CO129-625-5 Hong Kong University- establishment fund 1-3-1950 - 31-1-1951 — Page 29

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(ii) that His Majesty's Government should invite the

Government of Australia, and later of New Zealand and Canada, to consider making contributions to the endowment fund, preferably for general purposes, but, if they preferred, for the endowment of particular chairs;

(iii) that the University should organize a sustained

appeal campaign over the next three years to obtain contributions to this endowment fund particularly from local individuals and firms, and from the local Government,

(iv) that the possibility of obtaining financial assistance

from educational and scientific foundations, such as the Rockefeller, Carnegic, Ford and Nuffield, should be investigated.

We discussed the suggestion of an approach to the Australian government with the Governor of Hong Kong, with the Governor of Singapore, with Mr. Malcolm Macdonald and (at the latter's request) with his Economic Adviser, Dr. Benham. We understood that Mr. Macdonald will try to make an opportunity during the Sydney conference to mention this matter informally to members of the Australian Government, associating with it probably the suggestion of similar assistance to the University of Malaya.

10. The recommendations we make for capital and for further recurrent assistance are closely related, but are not dependent on each other to the extent that the one should be made conditional on the other. We realize that it may take longer to reach decision about contributions from Governments to the endowment fund than to reach decisions about the release of the Treasury £1 million and a grant from the Colonial Development and Welfare allocation. If the Colony Government increases its recurrent grant and additional income is obtained from fees, some of the most urgent staff increases can be made pending the decision on the endowment proposal. We recommend therefore that the Inter- University Council: should advise the Colonial University Grants Advisory Committee to deal at its next meeting with the question of the capital grant, even if the other proposals require furt her consultation by the Colonial Office with other departments.

11. From what has been seid already, it is clear that the University has received generous local support, for example, the capital grant and the increased annual grant from the Government and the benefaction from Sir Robert Ho Tung. The buildings and library are records of generous benefactions before the war, and this tradition is being maintained; for example, at the University Congregation held on 1st March last, Mr. Leung Yew immediately responded to the suggestion made in the Vice-Chancellor's speech. that somebody might wish to contribute $10,000 to replace the mace which had been stolen during the post-war looting. We were entertained to dinner by the Hong Kong Alumni Association both in Hong Kong and in Singapore and the graduates were cager to have our suggestions of ways in which they could help the University. We were given opportunities at Hong Kong of personally contributing to the profits of the Jockey Club, and were delighted to hear later that the Chairman of the Stewards (who is al so Treasurer of the University). hoped to persuade his fellow Stewards to make a contribution of possibly $1 million from Jockey Club funds for the building of a new library for the University. The Governor and the University Treasurer

(who/