Page:Europe in China.djvu/528

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510
CHAPTER XX.

accommodated in town at the Civil Hospital. A new Lock Hospital was established, in connection with the new Civil Hospital, and a series of regulations for it published in the Gazette (November 2, 1875). The Chinese also started what was at first intended to be a branch of the Tungwa Hospital at Wantsai (December, 1872) but subsequently developed into a separate public dispensary at the Wato Temple.

In the educational problem of the Colony Sir A. Kennedy took much interest, but only as an uncompromising secularist. The Hon. Ph. Ryrie having mentioned in Council (April 29, 1872) the need of a Public School for the education of the children of middle-class Europeans, the Governor stated at the next meeting of Council (May 16, 1872) that in his opinion the Government should not move in the matter until the views and requirements of the community upon the subject had been fully ascertained. Accordingly a public meeting was held at the City Hall (June 25, 1872) and attended by the Governor himself, who spoke strongly in favour of a non-denominational scheme, and the general feeling of the majority of those present appeared to be in favour of that view. A Committee was appointed to report upon the suggestion, made at this meeting, to resuscitate St. Paul's College, to turn it into a secular European middle-class school and to work it as a feeder of the Government Central School. Eventually a Grant-in-Aid school, under the management of the Hon. Ph. Ryrie, was established by Mr. and Mrs. Hanlon, called the Victoria English School, but it failed to fulfil its purpose and soon became a Portuguese school under the management of the Roman Catholic Mission. For the better promotion of elementary education in the Colony, Dr. Stewart recommended to the Government (February 14, 1873) the introduction in the Colony of an adaptation of Forster's Education Act of 1st August, 1870. But in adapting Forster's Scheme to the peculiarities of Hongkong, Dr. Stewart stripped it of the concessions which the Education Act of 1870 made to the recognized needs of a religious education. Instead of adopting Forster's conscience clause, Dr. Stewart made the Hongkong