King for his services to Singapore . He now agreed to make the cause ofSJI his own . He raised $ 14,000 in the first year of the appeal .
The second personage whose help was canvassed by Brother Michael was the Governor , Sir John Anderson , GCMG . Sir John had entered the Colonial Office by competitive examination in 1879 . After serving on several Government commissions he was appointed Secretary of the Colonial Premiers ' Conference by [ oseph Chamberlain in 1902 . In the following year he accompanied the Duke and Duchess of York ( the future King George V and Queen Mary ) on a world tour on the Ophir , as a representative of the Colonial Office . This was the occasion of his first visit to Singa pore . When he returned to the Strai ts it was to succeed Sir Frank Swettenham as governor in 1904 .
Sir John Anderson is remembered for his efforts to deal with the problems of overcrowding in the city , for his expropriation of the Tanjong Pagar Docks as the first of a series of improvements designed to improve Singapore ' s commercial position , and for his initiation of the first railway through [ ohor . He was also a friend of education and of SJI . Within a week of his arrival in April 1904 he visited the school , and wanted to be informed in every detail of how it was run . He passed a considerable time in every classroom , and when he departed he wrote in the school journal : ' 1have been very satisfied with all that I have seen . The work is admirably done and thorough .' Sir John had a high regard for Brother Michael and presided at every Prize Day from 24 January 1905 until he left Singapore in 1911 to become the Under Secretary of State for the Colonies .
With such supporters Brother Michael felt emboldened to go ahead . The architect was Robert Hamilton , who soon caught the spirit of the enterprise and donated his expenses of $ 75 a month to the cause . The Director approached the government for a grant and was awarded $ 16,000 . Tan Jiak Kim raised more than $ 14,000 . The original estimate for the building was $ 30,000 . However , the price of steel rose sharply during the year because of strikes in the industry , and when all was finished the bill amounted to $ 42,000 . Brother Michael found himself in debt . It was at this point that he turned for help to Sir John , and he was not disappointed . Sir John sanctioned a second go v- ernment grant of $ 4000 . In recognition of his part in all this , Brother Michael decided to call the new classroom block the Anderson Building .
The official blessing by Bishop Barillon took place on 4 July 1907 , and the building was opened by Sir John Anderson on 3 August the same year . Miss Anderson , the Governor ' s daughter , cut the ribbon tha t was stretched across the one staircase in the middle of the building . Then the Governor , his daughter , the Private Secretary , the Director of Education and the Director of the School made a tour of the new classrooms . They returned to the Hall where the boys entertained them . The Governor made a speech in which he paid tribute to the Brothers , and especially to Brother Michael , whose efforts in connection with the project had worn him out . Ten days later Brother Michaelleft for a six-month holiday in Europe and America to recover his health . He had a good send-off at [ ohnston ' s Pier , and the Director of Education , Mr Elcum , arranged a Government launch to convey him to the steamer .
During his absence Brother Aimare became Acting Director . On 24 January 1908 , Sir John Anderson presided again at the annual Prize Giving when his daughter gave away the prizes . In his speech he said that he had been at the school so recently that he was afraid they would begin to think that he was on the permanent staff . Speaking ofBrother Michael he said that they all hoped that a visit to his native country would result in restoring him to his bodily vigourhis mental vigour was quite unimpaired . The school had suffered from lack of supervision by Brother Michael who , instead of doing the work on which his heart was set , had had to run around Singapore trying to open the pockets of ' various hard-hearted people '.
When Brother Michael returned in June 1908 there were 916 pupils on the roll . For two years there was little except maintenance work done on the fabric but in the vacation of 1910 the Director decided to build a verandah round the sides and back of the Institution . He raised $ 7000 from the Chinese community and the pupils collected $ 2000 . At the same time the dome was re-lined with teak and the cross placed on the top , which cost $ 620 .
The school was illuminated with 6000 lanterns for the jubilee ofBishop Barillon in September 1909 . The boys entertained the visitors and presented an address , and the Brothers gave a banquet to thirtythree of the clergy .
In March 1910 , Mr Elcum , the Director of Education , informed the school that one of its pupils , Stephen de Souza , had won the Queen ' s Scholarship . Only one scholarship per year was awarded after 1906 . The scholarship was abolished altogether in 1911 but re-established in 1923 .
In 1911 Brother Michael turned to the last great building enterprise of his career at Stjoseph ' s Institution . At the Prize Giving that year the Governor , who evidently had a sense of humour , excused himself from making a speech because Brother Michael had just explained that the Hall was deemed unsafe and might fall down at any moment . After the effort of raising the money for the new verandah there was a certain amount of scepticism about the possibility of collecting more for a new project of such magnitude - a new Hall with a Chapel above it . Nothing daunted , the Director himself went the rounds of the business houses of Singapore , and he raised $ 7950 in this way . The pupils collected $ 2107 . The ground was broken in July 1911 and the building was completed in September 1912 . Owing to the late arrival of a stained-glass window the Chapel could not be dedicated until 20 November , and the first Mass was cele-
Left , Sir John Anderson , Governor of the Straits Settlements 1904-1911 . RIght , Tan Jiak Kim .
12 Memories of SJ1