1941-01-20 — Page 106

CHINA MAIL, PAGE 50

1841

HONG KONG CENTENARY NUMBER

EDUCATION BATTLES

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NOT from the first day of its

ression could Hong Kong complain that is religious and educational wants were unheeded. During the governorship of Sir H. Pottinger (1841-1844) the Church of England, the Roman Cathulles and Nonconformists were already it work The Morrison School was founded by the late Rev. Dr. Legge, subsequently famous throughout China for his edition. of the Classes, and late Professor of thanese at Oxford About the same time the Colonial Chaplam the Rev V. Stanton, founded St Paul's College as a training col- lege for native clergy. It stil! exists after various vicissitudes as a secondary school for boys.

About this time the Government started its interest in Education this interest taking the form of a grant of $5 a month to ten small schools and the appointment of a Committee of Education to control it. In 1850 this committee in re- por'u on the aided schools sand "all the te: chers te professed Christians” and named Bishop Bone's catechism in a list of the school books-a Chinese transla- tion compulsorily taught to the

sous of unbelieving peasants.

In 1855 an effort was made by The European community to start a public school-St. Andrew's--- for their sons, It survived seven years and apparently fulfilled its purpose. From an examination report it seems that boys of no less than ten nationalities attended the schoot.

By 1858 there were besides St. Andrew's School, 13 Government schools with an average attend- ance of 400 pupils, 4 missionary schools (2 Protestant and 2 Roman Catholic) with an average attend- ance of 100. In the Government schools the rudiments of `English were now taught for the first time,

Legge Campaign

In 1859 Dr. Legge became pre- dominant in the councils of Edu- calion and he led ! successful movement to modify the existing policy of the Government, which might have been summed up in the words, "Christianity through letters." During the following year Dr. Legge, supported by the new Governor, Sir Hercules Ro- binson, merged certain of the small Government schools into it Central School, which still exists to-day under the name of Queen's College. The Arst headmaster, Dr. Stewart, was also appointed Inspector of Schools to the Board of Education; the Board however was abolished in 1865.

This completed Dr. Legge's re- volution. The Education Depart- ment was now no longer under the direction of the Bishop of Victoria; it became a civil depart- ment under the Inspector of Schools directly responsible to the Governor.

The Diocesan School and Or- phanage for Boys was found-

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ed in 1870, by which time, under the influence of the Roman Catho- lic Bishop Raimondi, the number of Roman Catholic schools increased to thirteen with 600 pupils, half of whom girls. For all this time and till 1871 no financial

support was given to missionary schools, but in 1872 a grant was offered schools belonging to the Christian Missions. A Code was drawn up, containing a condition to the effect that no religious instruction was allowed during four consecutive working hours each day. As a result of this grant the Protestant schools increased from four to eleven between 1872 and 1976. The Roman Catholic schools con- tinued to flourish unaided till the year 1877. The present St. Joseph's College was founded in 1875.

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lo 1878 the Grant Code win amended and the conditions now stipulated that Code subjects should be taught for four hours daily but otherwise left religious education absolutely in the hands of the managers. Thenceforward Government. - Protestant and Roman Catholic schools have worked harmoniously side by side, with but friendly rivalry between them.

Dr Eitel was appointed Inspec- tor of Schools in 1879 and, as be WIS opposed To State schools where avoidable, he closed eleven Government schools 187 1893 the ground that they had been rendered unnecessary by the Grant schools.

Divided Counsels

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Dr. Eitel (luspector of Schools) and Dr Stewart (Headmaster. Queen's College) were unable to agree in their views with the re- sult that Queen's College was made indepeħdent of the Inspec- tor Thus education in the Colony became a thing of divided coun sels for many years.

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In 1894 the Grant Code further amended and provision made for Building Grants.

Important chauges in education policy took place in 1901 as the result of the investigations of an Educational Committee, consisting of Mr. A. W. Brewin (Registrar General), Dr. Ho Kai and Mr. E. A. Irving (Inspector of Schools), into the conditions of education in the Colony. This committee, among other things, emphasised the need of introducing oral methods in the teaching of Eng- lish, modern ideas respecting his- tory and geography and the cul- tivation by Chinese students of their own language. The system of

giving Grants, which had hitherto been entirely and un- shamedly by results, was brought more closely into accord with mo- dern Ideas and the Grant Code amended accordingly. More prac- tleal and better teaching in the Vernacular schools was Insisted

upon.

In 1907, under the Governorship of Sir Matthew Nathan the Tech- nical Institute was founded and upon the retirement in 1909 of Dr.. Wright, who had been Headmos- ter of Queen's College since 1886, the Education Department Was reconsolidated under, one head, the Director of Education.

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The idea of founding a Univer- sity in Hong Kong was by means new, but the rapid advance of English education during the next few years made it a practical possibility and in the Governor- ship of Sir F. Lugard (1907-1912) the liberality of the late Sir Hor- musjee Mody supplied a building. Public interest, not only locally but in China and among Chinese in the Straits Settlements, provid- ed funds, and in 1911 the Univer- sity of Hong Kong was opened and with it a new chapter of edu- cation in Hong Kong.

New Ordinance

At the beginning of 1913 the average attendance in all schools, including enrolment at the Tech- nical Institute, was 5,582 in Eng- lish schools and 10,327 in Chinese schools, and the total nett expen- diture on Education $269,144.00 of which $16,000.00 was spent on" primary Vernacular schools.

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On August 1st, 1913, the impor- tant and far reaching Education Ordinance was passed:-"An Or- dinance to provide for the regis- tration and supervision of certain schools." It defined, a school as "a place where ten or more pér- sons are being, or are habitually taught, whether in one or in more classes", "and "empowered the D!........

