G. F. Seward to Wm. M. Evarts, June 11, 1880

No. 172. Mr. Seward to Mr. Evarts.

Sir: I have the honor to hand to you herewith copies of the answers which have been received from our consular officers in this empire to the inquiry made in a circular addressed to them as to efforts being made to educate the Chinese in foreign branches of knowledge, either by the Government of China, by private enterprise, or by missionary effort. The circular referred to was forwarded to the Department with my dispatch No. 600.

While these reports are not as full as I could have wished, they still furnish an outline of the work which is being done, and may be of interest to the Department.

I have, &c.,

Mr. Macintyre to Mr. Bandinel.

My Dear Mr. Bandinel: In our boys’ school, which we have now discontinued, our object was to give the children of our church members a Chinese classical education, such as they would receive in a first-class native school. Our principle was that of the grammar schools at home. Outside of the regular lessons there was daily the “religious hour,” or morning and evening class, where I instructed them in religious truth. I only hound myself to spend one hour per day with the scholars, and therefore never formally laid myself out to train them in foreign knowledge. But I have, of course, introduced all manner of subjects in my illustrations, making it a point, incidentally, to introduce whatever knowledge of historical and scientific subjects I myself possessed.

The school-room has always been well supplied with books. I think we have had almost every foreign work which has been translated; and we take in for the school, 1. The Globe Magazine. 2. The Scientific Magazine. 3. The Child’s Paper.

I have several times had teachers who took a great interest in these periodicals, and who did what they could to make the subjects intelligible to their pupils. We still continue a flourishing girls’ school. We also teach the Chinese classics there with great success, though the classics are, as it were, taught incidentally, and scripture history, &c., form the bulk of the teaching. The girls are being taught foreign needle-work, but have not made any very great attainments. But in most cases the direct teaching has borne mostly on Chinese subjects, and we have trusted to the personal influence of the foreigners to communicate foreign knowledge.

Yours, sincerely,

Mr. Carson to Mr. Bandinel.

My Dear Mr. Bandinel: In reply to your letter of the 18th instant, I beg to state that the secular subjects taught in the school are geography, penmanship, and the course of reading-books taught in the government school at Hong-Kong.

These reading-books, four in number, in a graduated series, treat of a great variety of subjects, both foreign and native. As soon as the children are far enough advanced they will be taught arithmetic and other subjects.

The school is a free boarding-school supported by the mission, and our object is to train for ourselves a staff of native helpers.

Believe me, &c.,

Mr. Hunter to Mr. Bandinel.

My Dear Mr. Bandinel: The only secular instruction given in my school is in geography. I have given half a dozen children—three girls and three boys—lessons in English. The lessons are merely in reading and writing.

This is all I have to say in reply to your communication of the 18th instant.

I am, &c.,