CO129-317 - Governor Sir Blake - 1903 [4-6] — Page 388

COPY.

Sub-Endlosure to

Enclosure 3.

To Dr G. H. Bateson Wright,

Headmaster.

C.O.

26053

383

Queen's Collage, JUL 031

Hongkong, March 12th., 1903.

Sir,

I beg, through you, to ask permission from His

Excellency the Governor to relinquish my appointment as Junior Assist-

ant Master at Queen's College on the 16th. of April next, on condition

of course, of refunding £46 paid by the Crown Agents for the Colonies,

for my passage. The reasons for my decisions are mainly as follows:-

I was informed by the Cambridge Appointments

1.

Board, through whom I heard of the post, and who, I presume, received

all their information from the Colonial Office, that the subjects

taught at Queen's College were 'those usually taught in Secondary

Schools. I concluded from this that the College was a School for

Chinese of the better class, who, having already a fair knowledge of

English, wished to obtain an European education; i.e. that if not

classics, at any rate Modern Languages would be taught to some extent.

I find that this is not the case, and that the great majority of the

work is distinctly elementary. The subjects in which I am most interest

-ed are Classics, German and History. Of these one only, History, is taught and that only in its more elementary stages and in the highest classes to the teaching of which there would be no chance of my being

appointed for many years.

2.

I was given no information as to the members

of the College, and certainly did not contemplate having to manage a

Class of 72 boys.

3.

I find that the great majority of the Masters

are quite young men, some of them very recently appointed. It seems therefore