May 18, No-one can take exception to the tone or arguments of the critics who have raised in the corres-
Pondance columns of this Journal certain objections to the scheme for commemorating the Coronation by raising funds to move the Cathedral School for Boys and provide it with playing field accommodation, It is far better that} opinions of that kind should be: ventilated than be developed in private to the detriment of the solidarity which the sponsors of} the Fund' desire to have in their support. Briefly it is contended, that the Pund is being raised for an object which concerns only a comparatively small section of the community, that a large number of British boys, present and future, will not benefit from it and that} the educational needs with which] the Cathedral School seeks to deal fare better met in schools outside Shanghai, Obviously there is much to be said for these objections and it is by no means easy to dispose of them entirely. Mr. A. E. Seddon has temperately expounded the attitude of the signatories of appeal and has disclosed the care~ ful consideration which they gave' to proposals for gling their scheme explicitly wider scope. Their difficulty has been well pointed out by' one correspondent as lying in the compulsion to proceed on the basis: of "things as they are." It is generally recognized that _the need for playing fields is urgent, both for the Cathedral School and for other schools where British boys attend. It is also accepted! that the present location of the Cathedral School is highly unsuit~ fable, Efforts to remove that disability have hitherto not been' successful; yet it is obvious that) however admirable the school curriculum may be, however efficient its teaching staff, it will not] develop on normal lines, let alone! flourish, if it cannot get away' from its urban surroundings. The provision of playing fields for the Cathedral School does not imply! neglect of the needs of other British' boys. Indeed it is more than prob-_ able that the ground thus acquired may make an additional contribu~ tion to the amenities available for young people of the community.; generally. Nor should it be for~ gotten that, for the Tifeng Rd. School, suggestions for the use of certain ground at present in British military occupation have been made and are, it is believed, being very favourably considered by the War' Office.
Until the Council has come to a decision regarding the future of {ts foreign schools on which an important Committee has specially' submitted certain proposals, it is impossible for the British ' community to take positive ation in regard to any institution other than' that exclusively within its control.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.