Reginald Edward Stubbs
Encyclopedia
Sir Reginald Edward Stubbs, GCMG (Chinese Translated Name:
司徒拔) (1876–1947) was a British colonial governor, who was once the Governor of Hong Kong. He caused controversy while Governor of Ceylon over the Bracegirdle Incident
.
, a historian and bishop of Chester and Oxford, consecutively. He was educated at Radley
and Corpus Christi College, Oxford
. He obtained first class honours in Lit. Hum.
in 1899.
and Hong Kong. He was a member of West African Lands Committee in 1912, and became a colonial secretary of Ceylon in from 1913 to 1919.
During Stubb's tenure, strikes were frequent, thus harming the Hong Kong economy in the process. In 1922, seamen went on strike in Hong Kong, followed by a large strike that involved workers in Hong Kong and Canton
. The strikers demanded the annulment of the "Unequal Treaties" (Treaty of Nanking, Treaty of Peking, and New Territories Land Lease Agreement, which, altogether, allowed British control of Hong Kong). The strikers also demanded better treatment of Chinese labourers on Hong Kong.
At first, Stubbs tried to suppress the strikers with legal and forceful means, but the efforts backfired, and caused an exodus of more than 100,000 Chinese labourers to China. This further damaged the economy, and Stubbs left Hong Kong in 1925.
Stubbs received a M.A. during his tenure, in 1920.
a year later, in 1926. He would hold this position until 1932, when he was appointed Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Cyprus
. He would serve in this position until 1933.
).
In 1937, he was prevailed upon by the White planters to became involved in an illegal attempt to deport Mark Anthony Bracegirdle
, an Australian planter who had gone over to the side of the workers and joined the Lanka Sama Samaja Party
(LSSP). Bracegirdle was served with the order of deportation on 22 April and given 48 hours to leave, but he defied the order, going into hiding instead. The Colonial Government began a man-hunt, but was unsuccessful. The LSSP started a campaign to defend him. At that year's May Day rally at Price Park, Colombo placards declaring 'We want Bracegirdle – Deport Stubbs' were displayed, and a resolution was passed condemning Stubbs, demanding his removal and the withdrawal of the deportation order.
On 5 May, in the State Council
, the LSSP members Dr N.M. Perera and Philip Gunawardena
moved a vote of censure on the Governor for having ordered the deportation of Bracegirdle without the advice of the acting Home Minister. Even the Board of Ministers had started feeling the heat of public opinion and the vote was passed by 34 votes to 7.
On the same day there was a 50,000-strong rally at Galle Face Green
, which was addressed by Dr N.M. Perera, Philip Gunawardena, and S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike
, condemning Stubbs. Bracegirdle made a dramatic appearance on the platform at this rally, but the police were powerless to arrest him. They managed to arrest him a couple of days later, but a writ of habeas corpus
was served and the case was called before a bench of three Supreme Court judges presided over by Chief Justice Sir Sidney Abrahams
. The brilliant H.V. Perera, the county's leading civil lawyer, volunteered his services free on behalf of Bracegirdle; he was made a Queens Counsel (QC) on the day that Bracegirdle appeared in court. On 18 May order was made that he could not be deported for exercising his right to free speech, and Bracegirdle was a free man.
Stubbs retired shortly afterwards.
(until 1939) and Chairman of Northern Division Appellate Tribunal for Conscientious Objectors from 1941 to 1947.
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
司徒拔) (1876–1947) was a British colonial governor, who was once the Governor of Hong Kong. He caused controversy while Governor of Ceylon over the Bracegirdle Incident
Mark Anthony Bracegirdle
Mark Anthony Lyster Bracegirdle , was an Anglo-Australian Marxist revolutionary, who played a key role in Sri Lanka's independence struggle. He was one of the handful of European Radicals in Sri Lanka...
.
Early life and education
Reginald Edward Stubbs was born on 13 October 1876, the son of William StubbsWilliam Stubbs
William Stubbs was an English historian and Bishop of Oxford.The son of William Morley Stubbs, a solicitor, he was born at Knaresborough, Yorkshire, and was educated at Ripon Grammar School and Christ Church, Oxford, where he graduated in 1848, obtaining a first-class in classics and a third in...
