CO129-298 - Governor Sir Blake Administrator Major Gen Gascoigne - 1900 [3-4] — Page 331

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generally into the system of interpretation inthe Courts and

other Government Departments. "The report furnished by this

Committee induced the Government to take further measures to en--

courage proficiency in Chinese among Public Servants, and in

1889 regulations were made which had for thetr object a general

89 increase of the knowledge of Chinese in the Public Service

and the provision of European Iuterpreters for the Law Courts.

Under the latter regulation the servicesor one European with a

knowledge of the Chinchew dialect have been obtained for the

Magistracy, and two student-interpreters are now approaching

the completion of a course of study of Cantonese. Under the

former regulations only one European Ither than a Police Officer

has qualified for an allowance, whilst an regards the Police

Force, although every facility to learn Chinese has been given

the inducements offered under the regulations were not found

strong enough, and last year the allowances made for a knowledge

of the language were increased.

3. Each of the members of the present Committee

is well acquainted with one or other phase of the subject, and

no evidence has therefore been called. Heads of Departments,

however, have been invited to give us their views, and we are

indebted