勵出英文之學A隨時常单本持

意感動黎庶踴躍增設書館夜館以教習英文而中外諸先生中 二矣迫兼餅英文後則恒有二十六名之多其餘書館除國家經理 月捐其允繳之項終不悔甚為可嘉且骸義学去年春季只教華文時學童不過九人而掌教之子業居其 要之事懞念監督學院歷年年報每村落鄉民絕不踴躍艵不罣慮兒女羞讀書之事而該黃坭涌人則透 國家支給茲則甘允每月捐簽洋銀五元呈衆國家以少補及定立在彼義學必須兼教英文華文此極 人材將來調用在各義學掌教英文者也又義學中有如黄坭涌者村雖眇小人甚踴躍向來教學所需均是 有石牌灣一館去年則增三館卽黄坭涌灣仔西儕盤三義學是也又在大書院新設都掏掌教之法蓋欲備 書院用英語以答間及教英語鄉議比上年向用者較多而國家義學教習英文者於一千八百七十七年只 亦有足徵大憲欲人學習英文之美 甚有名譽他去年帳教授生

人學說英語見有效聽义國家大書院改易課程時每日上午教習華文之候救則用以教習英文叉在大

先家

3. Whilst the schools placed under Govern-

ment supervision, and more or less supported by Government funds, have, as far as numbers are concerned, barely held their own, there appears to have been a high rate of attendance in other

schools, not subject to Government supervision or aid. A census taken with the help of the District

Watchmen showed that there were in town 1,252 scholars in private Chinese schools, to which must

be added about 120 scholars in private schools in the villages. From a report published early in 1878, supplemented by the information I gathered

from statements made at the close of the year regarding St. Joseph's College, I estimate the number of scholars in the various Roman Catho-

lic institutions of the Colony in 1878 to amount a total of 2,492

to about 1,120. Thus we have

children who attended schools

Government supervision or aid.

not subject to

4. The feature of the year, in educational

respects, was certainly the great impetus given to the study of English. The warmth with which His Excellency the Governor, on all possi-

ble occasions, advocated the promotion of a knowledge of the English language and of Eng-

lish speaking among the native population of Hongkong, naturally bore its fruit. The Gov.

ernment Central School altered its time table, devoting to the study of English the early part of each day, formerly allotted to Chinese studies, and gave to questioning in English and to English colloquial conversation an amount of at- tention it had never before received in the Central School. As to the Government schools outside the Central School, among which Aberdeen had previously been the only Anglo-Chinese school, English teaching was introduced in the course of the year in three different places, viz., in Wong. mai-ch'ung, Wán-tsui and Sai-ying-phun, and final- ly the establishment of a Method Class with a view to train Chinese teachers of English for em ployment in the Village Schools was begun, in connection with the Central School. That the in-

habitants of a small hamlet like Wong-nai-ch'ung

should volunteer to contribute $5 per month to-

wards the expenses of the school, hitherto entire-

ly defrayed by the Government, and that they should stipulate that English as well as Chinese be taught in the school, is a most remarkable fact, especially so if it be considered that for years past the standing complaint in all the annual reports of the Education Department was the utter indifference of the villagers with regard to education. The people of Wong-nai-ch'ung paid their quota regularly, throughout the year, and the school, which at the beginning of the year, when Chinese only was taught, numbered 9 scho- lars, of whom 2were the sons of the master, counted an average attendance of 26 boys ever since English was introduced. Outside the Gov

ernment schools also, the special appreciation in which English teaching was held by the Head of the Government made itself felt and was warmly responded to by a sudden increase of private schools, both day-schools and evening-schools, conducted by Chinese or Eurasian teachers, among