on January 11, 1844. He subsequently co-operated with the civil authorities in checking crime, and his work in that direction was most valuable. He returned to England in 1848, leaving in February that year, and in the course of his subsequent military career attained the rank of Lieutenant-General, and was knighted (K.C.B.). He died in London in May 1855.
Of his early efforts to obtain a dwelling, it is on record that when he arrived there was little accommodation for the military, the troops being housed in makeshift barracks and it was mainly through his determination, even to the extent of ordering the erection of commodious and substantial barracks, and a proper military hospital (for a time D'Aguilar's Hospital, situated just behind and partly on the site of the present Wellington Barracks), without awaiting the sanction of the civil authorities, that matters were taken in hand.
The chronicles have an interesting reference to the fact that Major-General D'Aguilar on arriving at the end of 1843 was accommodated in a house that had been built originally as an inn (see 8-7-33), and had, in addition to an ordinary rent, to pay for the anticipated profits of the inn-keeper!
The Lieutenant-Governor's residence, which was commenced shortly afterwards, was built in conjunction with permanent officers' quarters, of which we shall have more to say in due course.
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Reference was made yesterday to the absence of substantial military buildings at the time Major-General D'Aguilar arrived in the Colony as G.O.C., and Lieutenant-Governor, at the close of 1843. His insistence on early erection of proper quarters for the troops and for himself, as well as an adequate hospital, had quick results, and the house built for him stands yet; a picture of the building was reproduced yesterday.
this time
I give a further selection to-day from the series of drawings made by Mr. Bruce, of Hongkong, in 1846; we have the Queen's Road portion of the present Murray Barracks, erected in 1844 and originally intended as officers' quarters, which is the purpose for which the block is still used to-day. The inscription on the old lithograph states that the sketch is of the "Officers' Quarters, looking towards Victoria, Hongkong". It is easy to identify this building as the present Murray Barracks, now enclosed in a garden with a low wall along the boundary. From the rather open nature of the area in the picture, it is not difficult to conclude that the premises had been completed not long before Mr. Bruce made his drawing.
There are several interesting points in the sketch. To the left are shown some Chinese engaged apparently in removing blocks of granite which have been hewn from an outcrop by the roadside. It is worth noting that this outcrop of rock can be traced to-day in a portion of grounds of the barracks. The group around the horse-drawn carriage is probably a little touch designed to indicate the social life of the time and with the somewhat deserted look of the main road through the city it forms a striking contrast to present-day traffic conditions.