Page:Twentieth Century Impressions of Hongkong, Shanghai, and other Treaty Ports of China.djvu/134

 slow but steady progress of Queen's College. "The day of small things" is past. Gradually the number of subjects in the curriculum has increased, and the increase in the number of scholars taking those subjects is enormous. Queen's College has justified the high reputation it enjoys in the neighbouring vast Empire of China, and, with due encouragement, its future prospects are practically limitless.

Total number of boys examined in each subject.



THE REV. G. H. BATESON WRIGHT, D.D. (Oxon.).—Seated quietly at his desk, or presiding over his classes, the gentleman who, for upwards of twenty-six years, has been the headmaster of Queen's College, has, perhaps, done more than any of his contemporaries towards the formation of that sterling character which so distinguishes the educated Chinese of Hongkong. The histories of many of the Colony's greatest men may be read in her stones and thoroughfares, in her docks and wharves, in the innumerable outward and tangible evidences of her commercial prosperity; but the history of Dr. George Henry Bateson Wright is writ even more legibly upon the lengthening human scroll issuing from Hongkong's leading academy. The second son of the late George Bache Wright, of the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company's London office, and grandson of Augustus Wright, storekeeper of the magazine, Priddy's Hard, Gosport, during the Crimean War, Dr. Wright was born in 1853. He was educated at Queen's College, Oxford, where he graduated B.A., with second-class Theological Honours, in June, 1875. He gained the Denver and Johnson Scholarship and the Kennicott Hebrew Scholarship in 1876, and, in the following year, the Syriac Prize and the Pusey and Elerton Scholarship. He was ordained at Worcester a Deacon (Gospel) in 1877, and became Curate of Ladbroke, Warwickshire. In the following year he was admitted to the priesthood, again heading the list of candidates, and subsequently held the curacies of Christ Church, Bradford, and St. Peter's, Bournemouth. For a time he was a private tutor at Oxford, and in 1881 he was appointed headmaster of Queen's College. He proceeded to the degree of B.D. in February, 1891, and by grace of Convocation was allowed to take the degree of D.D. in May of the same year, when he was only thirty-eight years of age. In 1884 he published a work entitled "A Critical Edition of the Book of Job," whilst in 1895 he published "Was Israel ever in Egypt?" Dr. Wright is married and lives at "Ladbroke," No. 9, Conduit Road. His recreation lies in his work.

ST. JOSEPH'S ENGLISH COLLEGE.—This well-known institution is conducted by the Brothers of the Christian Schools, and is under the patronage of the Right Rev. Domenico Pozzoni, D.D., Vicar Apostolic of Hongkong. The work of the Brothers is too well known to need any comment here; suffice it to say that their name is familiar in every country, and at present they control over two thousand large educational establishments, where well-nigh four hundred thousand pupils are being equipped for the great struggle of life.

When the Brothers came to Hongkong thirty years ago, they took charge of a small school in Caine Road where they had but seventy pupils. The number steadily increased, and in two years they had one of the most flourishing schools in the Colony. To accommodate the ever-increasing number of boarders and day scholars more room was required, and in 1881 the foundation of the present building was laid by Sir John Pope-Hennessy, then Governor of Hongkong. In 1898 it was found necessary to add a third storey for the accommodation of the boarders, and three years afterwards the building was still further enlarged by the addition of two wings.

To-day the school is one of the most up-to-date educational establishments in the Far East. The building, surrounded by trees and pleasant patches of green, is delightfully situated on a height which commands an extensive view of the city and harbour of Victoria. Ample accommodation is provided for five hundred scholars, and in the boarding department there is room for eighty. The dormitory, which occupies more than half the third storey, is very well lighted and ventilated. It is surrounded by verandahs which greatly enhance the comfort of the place both in summer and in winter. Adjoining the dormitory are private rooms for students who wish to devote more time to their studies. On the second floor is the boarders' study hall—a spacious apartment, capable of affording sitting accommodation for over 120, and in which are held public meetings on certain occasions during the year. It is lighted by numerous electric lamps, and the walls are freely hung with maps and pictures. There is a handsome stage at one end of the hall, where the students have an opportunity of developing their debating powers. The majority of the classrooms are on the ground floor, and can accommodate forty pupils each. They are furnished with all teaching requisites and have a very cheerful appearance. On the third storey are three class-rooms specially set apart for Chinese boys, and these are also equipped with the necessary appliances for the instruction of the pupils.

The aim of the institution is to give Catholic youths and others, without distinction of creed or persuasion, a thorough moral, intellectual, and physical education. The staff consists of twelve thoroughly trained European masters, who have devoted their lives to the work. There are also two competent Chinese teachers to give a regular course of instruction to Chinese boys in their own language.