CO129-375 - Governor Sir Lugard - 1911 [1-2] — Page 26

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their views to you, but I did not fully concur in them. Mr Brewin was the senior officer who had any aptitude for the post. He was an officer of great merit and ability who would very keenly feel being passed over by a man of half his service, and his excellent work entitled him to recognition. If his physique was equal to the work (which I doubted) he had strong clains. They had, I understood, opposed his appointment on the ground that he was too "pro- Chinese", as Registrar General I pointed out that

it was officially his duty to take the Chinese point

of view, but I believed him to be a man who if he

held a more responsible panitian and larger office

would take correspondingly large views, and in this

opinion Sir Henry May who had know him for 20 years

concurred. As regards Mr Clementi I endorsed all

they had said. He combined great ability with exception-

al industry and rapidity, and had as Assistant Colonial

Secretary a long training in and knowledge of the

Secretariat work. As regards Mr Sercombe Smith I

informed them that the Chinese Members of Council

had told me that if he were appointed they would find

it necessary to resign their seats on the Council as

they had found him an impossible man to work with.

I might personally prevail upon them not to take this

step, but if they insisted it would be most difficult

to replace them, and what they had said was an indica-

tion of the depth of feeling against the appointment

which was held by the Chinese. Sir Paul Chater had

at first associated himself with them in recommending

Mr Brewin.

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After very careful consideration

I had decided to recommend the appointment of Mr

Brewin

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