CO129-286 - Acting Governor Major Gen Black Governor Sir Blake & Public Offices - 1898 [11-12] — Page 334

}

!

a

327

DOMESTIC.

be or Individual.

Mommar

898

4 Mar

previous Paper.

No.

Hory Ming

Esateral

No 6654

(Subject.)

Study of Chinese

6654

BL 25 44.99

53. Mr. Arthur Morton,-To ask the First Lord of the Treasury, whether, as an immediate encouragement to the study of Chinese, the Government will con- sider the advisability of making that language an obligatory subject for Indian civil servants proceeding to Burmah, and an optional subject for the Indian civil service, the Straits Settlements and Hong Kong services, and the China Consular service:

And, whether the Government would consider the question of offering suitable rewards to young officers for proficiency in the colloquial and in the written language.

Lent kim

(Minutes.) Friday 25th March

Lean to Mr Balfeer.

note

EN 25 Mart

162573

he

han

Mr. RALFOUR (Manchester, E.) said that Chinese was already made an optional subject for Civil servanta proceeding to Horma, but that it was not thought necessary to make it obligatory For the Hong-kong and Straits Settlements series, the Colonial Office were not in favour of making Chinese an oppiogal subject

in the cadet examination, as the language was better learnt in the East. With regard to the Chinese Con. sular service, he understood that the system by which student interpreters devoted two years to tbo study of Chinese at Feking on entering the service had been found to work well and there was no in- tention of altering it. In several branches of the service rewards were given for the study of Chinese.

STORY BAC

14 (74)-150-10006-12 #7

sequent Paper