Sessional_Paper_1898 — Page 69

HONGKONG.

No.

1

98

65

No. 1.

REPORT OF THE HEAD MASTER OF QUEEN'S COLLEGE FOR 1897.

Laid before the Legislative Council by Command of His Excellency the Governor,

QUEEN'S COLLEGE,

4th January, 1898.

SIR, I have the honour to forward herewith the Annual Report on this College for the year 1897. 1. 681 boys were admitted in the course of the past twelve months, raising the total Roll from 531 in January to 1,212 in December. It is thus evident that we have in the same year been practi- cally dealing with two separate schools, an old and a new one, each as large as the old Central School, whose record total attendance in 1888 was 634. It is a somewhat formidable undertaking to organise in one year an entirely new school of 600 scholars; but the task of suitably accommodating and classifying an inrush of 600 new candidates for admission is even more complex.

2. The total accommodation provided is 924 seats. We had a monthly attendance of over 900 scholars, during seven months of the year; the largest numbers being 961 in September, 950 in May, 942 in June. The attendance 900 has only been touched in one previous year, viz., 1891, when the College was a novelty; in March and April of that year the figures 919, 932 were attained, to fall however before its close to 744, whereas in December last 866 boys were present.

3. This sudden access of numbers is due to a natural spontaneous cause, which we may therefore reasonably expect to prove abiding. A demand for European education has arisen, during the last two years, throughout the length and breadth of China. Native English teaching schools have sprung up in Canton, Swatow and the neighbourhood of Macao; while even in Yokohaina, the Chinese com- munity are about to open a school where English, Japanese and Chinese will be taught.

4. It is a matter of congratulation to the Government, that the original estimate of 700 seats, made by Dr. STEWART in 1882, was not adhered to. Ten years ago, I recommended 770 as a minimum, and subsequently 924 as a maximum accommodation; alleging as a reason the overcrowding in the Central School, owing to the want of capacity in the building to meet the demand, increasing every decade. From a financial point of view, too, it must be satisfactory to have 224 extra monthly fees, without additional cost in the way of increased stuff.

5. My experience at the old Central School, with its 450 boys, taught me, that it was only when the demand excceded the supply, that regular attendance could be enforced with the necessary strict- ness. Chinese are like most other people, they value most what there is some difficulty in obtaining. If a guardian finds that his boy's seat, vacated for some trivial cause, is taken in his absence by another, he learns to respect the exigencies of school routine. I am therefore glad to draw attention to a pronounced improvement this year in attendance.

6. The total amount of Fees collected this year has been $13,460 or $3,500 in excess of last year's revenue from this source, and beating the previous record in 1895 of $12,667. It should be remem- bered that the largest amount of Fees collected in the old Central School was $6,899 in 1888, and prior to my arrival in 1882, $4,051 in 1881.

7. It should be manifest, that the introduction of so many new boys has necessitated very rapid promotions; this will be the more evident when it is understood, that of the 587 new boys (not including 94 re-admissions) 443 went to the Preparatory, 115 to the Lower, and 29 to the Upper School, 22 of these last being admitted to the non-Chinese classes. As a consequence 8 Boys from Class IV were examined in Class II, 24 from Class V in Class III; and more remarkable still 23 boys from Class VII were examined in Class IV, and 12 from Class VIII in Class V. From these speci- mens, the intensity of the upward impetus may perhaps be estimated.

S. Three little books on English Conversation were prepared by myself, at the instance of the Governing Body, and printed at the expense of the Government early in the year. But as the cost necessitated excess of the amount provided for this item, the Government more than re-imbursed itself by selling to scholars the balance of these stores in hand. His Excellency the Governor then approved of my recommendation that all books, published in the Colony for the express use of this College, should cense to be included in School Stores, the expense of which is defrayed by the Fees paid in Vacation Months. Scholars were therefore instructed to procure such books for themselves at shops.

9. The immediate result was, that a very useful bilingual vocabulary long in use in manuscript form, prepared by the Second Master (Mr. A. J. MAY), was approved by the Governing Body and published.