ay of the Public School for Chinese was celebrated on January 21 in the Great Hall of the school with a programme of unusual interest. The chair was occupied by the" Rev. G. W. Sheppard and a short speech was made by the Rev. F. L. Hawks Pott. Mrs. Hawks Pott kindly con-_ ented to present, the prizes won cly the pupils during the year. A feature of the altair was historical play in two scones, "Yen, Tse" which was presented by the pupils and which was well received by the enthusiastic audience. presentation of a handsome silver cigarette box engraved with the School crest was made by the Head Master on behalf of the boys and masters to Mr. T, G. Baillie, 2.8c,, who is leaving the School to Decaino Head Master of the Poly: technic School, The members of the "old boys? Association also presented Mr, Baillie with a tablet.
The Headmaster's Report The annual report by the headmaster, Mr. G, 8. Poster Kemp was. ay follows:
The Public School for Chinese was founded asa result of representations made to the Shanghai Municipal Council in 1899 by three public-spirited gentlemen, of whom Dr. Hawks Pott was one.
The proposal received the support of the ratepayers in 1900, but it was not until 1904: that the School was actually opened. Our School, then, has been in operation for a quarter of a century, and that is something; but St. John's Univer sity, of which Dr, Hawks Pott is the, honoured President, has been: in existence for twice as long. My colleagues and I feel that it is especially fitting to have the Doctor and Mrs. Hawks Pott here to-da T myself have had the privilege of serving this School since its in-<option. 'The brilliant Dean of 'St, Paul's has said that teaching a very exacting profession, dystanding scholarship, power of dis: cipline, tact and knowledge of the world.' After twenty-five years here, I say, and say it decidedly, that' teaching Chinese boys is, on whole, very attractive work.
Chinese boy comes to school warily to learn; he is not, as a yule, recalcitrant, although he has no patience with incompetence, Ho is well mannered, and shows unmistakable gratitude to those who help him tread the thorny path of The schoolmaster's profession has been described as the best rewarded @f all professions. Undoubtedly the schoolmaster in China is well rewarded in seeing the results of his efforts. If one has received help from another, the conventions demand that the receiver should feel Gratitude, but the morality of the ease is very different. To inter-'Palate our personality into the life of another human being is always a liberty, and if the act, however Kindly meant, be taken in a friondspirit, we' should be amply contented. We have had the satisfaction of doing what we designed to elo; we have probably been thanked for it. The gratitude that endures should be on our side, for there is mo truer truth than that we love those whom we have benefited.
Among the former pupils of the Public School for Chinese, there are some in the service of the Government, one at least representing his country abroad as a minister, Many are in the Customs and the Postal Services, several have taken up teaching, but most are working in the business' houses of this great city. Trade is said to be bad, but during: 1929 the demand for our boys has far exceeded the supply, Among: the firms who have taken pupils from the School recently are 'Messrs, Butterfield & Swire, the Imperial Chemical Industries, the Shanghai Mutual Telephone' Ca. and Messrs, Marden & Ca, 'There is a. flourishing. Alumni 'Association of which we are proud. On the 25th, anniversary of the opening of the School, the Presi dent of this Association, the Vice President, and other officials and members' attended the Shoo! and presented the handsome congratulatory tablet which adorns the: en-france hall, This ig the Fairey being in use to-day The phenomenal growth - of, Shanghai is well illustrated by th fact that in'1904 the School bui ings stood isolated in the midst of fields where snipe-shooting was possible. There were fifty pupils iridally attendance then; now there are 440, and only. Inck of room. prevents a larger enrolment. During 1930 we hope to overcome this difficulty, One of the outstanding events of the year just finished was the incorporation of the School Band 8 part of the Shanghai Volunteer' Corps. This occurred in March, after the Band had been duly tested and approved by the Commandant, Colonel Orpen-Palmer. Since 1927 the School Drums and Fifes have been under the instruction of men of the Shanghai Defence Force, and in 1929 three instructors from the Ist. Battalion of the Norfolk Regiment assumed charge of the Band. This Battalion left Shanghai for India on November 15, a miserable, rainy day, and the School Band to a man went down to the wharf and played the Battalion off. This is, I imagine, the first time that a band. of Chinese school boys has, played: off a battalion of British "troops, and I need hardly say that both' soldiers and boys fully appreciated the significance of the event, Some School Successes In October one of the pupils of Form Five, Ting Hsien-hu, won a Henry Lester Scholarship asa result of an open examination at which there were 41 candidates. These scholarships; of which two are given annually, are provided from a bequest of the late Mr. Henry Lester, and are very valuable. The examination is entirely in English, and is limited to boys fand girls under the age of fourteen. The same boy also won the Rayner Memorial Prize for mathe-maties for 1929, gaining full marks.
To encourage oral expression and initiative, a new feature was introduced in 1929. Each month one of the forms or classes was asked to provide an entertainment for! the rest of the school. Thus we have enjoyed programmes of music and recitations, and plays in English and in Chinese, The rivalry between the classes in this matter has been extraordinarily keen. The play to be given this evening is an example, It has been prepared by small boys of the Preparatory School under the direction of Mr.
Chow Pon-van, Now please do not go away vith the impression that the masters there are presumptuous enough to attempt to take all the credit for successes gained by boys who attend or who have attended this School.
We recognize the part played by home influences; we do not underestimate the effect of heredity. Character is due to three factors: heredity, environment. and education. Much breath and ink have been used in attempting to fix the relative parts played by each factor, but the longer any thinking man works among Chinese boys, the more he is forced to recognize the supreme importance of heredity.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.