, a historian and bishop of Chester and Oxford, consecutively. He was educated at Radley
Radley College
Radley College , founded in 1847, is a British independent school for boys on the edge of the English village of Radley, near to the market town of Abingdon in Oxfordshire, and has become a well-established boarding school...
and Corpus Christi College, Oxford
Corpus Christi College, Oxford
Corpus Christi College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom...
. He obtained first class honours in Lit. Hum.
Literae Humaniores
Literae Humaniores is the name given to an undergraduate course focused on Classics at Oxford and some other universities.The Latin name means literally "more humane letters", but is perhaps better rendered as "Advanced Studies", since humaniores has the sense of "more refined" or "more learned",...
in 1899.
Early Colonial Services
He entered Colonial Office in 1900 as a second-class clerk, eventually serving as acting first class clerk from 1907 to 1910, when he became a permanent 1st class clerk. In that same year, Stubbs was sent on a special mission to Malay PeninsulaMalay Peninsula
The Malay Peninsula or Thai-Malay Peninsula is a peninsula in Southeast Asia. The land mass runs approximately north-south and, at its terminus, is the southern-most point of the Asian mainland...
and Hong Kong. He was a member of West African Lands Committee in 1912, and became a colonial secretary of Ceylon in from 1913 to 1919.
Governor of Hong Kong
He was appointed Hong Kong Governor in 1919, a position he served until 1925. Beginning from his governorship, the Chinese translated names of British Governors are made to look more like real life Chinese names.During Stubb's tenure, strikes were frequent, thus harming the Hong Kong economy in the process. In 1922, seamen went on strike in Hong Kong, followed by a large strike that involved workers in Hong Kong and Canton
Guangzhou
Guangzhou , known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port...
. The strikers demanded the annulment of the "Unequal Treaties" (Treaty of Nanking, Treaty of Peking, and New Territories Land Lease Agreement, which, altogether, allowed British control of Hong Kong). The strikers also demanded better treatment of Chinese labourers on Hong Kong.
At first, Stubbs tried to suppress the strikers with legal and forceful means, but the efforts backfired, and caused an exodus of more than 100,000 Chinese labourers to China. This further damaged the economy, and Stubbs left Hong Kong in 1925.
Stubbs received a M.A. during his tenure, in 1920.
Post-Governorship
After his stormy tenure as Governor of Hong Kong, Stubbs was made Captain-General and Governor-in-Chief of JamaicaJamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
a year later, in 1926. He would hold this position until 1932, when he was appointed Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
. He would serve in this position until 1933.
Governorship of Ceylon and the Bracegirdle incident
In 1933 Stubbs was appointed to his last position in the Colonial Service: Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Ceylon (Sri LankaSri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
).
In 1937, he was prevailed upon by the White planters to became involved in an illegal attempt to deport Mark Anthony Bracegirdle
Mark Anthony Bracegirdle
Mark Anthony Lyster Bracegirdle , was an Anglo-Australian Marxist revolutionary, who played a key role in Sri Lanka's independence struggle. He was one of the handful of European Radicals in Sri Lanka...
, an Australian planter who had gone over to the side of the workers and joined the Lanka Sama Samaja Party
Lanka Sama Samaja Party
The Lanka Sama Samaja Party is a Trotskyist political party in Sri Lanka....
(LSSP). Bracegirdle was served with the order of deportation on 22 April and given 48 hours to leave, but he defied the order, going into hiding instead. The Colonial Government began a man-hunt, but was unsuccessful. The LSSP started a campaign to defend him. At that year's May Day rally at Price Park, Colombo placards declaring 'We want Bracegirdle – Deport Stubbs' were displayed, and a resolution was passed condemning Stubbs, demanding his removal and the withdrawal of the deportation order.
On 5 May, in the State Council
State Council of Ceylon
The State Council of Ceylon was the unicameral legislature for Ceylon , established in 1931 by the Donoughmore Constitution. The State Council gave universal adult franchise to the people of the colony for the first time...
, the LSSP members Dr N.M. Perera and Philip Gunawardena
Philip Gunawardena
Don Philip Rupasinghe Gunawardena introduced Trotskyism to Sri Lanka, where he is a national hero, known as 'the Father of Socialism' and as 'the Lion of Boralugoda'.-Early life & education:...
moved a vote of censure on the Governor for having ordered the deportation of Bracegirdle without the advice of the acting Home Minister. Even the Board of Ministers had started feeling the heat of public opinion and the vote was passed by 34 votes to 7.
