Sessional_Paper_1884 — Page 596

attendances, the same number of daily attendances was far exceeded in the year 1883 by as many as 205 boys out of a total of 305 boys on the roll. This shows good progress made, but it shows also that there is still much room for improvement in this respect. I am satisfied that the Headmaster and staff of St. Joseph's College have done everything in their power to urge greater regularity of attend- ance upon the scholars of St. Joseph's College, but, apart from the carelessness of many parents, questions of health and climate affect the regularity of attendance far more in the case of Portuguese children than in the case of Chinese. As regards the number of passes obtained, some progress has also been made in the year 1883. In 1882, out of 191 scholars qualified for examination, 158 were examined and 145 or 91.13 per cent. passed. In 1883, out of 205 scholars qualified for examination, as many as 196 were examined and 180 or 91.83 per cent. passed. The number of passes gained in 1883 would have been far greater but for some carelessness shown in composition by the second class (Standard V). But this class, together with the first class (Standard VI), is a good instance of the general improvement effected in the College in the year 1883. For in 1882 only 18 boys could be examined in Standard V and only 5 boys in Standard VI of the Grant-in-Aid Scheme. But in the year 1883, as many as 26 boys were examined in Standard V and 18 boys in Standard VI. Again, in the year 1882 the percentage of passes gained in composition amounted to 90.47, whilst it amounted to 91.94 per cent. in the year 1883. There is naturally room for improvement in the method and in the amount of time applied to the teaching of English composition, which is always a subject of extra- ordinary difficulty when, as in the case of this School, the vast majority of the scholars hardly ever hear English spoken outside the schoolroom. Good progress has been made also in the teaching of geography and history. The results obtained in reading and grammar were not as good as those obtained in the preceding year, in which the highest possible marks were obtained in these two subjects. In arithmetic there was some falling off in the year 1883, the relative percentage of passes obtained in this subject having been 83.89 in the year 1883, as compared with 90.05 per cent. obtained in the year 1882. The Portuguese community in the Colony appear to have taken somewhat more interest than formerly in the problem of finding the method of education most suitable for the peculiar circumstances of the Colony. It seems to me that the same conviction has dawned upon the minds of some Portuguese residents, which has of late years forced itself upon Chinese parents in Hongkong, viz., that, in the case of children of aliens growing up in this Colony and hearing no English spoken in their own homes, the most effective education is that which gives such children first 3-4 years' schooling in their own respective mother-tongue before they are put to English studies. On this principle, the Portuguese language is now taught in three elementary Grant-in-Aid Schools under the management of Bishop RAIMONDI, and arrangements were made about the end of the year by Father BURGHIGNOLI to place a fourth School of this class under Government supervision. The education of the Portuguese youth in this Colony is evidently now in a very fair condition.

24. The Hongkong Public School was, during the year 1883, withdrawn from Government supervision. The published report of the School states the reason in a concise and instructive manner in the following words. "The School is no longer under Government inspection. Large numbers of pupils and comparatively small expenditure are conditions under which Government inspection would prove a real help. This School cannot expect large numbers of pupils and yet the expenses are very heavy. The Grant-in-Aid, therefore, was so inadequate, that it did not seem worth while to bind down the Headmaster to the arrangement of hours and lessons required by the Government as a condition of competing for it."

25. Two Belilios Scholarships were awarded by competitive examination to pupils of St. Joseph's College and two were given to pupils of the Government Central School on the basis of the results achieved in the general examination for the year 1883. These four Scholarships aim at promoting a knowledge of the English language and are well calculated to induce boys, who would otherwise leave school before their English education is perfectly finished, to attend the higher classes of these Schools for some time longer. Mr. BELILIOS has further shown his liberality and the great interest he takes in the promotion of education by making arrangements for giving annual prizes (in the shape of silver medals and other gratuities) to the best scholars of every Girls-school in the Colony.

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26. As regards the vernacular Grant-in-Aid Schools, all details will be found in the Tables annexed to this Report. That portion of the Grant-in-Aid Scheme which refers to this class of Schools, has once more been revised with a view to reduce the value of the passes in the various Standards, so as to make it impossible for any of these comparatively inexpensive Schools to earn an amount of grant exceeding their average expenditure. Notice has been given of all the alterations made in the provisions of the Grant-in-Aid Scheme, but the revised scale of grants will not come into force until the year 1884.

27. The needlework of the Grant-in-Aid Schools was examined this year by a special Committee of Ladies which Lady BowEN very kindly formed and presided over. The needlework of 27 Girls- Schools which receive a Grant-in-Aid was brought together and submitted at one and the same time to the examination of this Committee. The Italian Convent School naturally distinguished itself by the superiority of its artistic embroidery. The Committee, however, very justly proceeded to classify the work done by the Schools on the principle that needlework of general utility should, in the case

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