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Schools with 1,615 chiefly Chinese scholars); 4 Schools gave to 165 Portuguese children a European education in the Portuguese language; 3 Schools gave to 152 Chinese children a European education in the Chinese language; and 95 Schools gave to 5,169 children a classical Chinese education. In the 144 local Kaifong Schools with 2,596 scholars (exempt from the supervision of the Education Department), only 62 scholars received, in 8 Schools, an Anglo-Chinese education, whilst all the rest, viz., 2,534 scholars received, in 136 Schools, a classical Chinese education. As to the 7 unclassed Schools under European supervision with 921 scholars, 393 scholars received in 2 Schools a purely English education, and 528 scholars received in 5 Schools a European education in the Chinese language. To sum up, then, among 12,123 scholars under instruction, in the year 1893, in 277 local Schools, the vast majority, viz., 63.54 per cent., received in 231 Schools a purely Chinese education in the classical language of China; 29.49 per cent. received in 34 Schools an English or Anglo-Chinese education; 5.69 per cent. received in 8 Schools a European education in the Chinese and 1.91 per cent. received the same in the Portuguese language. In other words, we may say that two-thirds of all our local Schools give a Chinese and one-third a European education.

9. FEMALE EDUCATION.-In former times the most abnormal feature of the educational condition of this Colony was the general neglect of female education. But since the last ten years a steady improvement has taken place in this respect in those Schools of the Colony which are under the supervision of the Education Department. The steady increase of the proportion of girls, among the whole number of scholars under instruction in those Schools, is a most cheering fact, as it holds out a definite prospect of our attaining soon to a normal condition in this respect. It will be seen from the subjoined Table that in Schools under the Education Department the percentage of scholars, being girls, has steadily been progressing, since the year 1873 (when the Grant-in-Aid Scheme was started), from 13.33 per cent. to 37.90 per cent.

Proportion of Boys and Girls under instruction in Schools subject to the supervision of the Education Department,

Year.

Percentage of Scholars being Girls.

Scholars under instruction.

Total

Population.

of

Boys.

Girls.

Scholars.

1873,

121,985

1,976

204

2,280

13.33

1874,

2,282

281

2,563

10.96

1875,

2,177

429

2,606

16.46

1876,

139,144

2,379

543

2,922

18.58

1877,

Sa

2,520

624

3,144

19.84

1878,

2,544

578

3,122

18.51

1879,

2,850

610

3,160

17.63

1880,

160,402

3,187

699

3,886

17.98

1881,

3,364

859

4,223

20.34

1882,

166,433

3,941

1,241

5,182

23.94

1883,

173,475

4,120

1,477

5,597

26.38

1884,

181,529

4,238

1,647

5,885

27.98

1885,

190,594

4,329

1,700

6,029

28.19

1886,

200,990

4,161

1,683

5,844

28.79

1887,

212,951

4,195

1,779

5,974

29.77

1888,

215,800

4,342

1,916

6,258

30.77

1889,

194,482

4,991

2,116

7,107

29.77

1890,

4,846

2,324

7,170

32.41

1891,

224,814

4,881

2,791

7,672

36.38

1892, 1893,

231,662

5,335

2,942

8,277

35.54

238,724

5,344

3,262

8,606

37.90

Encouraging, however, as the foregoing figures are, they do not contain the whole truth. In former years, I was unable to obtain complete and reliable statistics as to the attendance of local Schools not under the Education Department. I was aware that in the vast majority of those Schools (that is to say in the Kaifong Schools) female education is still almost entirely neglected. Through the efforts of the School Attendance Officer, I am now able to give exact statistics of all the Schools of the Colony. Now the percentage of scholars, being girls, is in the different classes of local Schools as follows:-Unclassed Schools (nearly all being Missionary institutions) 57.43 per cent., Grant-in-Aid Schools, 47.90 per cent., Government Schools, 15.61 per cent., Kaifong Schools, 2.42 per cent. Among a total of 12,123 scholars under instruction in Schools of all descriptions there were, during the year 1893, 8,269 boys and 3,854 girls, the latter numbering 31.79 per cent. of the whole number of scholars. The foregoing figures prove conclusively that the gradual expansion of feinale education in the Colony is principally due to the Grant-in-Aid Scheme and to the agency of local Missions and that the only class of Schools which still exhibit a shameful apathy in relation to the interests of female education are the native Kaifong Schools which are inaccessible to stimulation on the part of the Education Department.

10. ATTENDANCE IN SCHOOL AND NUMBER OF UNEDUCATED CHILDREN.-The population of Hong- kong, including, besides the Navy, also the Army which has (for soldiers' children) separate Schools not included in the returns of the Education Department, amounted in the year 1893 to about