CO129-254 - Governor Sir Robinson - 1892 [1-4] — Page 392

CO129 Colonial Office Hong Kong Records 理藩院香港檔案 All

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MATERIALS FOR A HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN HONGKONG.

be supposed to be the absolute indifference of the Chinese to education. The Chinese have no education in the real sense of the word.' The Chinese who have flocked to Hoogkong have left behind them their traditional regard for education.' 'Before any real good can be effected, the Chinese must have learnt to appreciate the value of education and of their own education such as it is.' On these doubtful grounds Dr. Stewart seriously recommended the intra- duction into the Colony of an Education Tax and Compulsory Attendance,' adding that nothing short of this will meet the existing evil.

1866 The extent to which the Roman Catholio Missions, without any Government Grant, had of late been outstripping the educational efforts of their Protestant com- petitors, continued to make itself conspicu. ous in the year 1866. St. Paul's College lost the services of Mr. Reeve on the first, and the annual Foreign Office Grant of $1,200 on the last, day of this year. The School was, however, continued, under Acting Masters, with 33 boys in average attendance and an expense of $2,445. In the Blus Book report for the year it is stated that *the College is exclusively for Chinese.' The Diocesan School now consisted of the remaining fragments of Miss Baxter's Schools gathered there by Miss Oxlad and Miss Randel, who had 34 girls under their jint instruction at a cost of $3,572, The London Mission continued their two Day Schools at Taipingshan and Wantsai with au aggregate of 70 Chinese boys at a cost of $150. At the Berlin Foundling House 22 Chinese girls were under the tuition of Mies Sise, assisted by a Chinese teacher. But these are all the Protestant Schools known to have been in operation in the year 1866.

As to Roman Catholic Schools, there was in the first instango St. Saviour's College with 101 boys under the tuition of Meears. T. Terry, V. Pereira, M. Baptista, C. Waguer, A. Seth and A. Souza. The ex- penses amounted to $2,400. On 20th and

21st December, 1866, public examinations were held in Spanish, French, English and Chinese, and at the public prize-giving the Governor, Sir R. G. MacDonnell stated that to the Roman Catholic Missionaries chiefly do we owe any earnest efforts to provide an adequate body of future interpreters of European parentage.' At the Pattinger Street Seminary (located in the same build- ing as St. Saviour's College) Fathers B. Vigano and G. Favini had 9 students under instruction, costing $600. The Sockonpoo Seminary under Père Jacquemin was at- tended by 18 students (cost not stated.) The Westpoint Reformatory had 53 boys in its ludustrial Schools under the tuition of Messrs. S. Chu, T. Rin, tui Foo, Tai Loo, and Si Chan, the cost of the institution being $1,440. The Propaganda Society had a School with 38 Chinese boys in Wel- lington Street, under Mr. Lee, costing $300, and another School with 35 Chinese Buys under the tuition of Mr. Leang at Spring Gardens, costing $144. The Italian Con- vent continued its three Schools in Caino Road ander the tuition of Sisters E. Bow- ring, A. Paltronieu, and G. Maczato, who had 23 girls in the English division, 60 girls in the Portuguese and 32 girls in the Chinese division. The expenses amcanted to $2,400. The Italiau Sisters further had a Girls School at work in Spring Gardens, with 32 girls, under the tuition of Sister L. Pam, at a cost of $96. In the Day School of the Asile de la Salute Enfance there were, under Sister M. Lucien, 18 hoys und 70 girls under instruction, costing $1,680.

In his report on the Government Schools for the year 1866, Dr. Stewart reports an average attendance of 208 scholars in Cen- tral School and 246 scholars in the twelve outside Schools (the maximum attendance being 222 in Central School and only 350 in the outside Schools). This result, compared with that of former years, seems to indicate general unpopularity of the methods adopted

in these Schools. Experieuce has amply proved that Chinese parents are by no

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MATERIALS FOR A HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN HONGKONG.

310 scholars in the twelve outside Schools, which constitutes a further decrease on the results of the previous year. Dr. Stewart himself regrets that he cannot report much progress as to the Village Schools, despairs also of training proper Masters for those Schools without a separate training depart- ment (a measare still needed), and deplores the large proportion of children (10,800) remaining uneducated in Hongkong out of 19,349 under 10 years of age, but he notes an increasing interest now felt (by the Chinese) in female education,' and reports on the whole favourably on the Central School regarding which he speaks of an in- creasingly apparent popularity.

means slow in sending their hoya to school if they are satisfied with the school's efficiency and discipline. Dr. Stewart, however, was satisfied with these results and reported favourably on the Schools. The payment of fees in Central School bus not proved the slightest drawback to the School.' The outside Schools charged no fees at all. Still children would not come to these Schools, We feel sure that the semi-foreign methods still in- sisted on were to blame. Later on, when these methods were allowed to fall in abeyance, the attendance increased. Dr. Stewart states that his project of training Chinese Assistant-Teachers—a problem still urterly unsolved in Hongkong--has all but failed. A double change was introduced in the Central School by the orders of Sir R. G. MacDonnell: the School, which had hitherto been exclusively for Chinese boys, was thrown open for boys of all nationali- ties (a very reasonable measure), and science classes, including experimental chemistry, were ordered (for boys who did not under- stand English enough to follow an ordinary English conversation). Dr. Stewart, na- turally, did not expect good results from the latter measure.

1867. The educational statistica of Pro- testant and Catholic Mission Schools for the year 1867 are missing. But it is re- corded elsewhere, by a Catholio author, that *the Schools under the direction of Protest- ant Missionaries (in the year 1807) were prospering, with the exception of St. Paul's College, which came to grief for having lost its funds (by the failure of Dent & Co.) The Catholic Schools appear to have con- tinued their progressive development in the year 1867, as is evidenced, so far as St. Saviour's College is concerned, by the favourable comments made hy Sir R. G. McDonnell on the occasion of prize-giving day (23rd December, 1847).

In his report on the Government Schools for 1867, Dr. Stewart recorded 198 scholars in average attendance at Central School and

1868. St. Paul's College, having been temporarily closed in 1867, was re-opened by Bishop Alford, in the year 1868, as a School for European boys only, 20 of whom were placed under the tuition of the Rev. J. Kyle. The expenses of the School, amounting to $3,343, were met partly by the Church Missionary Soofety, which provided the salary of the tutor and partly by an advance of $1,203 which the Bishop made out of the Diocesan fund. The Diocesan School, under the charge of Miss Oxlud (whose salary was provided by the Female Education Society for the purpose of the Baxter Schools) had 12 girls as boarders at a cost of $1,700. Miss Oxlad re-opened this year a Baxter Vernacular Girls Day School, with 14 girls under 2 Chinese teachers, the expenses ($384) being provided by the late Miss Baxter's family. The London Mission now added to its two Boys Schools at Taipingshan and Wantsai (with 72 boys, costing $500) & Girls School with 13 children under the tuition of Mrs. Amui

(in Aberdeen Street). In the Berlin Foundling House 21 girls were under the tuition of Miss Süss and a Chinese teacher. The Boarding School of Miss Magrath, which, though not recorded for several years past,

had all along been at work without inter- ruption, was, in 1968, attended by 15 girls and 3 boys, at a cost of $750, but dis-

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