CO129-610-3 Rehabilitation of Hong Kong University 15-2-1949 - 7-2-1950 — Page 5

Mr. Adame

"In wished free there papers.

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I have read them through ginkly, wo have

not had time think out them

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there trimme in

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and fu & reared t the

seem like to end voor tym to the Observations which would

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very welcome.

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53556/4 Tung Wah which contains the proposal The proposal

In c.s.rw.airtimer refered & in

referred of in para. 13(a)

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and which do whs fo

provisional approval of the projects reped to in para. 13(b), (c), (d) and (e) (1) and (ii).

Wis clear that the despolches not fieles must be considered together.

Mr. Wallace.

1/4

I agree with Mr. Robison's views.

We

are confronted by the dilemma which worried the "Cox Committee" that if the University were revived to meet the Colony's needs it would continue in the condition it was in before the war as an under- financed institution not up to university standards; or that if it were to achieve worthy university standards it would be for wider Imperial purposes and would require substantial help from H.M.G. not from Colonial Office funds alone. Until there is a clear decision that H.M.G. is going to support the University for its "Lugard" purposes, C. D. & W. grants for developing the University may be throwing good money after bad. The despatch does not really carry conviction that the University will be financially able to sustain its development programme even if some of the capital is provided from C. D. & W.

The brutal fact must not be overlooked that the £62 million in the C. D. & W. higher education allocation is so heavily committed that the sum of £200-250,000 requested could be found only at the expense of some of the other Colonial university projects. In allocating £1 million for Malaya the Colonial University Grants Advisory Committee realized that it was leaving practically nothing for Hong Kong and the Committee will want a very convincing case to persuade it to advise that other proposals should be reduced to meet Hong Kong's claim.

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