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perience in the work of teaching. It should I ment in making any future appointment to the secure the services of one who has himself had possible in the education of Chinese,

think be the aim of the Govern- Office of Inspector of Schools to experience in education, and if

I would further lay very great stress on the necessity of training good Native Masters. The proposal that English Masters should be employed to teach in all the Anglo-Chinese Schools, I consider to be wholly visionary. The Government has not been able to maintain a sufficient staff of English Masters even in the Queen's College, and I do not think it will be able to maintain a sufficient qualified staff to teach all the Anglo-Chinese Schools that ought to be established. But even if that could be done, a very large proportion of the work of education in the Colony must still be done by Chinese, who can, as I know from experience, do excellent work if properly trained; but who of course need proper training.

(4.) I have barely touched on the proposals with regard to Government Schools. With the command of ample means it is much more easy for the Gov- ernment to make experiments, such for instance as compelling its masters to spend a year or two in learning Chinese; but it must be remembered that many of the proposals of the draft Report are but experiments-though based, it may be, on sound principles-and that some of these experiments have been tried before in Hongkong and have failed.

(5.) I notice that the draft Report on the "British Schools" contains no mention of the desire of those who signed the Petition for such Schools last year, that it should be possible for the children to obtain Christian teaching in the Schools. I very much hope that that point may not be lost sight of; and that arrangements may be made for instruction in the Christian Scriptures, not of course compulsory, but in School hours, not out of School hours (as was suggested in the Report of the Inspector of Schools on the subject) either by the master of the School or by Ministers of various Denominations. That such an arrangement would be welcomed may, I think, be clearly gathered from the fact that there were the names of sixty-five British children on the books of the Kowloon Sunday School last

year.

(6.) In conclusion whilst I ask Your Excellency to allow me to withdraw from the Education Committee, I would express my thanks for the honour which was put upon me in inviting me to take part in the work of the Committee. I would also ask you to allow me to express my thanks for the unfailing courtesy with which I have always met during the meetings of the Committee, and in all correspondence on the subject.

I have, &c.,

J. C. VICTORIA.

P.S.-I shall be obliged if Your Excellency will allow this letter to have equal publicity with the Report of the Committee.

[No. 18 G.]

MY LORD,

GOVERNMENT HOUSE, HONGKONG, 15th March, 1902.

I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter, which reached me on the 12th instant, asking to be allowed to retire from the Committee appointed to inquire into and report on Education in this Colony.

I at once hasten to convey to you my regret that your Lordship should desire to adopt such a course and to express a hope that you will reconsider your

decision.

As a member of the Committee it is quite open to you to express your views even though they differ from those held by the other members of the Committee, without resigning your position. Indeed this is the course invariably adopted when difference of opinion arises among those appointed to inquire into any subject.