CO129-576-5 Hong Kong University 13-6-1939 - 23-11-1939 — Page 123

2.

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3.

The Committee having been appointed by me as

Chancellor its report was referred to the Council of the

University for consideration and I held a special meeting

of the Council on 9th June for that purpose. Subject to

the views of the Senate and the Finance Committee on the

contents of Chapters VI to IX inclusive (Medical,

Engineering, Science and Arts Faculties) and of the Finance

Committee on Chapter X (Libraries) the Council accepted in

principle the whole report, though they recognized that

without very generous help from outside sources many of

the recommendations in the report could not be implemented.

Except on one point of detail, to which I will allude

below, the Council's endorsement was unanimous.

4.

The Committee's report is so lucid and, as I

think, convincing that I do not propose to comment at

length upon its contents. The foundations of its

arguments and recommendation are stated in Chapter III and

are, firstly, that the only justification for a University

in this small Colony is that it should provide a

University education of British inspiration for Chinese

students; that in order to induce those students to come

here the University must be more amply staffed and equipped and expenses must be within their reach; and, lastly, that those conditions cannot be fulfilled without co-operation from China and a considerable increase in income. The se

premises are, I submit, incontrovertible.

5.

I venture to feel assured that the advice given in Chapter IV upon the University's relation with those

of China will have your warm support, as it has mine. Clearly it will be for the Chinese Ministry of Education to decide whether action shall be taken to realize these

suggestions and I am doing no more than causing copies of the report to be sent to the Minister commending the