On the same day there was a 50,000-strong rally at Galle Face Green
Galle Face Green
The Galle Face is a promenade which stretches for half kilometre along the coast in the heart of financial and business district of Colombo, Sri Lanka...
, which was addressed by Dr N.M. Perera, Philip Gunawardena, and S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike
Solomon Bandaranaike
Solomon West Ridgeway Dias Bandaranaike Solomon West Ridgeway Dias Bandaranaike (Sinhala:සොලමන් වෙස්ට් රිජ්වේ ඩයස් බන්ඩාරනායක)(Tamil:சாலமன் வெஸ்ட் ரிச்சர்ட் டயஸ் பண்டாரநாயக்கா)Solomon West Ridgeway Dias Bandaranaike (Sinhala:සොලමන් වෙස්ට් රිජ්වේ ඩයස් බන්ඩාරනායක)(Tamil:சாலமன் வெஸ்ட் ரிச்சர்ட் டயஸ்...
, condemning Stubbs. Bracegirdle made a dramatic appearance on the platform at this rally, but the police were powerless to arrest him. They managed to arrest him a couple of days later, but a writ of habeas corpus
Habeas corpus
is a writ, or legal action, through which a prisoner can be released from unlawful detention. The remedy can be sought by the prisoner or by another person coming to his aid. Habeas corpus originated in the English legal system, but it is now available in many nations...
was served and the case was called before a bench of three Supreme Court judges presided over by Chief Justice Sir Sidney Abrahams
Sidney Abrahams
Sir Sidney Solomon Abrahams , nicknamed Solly, was a British Olympic athlete and Chief Justice of Ceylon . He was the older brother of famed Olympian Harold Abrahams....
. The brilliant H.V. Perera, the county's leading civil lawyer, volunteered his services free on behalf of Bracegirdle; he was made a Queens Counsel (QC) on the day that Bracegirdle appeared in court. On 18 May order was made that he could not be deported for exercising his right to free speech, and Bracegirdle was a free man.
Stubbs retired shortly afterwards.
Retirement
A year after his retirement, Stubbs became the vice-chairman of West India Royal CommissionRoyal Commission
In Commonwealth realms and other monarchies a Royal Commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue. They have been held in various countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Saudi Arabia...
(until 1939) and Chairman of Northern Division Appellate Tribunal for Conscientious Objectors from 1941 to 1947.
Personal life
Stubbs married Lady Marjory Stubbs in 1909. The couple had two sons and one daughter. Stubbs himself died on 7 December 1947.Honours
- CMGOrder of St Michael and St GeorgeThe Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
, 1914 - KCMG, 1919
- GCMG, 1928
- Honorary Fellow, Corpus Christi College, 1926
- Hon. LL.D., Hong Kong, 1926
Places and things named after him
- Stubbs RoadStubbs RoadStubbs Road connects Happy Valley and The Peak area on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong, through an area near the Wong Nai Chung Gap. It goes through a residential area of luxurious high-rise tower blocks....
in the Happy Valley mid-levelsMid-levelsMid-levels is an expensive residential area on Hong Kong Island in Hong Kong. It is located halfway up Victoria Peak, directly above Central...
on Hong Kong IslandHong Kong IslandHong Kong Island is an island in the southern part of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. It has a population of 1,289,500 and its population density is 16,390/km², as of 2008...
was named after him. - The Sri LankaSri LankaSri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
n boxingBoxingBoxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
award, the Stubbs Shield, is named after him.
See also
- History of Hong KongHistory of Hong KongHong Kong began as a coastal island geographically located off the southern coast of China. While pockets of settlements had taken place in the region with archaeological findings dating back thousands of years, regular written records were not made...
- Sri Lanka Independence StruggleSri Lanka Independence StruggleThe Sri Lankan independence movement was a peaceful political movement which aimed at achieving independence & self rule for Ceylon from the British Empire. It was initiated around the turn of the 20th century lead mostly by the educated middle class and ultimately was successful when February 4,...