Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1880-11-25
Engllsh Education of the Heather
Chluee."


Canton. 1t was established by order of
the Tsung Ii Iamen about sixteen years
ago. II is under the official control of the
viceroy, THO haikwan superintendent of
customs), the Tartar general and two lieu
tenant Tartar generals, but the practical
control is left almost entirely in the hands
of the Tartar general, to whom ii affords
opportunities OF patronage, for the staff
Is large, and the members thereof not only
benefit by the salaries they receive but
their official appointment as officers of
the college (rung wen kwan) forms step.
ping stone 10 promotion 10 other branches
OF the public service. The staff consists of
three superintendent (the chief OF whom
holds rank about equivalent to that of
msj or. e neraO, three Chinese teachers, a
foreign teacher with Chinese assistant,
two Chinese clerks, door. keepers, cooks
and other servants. The number OF stu
dents is fixed at thirty, OF whom twenty
are classed as students proper and ten as
SUPPLEMENTARY students, tie latter being
intended TO al vacancies AS they occur in
the former; ard when, from various
causes, the total Der ta Is TO twenty or
twenty five, fresh upernumerariss are
added to make up the number. The stu
dents proper receive q small pay OF three
taels a month, but the supernumersrses
receive nothing except free breakfast
every day.
1t is difficult to define the ratson dstre
of the Tung wen kwsn College; in
theory 1t is established to provide the
Chinese government with staff OF inter.
prefers and persons conversant with
foreign literature and foreign habits of
thought; but so far as can be Judged by
patent facts, the patronage Above referred
! 10 is the element most appreciated, and i;
may be well to notice the extent TO which
! the theoretical object has been carried
out, and how far the Chinese govern ent
has awaited itself of the material for the
production of which something like $500
month has been expended for the last
sixteen years in the maintenance of the
college.
About ten years sgo fourteen students
were drafted from Canton to the Pekin
College. Uf these, five have retired from
various causes, six are still attached 10
the Pekin College, and the remaining
three have appointments In legations
abroad one in Washington, one in Lon
don and one ia Japan. Since 1870 not
one student has been drafted to Pekin;
none OF the Canton students have n any
way been called upon TO render service to
their Government. Most OF them have
received an honorary literary degree
(Hsin Tsal) equivalent to b. A, and three
or four of them are nominally interpret.
ers, for which they receive small addition.
al pay. Year after year passes, and boys
Of II grow up to be men OF q, marry and
become fathers, and go on with their
foreign studies without so much
as word Of encouragement from
their own authorities. Under such
discouraging circumstances 1t mus.
be that studying ls often done
in pertunctory way aud yet while some
of the students have, as | understand, a
very good knowledge OF English, wanting
only practice outside the school walls to
render it equal to that OF any ChinAman
who has not had the advantage Of living
abroad, they constantly witness men Of
less technical knowledge than themselves,
men of lower stamp altogether, men pick
ed up here and there without any proper
steps being taken to ascertain their fitness,
called upon to perform the very duties for
the performance of which the students Of
he Tung wen kwan are in theory special
educated.
T} course of study, | an informed,
cob. .sts chiefly Of the English language,
together with but subordinate to which
there are geography, arithmetic, history,
| algebra, mathematics and astronomy. A
very small proportion OF the students
| have made any progress i'll algebra or
/ mathematics, few are even fair ariihmeti.
! clans, and much that they are called upon
! to learn Of geography, history and astron.
! omY is soon forgotten. This arises from
! no want of ability, but from On utter want
| of encouragement on the part Of the
4 Chinese authorities for the students TO
| trouble themselves with such studies
There are 30 private schools worthy OF
! the name Ia Canton for teaching foreign
/ languages. Now and tnen small school
/ is opened, In which English Is proiessed
/ to be taught BY a man Whost knowledge
/ Of tbat language is too limited to I'll him
! for other employment, and sitter q briel
/ struggle these schools die out, one after
another. There is no douhtthat the adj
/ yAntsges offered by the government
schools IN Hong Kong are TOO great 10 en-,
/ able private schools in Canton 10 compete
| with them.
None OF the missionaries in Canton
/ teach English or any other foreign Ian
( guage to their Chinese pupils now, nor
| have they for some years. They found by
experience that 1t was very difficult 70
teach English to their pupils because Of
their inaptitude to learn western Ian
puages; that the object of he majority
who came 10 their schools (ormerly) 70
learn English WAS simply 10 get sntii
cient knowledge OF that LANGUAGE to en-
able them to get some Lucrative employ
ment with foreigners, and as soon as they
had acquired little smatteing Of Eng
llsh they disappeared and passed away be-
yond their Christian instruction. -OOnsul