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HEALTH PROBLEMS

WHATEVER else might be writ-

ten without fear of contru- diction about Hong Kong's growth and development, it would be imaginative to describe it as 4 health resort.

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Environmental conditions are constant menace, the scope for the spread of infection is so immense In overcrowded tenements and the introduction of dangerous infec- bious disease from South China is

a very common occurrence,

During its history, the Colony has experienced extremely grave epidemics of plague, there was a very high mortality from malaria in the early years, typhoid and smallprx are endemic and in re- cent years, there has been a re- gular summer visitation of cholera. Happily, the

been Colony has plague-free now for nearly 20 years, after more than forty years in which the annual death-rull sometimes exceeded 2,500, an in- dication of the importance of pre- cautionary measures, stringently enforced.

It is notable, too, that the Euro- pean community, who in the main are not troubled with the blight of poverty, malnutrition, ignoran- ce, superstition and misetable liv- ing quarters, has achieved com- parative immunity from endemic diseases.

Yellow Fever

In 1885, the Colony was visited by a disease which very closely resembled Yellow Fever, an ex- ceedingly rare visitor to this part of the world, Dr. Murray, the Colonial Surgeon (equivalent of D. M. S.) wrote: It was first re- cognised in Victoria Gaol upon the 3rd of March when a prisoner whe was said to have come directly from Macao was seized with the symptoms. No new case occurred until the 15th of March. The dis- case increased rapidly until it reached its acme on Muy

2nd on which day there were

40 cases in hospital. It did not disappear until there had been 373 admissions and 40 deaths. Curiously enough, not a single female fell victim to the outbreak, and there have been few es- tablished recurrences, although there have been occasional suspect

cases.

To-day, in many respects the Colony is well equipped to meet its health problems, but they have been complicated by a tremendous influx of refugees from all parts of China since the outbreak of Sino-Japanese hostilities and the Japanese occupation of Canton.

In the last few years, the Queen Mary Hospital, situated on the south side of the island at a height 500 feet above sea level, has been completed at a cost of nearly four. million dollars, replacing the for- mer Governmeħt Civil Hospital, parts of which had been built as far back as 1874. The new Queen Mary Hospital embodies all the latest developments in hospital construction and in equipment.

In Kowloon stands the Kowloon Hospital in an elevated part of the peninsula in a reserve of thirty acres. The first portion was opened

in 1925 and plans are already un- der way for extension of this Health Centre, with a new gen- eral hospital and an infectious dis- cases hospital.

A relief hospital has recently been opened in the old Laichikok prison, and there are welfare cen- Kowloon, tres in Wanchai and numerous clinics and Government dispensaries at key points in the New Territories.

Operating privately are the St. Paul's Hospital, which commenced work in Hong Kong under Catho- lic Sisters as long ago as 1848, the Alice Memorial and Affiliated Hos- pitals (tor Chinese only), the Hong Kong Sanatorium, the Hospital of the Precious Blood, opened in June 1937, the War Memorial Nur- sing Home, built by public sub- scriptions and situated on Mount Kellett, the Matilda Hospital, for indigent Europeans opened 1907 and built by Mr. Granville Sharp in memory of his wife, the Canessia Hospital, the St. Francis Hospital, Wanchai, which was opened in 1869 and the Majima Hospital, chiefly for Japanese.

There are three principal Chi- nese hospitals in Hong Kong grouped under a charitable or- ganisation called the Tung Wah Committee. Two are founded on the island, the Tung Wah Hos- pital built in 1873 and the Tung Wah Eastern Hospital, a much more modern institution, dating from 1929.

The third, the Kwong Wah Hos- pital, is situated in Kowloon.

These hospitals combine the functions of the poor law infir- maries of Great Britain and hos- pitals and alms-houses; they serve as shelters for the old and destitute and they also treat the sick.

Those who go to them because of illness are allowed to choose whether they will have Chinese herbalist treatment or Western treatment with the qualification that notificable infectious diseases are treated in Western Isolation wards and accidents having me- dico-legal importance are similar- ly treated.

Western Medicine

The trend, however, is towards acceptance by a discerning pub- lic of Western rather than Eastern medicine. Both the Tung Wah and Kwong Wah Hospitals have, for some years past, been grossly overcrowded, and the urgency of the need for remedy, and the pro- vision of reasonable hospital ac- commodation for the sick poor in these territories is fully recognised . in official quarters.

The Report of the Technical Committee for the Reorganisa- tion and Improvement of existing official hospital and clinical facili- ties in the Colony holds that it is not unreasonable to assume that the

normal population of the Colony in the next five years will be at least 1,250,000, and makes recommendations which would call for 6,280 general hospital beds as against the existing total of 2,939, The Report also urges measures to attack

tuber. the spread of culosis, the most serious health problem. which the Colony faces.

AN OLD-ESTABLISHED FIRM

The firm of Mesars, Wm. Powell, Ltd., dates back to the year 1885. The founder, Mr. Wm, Powell, was originally with Messrs, Sale and Co., who gave up busi- ness. Mr. Po-

of the old Hong Kong Club Build- ing, opposite the old Post Office. Mr. Powell retired, from business in 1901, and a public limited Com-

Wm. Powell, Ltd.

well then opened up a small shop on the corner of Pottinger Street and Queen's Road, from where he later tëmoved to the premises recently occupied by Tak Cheong and Co., in Queen's Road. The property was then acquired by Tak Cheong and Co1, and Powell's removed to the first floor

pany was then formed. More suitable pre- mises were secured in Alex-

in andra Building, but 1912 the premises in Des Voeux Road, Central, were taken over, only for another change to be made, this time to Ice House Street, where they are to-day.

Mr. H. Overy is the Managing Director.

1941

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