January 18, 1909.]
money will be left derelict by progress in China. Moreover Hongkong will have many special advantages to offer. Its degree will be recog- nised in England, its dockyards and electrical and other works will afford practical instruction which can hardly be rivalled in China for very many years, its location in a British Colony will, on the one hand, form an attraction to students who desire to obtain opportunities for colloquial English and to acquire something of the Western atmostphere as well as the mere dry bones of knowledge, and on the other hand, to Professors who might less willingly accept an exile in China. In the Medical Faculty more especially, Hongkong can offer facilities for practical anatomy in the dissecting room which Chinese prejudice, at present at any rate, precludes in China.
"The establishment of a University in Hong. kong would beyond doubt carry many steps further the useful work already achieved in the past by Queen's College, which has as we know, educated many men who are now holding high | official positions in China. The success of that College should augur well for the University with its wider scope.
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The establishment of a University must, I think, inevitably promote a good understanding between the British and Chinese and add to the friendship between the two nations. In parti- cular it will promote the knowledge of English which is useful alike to those who adopt official or commercial careers.
"Some centuries ago Latin was the common language of the savants of the West and the literature of scientific investigation was written in that tongue. The vast populations of China speak no common language, nor is the Chinese written language well adapted as a vehicle of Western knowledge for which at present it has no adequate vocabulary. If then for a period Chinese should find it necessary, as the nations of the West did, to use an alien tongue as a .common medium for new thoughts and expressions, I should imagine that no language would be more suitable than English, which already in a 'pidgin' form constitutes a medium for the exchange of ideas between merchants of the North and South. If 'pidgin' English has served as a medium for commerce, why should not King's English serve as the medium for
Western education ?
In this way the project which takes definite shape to-day may have very far reaching effects. I claim that it will promote a closer under- standing and good feeling between ourselves and the Chinese, that it will simulate commerce, and that it will in particular benefit this Colony, not only in these indirect ways, but by bringing us into closer relations with the gentry of China whose sons are being educated in Hongkong, and who will no doubt occasionally visit them here. Germany and France have both seen the advantage of establishing a University, and. I am anxious that we should not awake from our traditional apathy too late and find ourselves already forestalled.
OBJECTS OF THE UNIVERSITY.
Finally I have a brief word to say regarding the objects which in my view the University should keep before it. I would place among the foremost of those objects the training of character. I would hope that the graduates of Hongkong would establish for themselves a reputation as patriotic and loyal citizens— whether of this Colony or of China-that during their sojourn here they shall learn to appreciate British ideals of justice and fair play, in short that while remaining in every respect Chinese, the University shall turn out men of upright character and not merely pour new wine into old bottles and evolve machines capable of passing examinations, but incapable of moral control.
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In furtherance of this object I propose that the students shall reside in the University and that the permanent staff shall be also resident there. They will thus have opportunities of promoting the moral and the physical develop- men of the students out of lecture hours, no less than the intellectual in the class room.
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT. lectual attainments, but without a correspond-, very fiue site-probably the only one suitable ing development of character-men for whom for such a purpose in the Colony. The moment there are no adequate openings and careers in is singularly opportune, for if the University is life. The same thing has happened in Africa. not inaugurated now the College of Medicine "The graduates from the Hongkong Univer will be built on a separate and very cramped sity will have before them all the limitless site, and it is hopeless to anticipate that it will opportunities which the Empire of China offers, ever then become a Faculty of the University. both in the ranks of official life, and in the Whether we are able to avail ourselves of these fields of commerce, and the professions of generous offers, and of this present opportunity Medicine, Engineering, etc., in addition to the depends upon whether we can raise an adequate opportunities offered by our own and neigh-Endowment Fund-which is put at $110,000 bouring Colonies.
including furnishing and the equipment of Libraries and the Laboratories and Engineers, Shops, &c., Mr. Mody's offer remains open for six months. In these circumstances. I earnestly appeal to all who desire on the one hand to assist China in acquiring Western knowledge, and on the other hand to extend British prestige, and the knowledge of the English language, in the East, to assist in the project.
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The model upon which our University is based should, in my opinion, approximate rather to that of Birmingham or Leeds than to that of Oxford or Cambridge or Calcutta. Our Faculty of Science should deal rather with the applica tion of scienco to industries and with its commercial utility, than with its abstract and theoretical branches. Our Faculty of Medicine will strive to produce full qualified practitioners, and even a Degree of Arts (if we should decide to establish one later on for the sons of gentry who aim at official posts) should include subjects of practical utility, International Law and Treaties, Geography, Comparative History, and (I would add) the Chinese Literature and classics, so that it should not be said of us as it was said of India by Mr. Fraser that ninety per cent. of the men who pass examinations for English degrees are unable to write or read the language of their own parents.
