CO129-450 - Acting Governor Claud Severn - 1918 [10-12] — Page 254

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Your Excellency,

H.M.Consulate-General,

Yunnanfu, October 11th., 1918.

200

I have the honour to refer you to my despatch

of June 5th. last on the subject of scholarships for Yunnan students at the Hongkong University.

In August four scholarships, three given by the

provincial Government and one by Messrs. Shevan Tomes à Co. were

competed for, fifty-one candidates presenting themselves at the

examination, which was held in the Governor's Yamen under the

supervision of foreign and Chinese examiners. On the first day

these latter made it clear that they intended to get the Civil Governor's son, whose knowledge of English is very rudimentary, selected at all costs. Then this was reported to me I warned the Commissioner of Foreign Affairs that if this was persisted in I should withdraw the foreign examiners and publish in the press my

ressons for doing so; this had the desired effect, and the

Governor's son at once withdrew his candidature and did not attend

the examination es subsequent days. After the examination the

Governor sent to ask me whether I had my objection to his select-

-ing the candidates for which the Provincial Goverment was paying

and not necessarily taking the first three on the list, as he

desired to divide the scholarships amongst the various schools in

the capital; I said that, although such a course was entirely

opposed to English ideas and to my avowed intention, I was not in

a position to object, and I could only trust he wuld select the

best men. As a matter of fact he did so, two of his nominees

being second and third on the list and the third a little way

down; the first on the list I selected for Messrs. Shewan Tomes

& Co.'s scholarship. These four candidates, three of whom I know

to be fairly intelligent and to have a good knowledge of English,

left for Hongkong in September and have entered for a year at