Edward Stubbs

For the American shipwright, seeEdward J. Stubbs.

Sir Edward Stubbs GCMG
27thGovernor of British Ceylon
In office 23 December 1933 – 30 June 1937
Monarchs	George V Edward VIII George VI
Preceded by	Francis Graeme Tyrrell (Acting governor)
Succeeded by	Maxwell MacLagan Wedderburn (Acting governor)
3rdGovernor of British Cyprus
In office 29 October 1932 – 8 November 1933
Monarch	George V
Preceded by	SirRonald Storrs
Succeeded by	SirHerbert Richmond Palmer
Governor of Jamaica
In office 26 April 1926 – 9 November 1932
Monarch	George V
Preceded by	SirSamuel Herbert Wilson
Succeeded by	Sir Alexander Ransford Slater
16thGovernor of Hong Kong
In office 30 September 1919 – 1 November 1925
Monarch	George V
Colonial Secretary	Sir Claud Severn
Preceded by	Francis Henry May
Succeeded by	Cecil Clementi
ActingGovernor of British Ceylon
In office 24 March 1918 – 10 September 1918
Monarch	George V
Preceded by	John Anderson
Succeeded by	William Manning
In office 4 December 1915 – 15 April 1916
Monarch	George V
Preceded by	Robert Chalmers
Succeeded by	John Anderson
In office 24 January 1913 – 18 October 1913
Monarch	George V
Preceded by	Henry Edward McCallum
Succeeded by	Robert Chalmers
Personal details
Born	(1876-10-13)13 October 1876
Died	7 December 1947(1947-12-07)(aged 71)
Spouse	Marjory Stubbs
Alma mater	Corpus Christi College, Oxford
Profession	Colonial administrator
Chinese name
Chinese	Tư đồ bạt
Transcriptions Yue: Cantonese Jyutping si1 tou4 bat6

Sir Reginald Edward StubbsGCMG(Chinese:Tư đồ bạt;13 October 1876 – 7 December 1947) was a British colonial governor, who was once the Governor of Hong Kong. He caused controversy whileGovernor of Ceylonover theBracegirdle Incident.

Early life and education

Reginald Edward Stubbs was born on 13 October 1876, the son ofWilliam Stubbs,a historian and bishop of Chester and Oxford, consecutively. He was educated atRadleyandCorpus Christi College, Oxford.He obtained first class honours inLit. Hum.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 toMalay Peninsulaand Hong Kong. He was a member of West African Lands Committee in 1912, and became a colonial secretary ofCeylonin from 1913 to 1919.

Governor of Hong Kong

He was appointedHong Kong Governorin 1919, a position he served until 1925.

During Stubbs' tenure, strikes were frequent, including ones that were very damaging to the Hong Kong economy, such as theSeamen's strike of 1922and theCanton-Hong Kong strikethat began in 1925.

Stubbs engaged in cordial talks withSun Yat-senand his supporters in Hong Kong prior to Sun's triumphal return to Canton in February 1923.

There followed, in 1925, thegeneral strikethat involved workers in Hong Kong andCanton,China. 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 in Hong Kong.

At first, Stubbs tried to suppress the strikers with legal and forceful means. He regarded the strike as a Bolshevik plot headed by Dr.Sun Yat-sento overthrow the colonial government, without any attention to the pressing economic grievances at stake.He banned the Chinese Seamen's Union, the organizer of the strike and banned Dr. Sun and the Soviet military and political advisers inCantonfrom entering the colony due to Sun's anti-colonial remarks.The efforts backfired and caused an exodus of more than 100,000 Chinese labourers to China.

Stubbs took a conservative stance, in line with his Chinese elite advisors, on the issue ofmui-tsai,a form of child slavery then prevalent in the colony. He was criticized by London for acquiescence.

Stubbs rejected repeated calls among the local European community for direct election of theLegislative Council,fearing the exclusion of local Chinese from similar rights may lead to unrest.

Both Stubbs and his Colonial SecretaryClaud Severnwere replaced in 1925, having failed to quell the disorder and leaving behind a seriously damaged Hong Kong economy.British Consul General in Canton James Jamieson criticised their leadership, seeing them as out of touch and out of date, unable to converse in Chinese and ignorant of republican China.

Stubbs received an M.A. degree during his tenure, in 1920.

Jamaica and Cyprus

After his stormy tenure as Governor of Hong Kong, Stubbs was made Captain-General and Governor-in-Chief ofJamaicaa year later, in 1926. He would hold this position until 1932, when he was appointed Governor and Commander-in-Chief ofCyprus.He would serve in this position until 1933.

Governorship of Ceylon

In 1933 Stubbs was appointed to his last position in the Colonial Service: Governor and Commander-in-Chief ofCeylon(Sri Lanka).

Bracegirdle affair

In 1937, he was prevailed upon by the White planters to become involved in an illegal attempt to deportMark Anthony Bracegirdle,an Australian planter who had gone over to the side of the workers and joined theLanka 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 theState Council,the LSSP members DrN.M. PereraandPhilip Gunawardenamoved avote of censureon 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 atGalle Face Green,which was addressed by Dr N.M. Perera, Philip Gunawardena, andS.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 ofhabeas corpuswas served and the case was called before a bench of three Supreme Court judges presided over by Chief Justice SirSidney Abrahams.The brilliantH.V. Perera,the county's leading civil lawyer, volunteered his services free on behalf of Bracegirdle; he was made aKing's Counsel(KC) 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 IndiaRoyal Commission(until 1939) and Chairman of Northern Division Appellate Tribunal for Conscientious Objectors from 1941 to 1947.

Personal life

Stubbs married Marjory Stubbs in 1909. The couple had two sons and one daughter. He died on 7 December 1947.

Honours

• CMG,1914
• KCMG,1919
• GCMG,1928
• Honorary Fellow, Corpus Christi College, 1926
• Hon.LL.D.,University of Hong Kong, 1926

Recognition

• Stubbs Roadin the easternMid-LevelsonHong Kong Islandwas named after him.
• TheSri Lankanboxingaward, theStubbs Shield,is named after him.

See also

• History of Hong Kong
• Sri Lanka Independence Struggle