CO129-469 - Governor Sir Stubbs - 1921 [9-12] — Page 164

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Memorandum.

To accompany an application to the Colonial Government from St. Stephen's College Council that a specified area on the island of Hongkong should be earmarked as a free grant for the purpose of establishing the College permanently thereon.

St. Stephen's College, a Church of England School under the presidency of the Restorical Bishop of Victoria, was founded in the year 1903 for the education of Chinese boys. It Summary. is managed by a Council of local gentlemen, Chinese and English, under the auspices of the Church Missionary Society which appoints the Warden and pays his salary. The property of the foundation is vested in a Board of Trustees. It is an "exempted " school under the ordinances of the Colony.

The school is not run for financial profit, but solely in the interests of education, and it aims to prepare boys for the University of Ilongkong, or for other British Univer- sities. Influence is brought to bear on the students to enter the local university; but some of them prefer to go straight from the College to Oxford, Cambridge or Londou Universities.

In 1908 new buildings were erected by subscription on Iuland Lots 692, 693, and 691, which were rented from the Belilios Estate on a lease of 21 years terminating ou December 31, 1927.

While the new building was under construction, the then Warden, -now the Vouer- able the Arclicacon of Hongkong, was in negotiation with the University of Oxford to arrange special facilities whereby our students, on passing the Oxford Local Senior Examination as Associates in Arts, might pass on to read for their degree at Oxford. However, at the College Prize-giving in that year, Sir F. Lugard, the Governor of the Colous, made public his appeal that the establishment of a University locally should be effected to meet the educational needs of our own and other students. When Mr. Mody's generous response to the challenge brought this project within the bounds of possibility our Council at once transferred its interest from its own previous proposals to aid whole- heartedly in carrying out Sir F. Lugard's scheme. For this purpose the Church Missionary Society was induced to open St. John's Hall as a Hostel for University students, particularly for those passing on from our College. About 30% of the first matriculants were old boys of ours. And the Council joined with certain Chinese gentlemen, who were supporters of our work, in giving to the University a financial guarantee for a term of years in order to make possible the establishment of a Faculty of Arts.

Since that date the interests of the College have been bound up in the success of the University, and no inconsiderable proportion of the undergraduates have gone up from St. Stephen's College.

The reputation of our College and the influence of the Church Missionary Society in Younanfu, backing the energetic efforts of H.B.M. Consul-General in that province, led to the establishment of the Yunan Scholarships tenable for one year at the College and for four more at the University. The organization and expense of setting the examina- tions has been borne so far by the College.

Crisis.

Our limited accommodation for boarders has permitted us to receive sour students Present from outside the Colony. They have come from almost every part of the world where there are colonies of Chinese, as well as from China. But about two thirds of our scholars are day boys. For some years our boarding accommodation has been insufficient for our needs, and we cannot enlarge it on the present site.

And now the lease of our present premises is approaching its termination. In addition, a recent demolition oriler of the Public Works Department calls for the immediate pulling down of our class room building which contains also residences for the staff and servauts. The Council is therefore compelled to take immediate steps to provide for the future of the school.

mcat.

At this juncture we desire to bring the school into line more completely than has Plans for been possible hitherto with the theory and practice of English public schools. Without Develop depriving our local Chinese gentry of facilities for using the school for their sous, we wish to make larger provision for students whose parents live abroad. And at the same time we wish to improve the quality of our work in English, Science, and Chinese, and to obtain more facilites for athletics than we enjoy at present. We are confident that on a new site, and working to a larger scale, we could render more valuable aid than we have hitherto done to the cause of lugher education among the Chinese people.