Bulletin Supplement May 1969

confused w ith those o f the la b o u r m a r k e t; th a t th e y should am oun t t on o thi n g more th a n a su p e rio r k in d o f “ kn ow -h ow ” . Th is is n o t to deny the va lue o f " k n ow -h ow " o r th a t a p rop e r, and indeed essential, purpose o f a u n iv e rs ity is th a t i t shou ld serve the comm un ity th a t m a in ta in s i t b y p ro v id in g s k ille d m anp ow e r in a ll fie lds in w h ic h its tea ch in g and research are c a rrie d on. B u t th is can be done, and d one a ll the be tte r, when i t is re la te d to w isdom . A n d th a t, as To ls to y once rem inded us, has b u t one science— the science th a t exp la ins the w ho le c rea tion and man's p lace in it. We need to be aw a re o f the dange r o f tre a tin g E du ca tio n s im p ly and so le ly as a m a rk e ta b le comm od ity. In its d riv e tow a rd s m a te ria l p ro s p e rity th is g re a t com m un ity h as achieved a most imp ressive success, a success f o r w h ic h c re d it must go to a ll sections o f its society, and no t least to those who have been tra in e d a t its un ive rs ities . B u t m a te ria l p ro s p e rity alone, w ith o u t some know ledge o f the a r t o f liv in g , some respect fo r h is to ric processes and some b e lie f in h ig h e r values w ill no t gua ran tee communa l happiness and social ju s tice . I t is in p ro v id in g fo r social w e ll-b e in g in its fu lle s t sense th a t The Chinese U n iv e rs ity w ill, I believe, m ake one o f its g rea tes t con trib u tio n s . A ll its colleges have in h e rite d and, in th e ir ow n w a y are h e lp in g to create, the h ighe s t tra d itio n s o f le a rn in g ad ju s ted to m ode rn needs. A ll the colleges had sim p le and austere beg inn ings. B u t the demands o f m ode rn tea ch in g and resea rch re q u ire e labo ra te and indeed expensive fa c ilitie s . I co n g ra tu la te th e Council on its p lans fo r the ph ys ica l deve lopm en t o f the U n iv e rs ity and the Colleges— p lans made possible b y the fin a n c ia l gene ro s ity o f G ove rnm en t and p riv a te p h ila n th ro p y in H ong K ong as w e ll as b y subs tan tia l g ifts fro m p u b lic and p riv a te agencies in B r ita in and Am e rica . B u t more im p o rta n t th a n these p lans is the w a y in w h ic h th e y are re la te d to a sound and progressive academ ic p o lic y , a p o lic y w h ich , in th is case, must ta ke account o f co lleg ia te in te res ts and weave th e ir separate th reads in to a single u n iv e rs ity p a tte rn . Th is is no easy m a tte r and I am d e lig h te d th a t i t appea rs to have been successfu lly accomplished . In these e a rly years o f its life the U n iv e rs ity has been imm ense ly fo rtu n a te in those who have in fluenced its g row th . N o t least its Chancello rs. W ith them I w o u ld in c lude S ir A le x a n d e r G ran tham , one o f the best and most s ym pa the tic frie n d s the post-secondary colleges cou ld have w ished fo r. F in a n c ia l Secretaries have a h a b it— and a fte r a ll th e y are the custodians o f the p u b lic purse— o f re s is ting demands f o r new item s o f e xp end itu re , espe c ia lly e xpend itu re in fie lds th a t do n o t o ffe r q u ic k re tu rn s . B u t S ir A le x a n d e r had a w a y w ith h im , even w ith F in a n c ia l Secretaries, and i t was d u rin g his a dm in is tra tio n th a t p u b lic money was firs t made a v a ila b le to the colleges th a t now fo rm the U n iv e rs ity . H is successor, S ir R obe rt B la c k and its firs t C hance llo r, was a constan t in s p ira tio n in those days when, h a lf- fe a r fu lly , we fa ce d the cha llenge o f tra n s fo rm in g the g ran t-a ide d colleges in to a fu lly -fle d g e d and indepe nden t u n iv e rs ity and one whose status w o u ld command in te rn a tio n a l re co gn itio n . He was an en thus iastic and— I am g lad to say— an im p a tie n t su ppo rte r o f th is p o lic y and its im p lem e n ta tio n d u rin g h is p e rio d o f office as Gove rno r gave h im p a rtic u la r sa tis fa c tion . A n d you, S ir, have been an e q u a lly tru e fr ie n d o f the U n iv e rs ity and o f Chinese h ig h e r education. I am sure the U n iv e rs ity is w e ll aw a re th a t in you i t has a C han ce llo r o f sym pa thy , un de rs tan d ing and im a g in a tio n . M r. Chance llo r, on b e h a lf o f the h o n o ra ry g raduands w hom you have honou red th is evening I o ffe r you th e ir hum b le than ks and th e ir assurance th a t th e y w ill a lw a ys ta ke p rid e in the membe rsh ip o f the U n iv e rs ity to w h ic h you have a dm itte d them . — 1 1 —