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"I may add in conclusion that I have dis- cussed this project with the British Minister at Peking, and that I found him strongly in sup- port of it, as also our late and present onsal General at Canton. I believe that I correctly understood these high judges to think that the hinese Government, as well as the Provincial Government at Canton, will be sympathetic towards it, and Dr. Ho Kai will, I think, be able to inform us that the principal cities of South hina will welcome it. Extracts from Home newspapers have been sent to me strongly approving of the scheme, and I know that there are those among the most influential of the members of both the present and the late Government who warmly support the idea.
"I feel confident that the entire community will recognise the importance of this project. It will place Hongkong in a unique position in the Far East. It will no doubt have far-reaching effects upon the prestige and influence of Great Britain throughout the Chinese Empire. It will, I think, be the most important step taken in the recent history of this olony. I take therefore this opportunity of inviting those gentlemen, whether European or Chinese, whose interests are bound up in this Colony, or who desire to see British influence extended in the. Far East, or who would welcome a project which would assists the friendly Empire of China to obtain the Western knowledge which so many of her sons are now seeking and can only obtain at great cost, and by exile from their country, to come forward and sup port Mr. Mody in his munificent donation, enable us to give effect to his generous effort, by subscribing a sum adequate to carry out the scheme in its entirety. It is, I am aware, not a well chosen time at which to make an appeal for large funds, but it is unavoidable, for the gift which I have announced compels us to act at once and for my part I think it singularly for- tanate that it came in time to enable us to incorporate the College of Medicine in the project before it had become too late to do so. "I feel sure that we may count on still more extended support including the China Associa-. tion, and that considerable section of the British public who are interested in the Far East and eager to assist in any project which makes for progress and enlightenment, as well as from the Chinese gentlemen who are so conspicuous for their liberality.”
The present position therefore stands as follows:-
A very fine set of buildings has been promised. These include 6 lecture rooms, 3 laboratories, a large hall, a large dining room, 2 libraries, In the second place the aim of the Univer- with lavatories, offices and professors' rooms on sity should be to afford an education adapted the ground floor and 4 large dormitories on to the careers which its graduates inted to the first floor. Detached from the main build- adopt a sound, practical, secular education: We ing is an anatomical laboratory, a recreation have seen in India and elsewhere the harm! pavilion, a gymnasium, a swimning bath, which is done by a system of higher education an entrance lodge, tennis courts, &c. The not based on such principles, which has in fact Government is prepared, subject to the con- produced a class of young men of high intel- currence of the Secretary of State, to give a
F. D. LUGARD.
Hongkong, January, 1909.
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ST. STEPHEN'S COLLEGE EXTENSION.
LAYING OF THE FOUNDATION STONE.
On the 8th inst. the foundation stone of the wing being added to St. Stephen's College was formally laid by His Excellency the Governor in the presence of a considerable number of European and Chinese friends. Prayer having been offered up by the Rev. HEWETT.
The Rev. E. J. BARNETT said:-Your Excel- lency, my Lord Bishop, Ladies and Gentlemen:→→→ The important event in which we are taking part to-day offers a fitting opportunity for reviewing in brief the short history of St Stephen's College. The inception of the ollege was due to the foresight and energy of the Venerable Archdeacon Banister, and to the encouragement given to the suggestion by such Chinese gentlemen as the Honourable Dr. Ho Kai, C.M.G., and the Honourable Mr. Wei Yuk, C.M.G. In February 1902, on the motion of Archdeacon Banister, the Church Missionary Society South China Conference passed a re- solution urging upon the Parent Committee of the C.M.S. the desirability of establishing a College of Western learning in Hongkong, having as its leading principles :-(1) That the College be a missionary institution. (2) That at least two University graduates be maintained on its staff. (3) That the College be self-support- ing. About a year later, in March 1903, the College was opened under the direction of the College Council consisting of the Right Reverend the Bishop of the Diocese, the Secretary of the Church Missionary Society in South China, and the Warden of the College -the Rev. E. J. Barnett, M.A., the present Warden, being placed in charge. Subsequently the Rev. F. T. Johnson, M.A., and Dr. J. H. Saunders were elected members of the Council. Working upon the principles before enunciated the College has steadily progressed. In six years the attendance has risen from 7 to 125 students. The teaching staff has multiplied from 2 to 6 English masters, four of whom are University graduates, and the Chinese staff from one to four teachers. The income has kept pace with the expenditure, the students paying fully in fees the cost of their education. Further, the inculcation of morality based upon the Christian Scriptures, through daily lessons therein, has made for the development of character and good citizenship. Thus the principles laid down in the resolution of Con- ference mentioned have been adhered to, and find their justification in to-day's proceedings. Some three years ago it became evident that an enlargement of accommodation would soon be necessary to meet increasing demands from students. The late Right Reverend Bishop Hoare, D.D., spent some of his last hours in Hongkong before leaving on that fatal voyage in September 1906, considering proposals for expansion, and safeguarding the interests of all concerned. These memorands form the basis of our present extension scheme. Through disaster and depression in the Colony the erection of addi- tional buildings was delayed, but their need was not forgotten. His Lordship the Bishop has
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