[
    {
        "id": 216356,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
        "series_use_hku_proxy": false,
        "document_key": "RAS-2003",
        "page_number": 115,
        "title": "RAS-2003",
        "content_text": "64\n\nsome of the vagueness that has been apparent in previous research on Hart's secret domestic life.\n\nDiscovery and transcription of the statutory declarations\n\nThe statutory declarations written by Sir Robert Hart were discovered in 2002 in the Special Collections, Queen's University Belfast (QUB). They are part of Hart's papers, which were donated to Queen's University Belfast by Hart's great-grandson, the last Sir Robert who died in 1970 without an heir.\n\nOne of the statutory declarations was produced by Hart on 19th August 1905 when he was in China; it details his previous non-marital relationship with the Chinese girl Ayaou and the three children from that relationship, and his marital relationship with Hester (Hessie) Jane Bredon and his son, Edgar Bruce from their marriage (this shall be known as \"Declaration 1\"). The other two statutory declarations were written by Hart at a later date on 20th December 1910 - exactly nine months before he died - at his London home (38 Cadogan Place). The content of one of these declarations is similar to that of Declaration 1, but this time Hart changes the way he describes the relationships (this shall be known as \"Declaration 2\"). A third statutory declaration details his marital relationship with Hester Jane Bredon, his three children from their marriage, and their subsequent marriages (this shall be known as \"Declaration 3\"). Four documents are attached to Declaration 2 and 3, marked \"A\", \"B\", \"C\", and \"D\" respectively. The document marked \"A\" is the marriage certificate of Hart and Hester Jane Bredon, and the documents marked respectively \"B\", \"C\", and \"D\" are birth certificates for the children from Hart's marriage to Hester Jane Bredon.\n\nTo give readers a clearer and more general idea about the contents of the declarations, we have transcribed the relevant items as follows.\n\nDeclaration 1:\n\nWhen I arrived in China in 1854, I found that any acquaintance I made kept his Chinese girl, and in 1857 I fell into the habit myself. The girl kept by me was a Cantonese named Ayaou. She was with me at Ningpo during 1857 and went with me when transferred to Canton in February 1858; I left her then at Macao, and, although",
        "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-2003.txt",
        "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/2v242g390",
        "rank": 0
    },
    {
        "id": 216357,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
        "series_use_hku_proxy": false,
        "document_key": "RAS-2003",
        "page_number": 116,
        "title": "RAS-2003",
        "content_text": "65\n\nshe continued to be kept i.e. paid ($30 a month) by me till I went home on leave in 1866, we never lived together afterwards and very rarely met. Between 1858 & 1864 she gave birth to three children. In 1866 the connection was dissolved and Ayaou was then presented with $3000 when she surrendered her children to my agent and herself married a Chinaman. The children were sent to England and it was arranged that W. Hutchins my lawyer should take charge of them: I then entrusted him with £6000 for their benefit. They were described as my wards and were named respectively Anna, Herbert and Arthur. At the time W. Hutchins took charge they were lodging with one of the employees of Smith, Elder & Co. Anna died some years ago: [,] Arthur went about the same time to Canada and recently Herbert left England to join him there. I never saw any of the children of Ayaou's since they left China, and, while in China, I believe I only saw Anna twice or three times, Herbert once, and Arthur never. As they were all born while Ayaou was kept by me I decided to provide them respectably, and did so, rather than leave them to their fate in China. Ayaou was a very good little girl & well-behaved but we were not married, and she was not my wife, and her children were illegitimate.\n\nI was married to Hester Jane Bredon in 1866: [,] she is my wife: [.] I was never married to any other: [,] her son Edgar Bruce is my only legitimate son, and is the legitimate heir to the Baronetcy!\n\nI certify the above statement to be true in every respect,\n\nRobert Hart (signature) Peitaiho, 19th August 1905\n\nDeclaration 2., Item 12:\n\n1. In the year 1857 when in China I formed a connection with a Chinese girl named Ayaon.* At that time it was a common practice",
        "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-2003.txt",
        "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/2v242g390",
        "rank": 0
    },
    {
        "id": 216359,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
        "series_use_hku_proxy": false,
        "document_key": "RAS-2003",
        "page_number": 118,
        "title": "RAS-2003",
        "content_text": "67\n\nShortly after this incident in his letter to his London agent and confidant, James Duncan Campbell (ibid: 1478), Hart responded to the attempts at blackmail by one of his wards, Herbert, who demanded money from him:\n\nMy principle, in a general sense, is to \"face the music\" and pay no \"blackmail\" - but this has to be whittled into fitting form so as to cause as little worry as possible to others. I wish you had dipped deeper into my purse and sent off Herbert with £100 instead of only a \"Five Pound Note\".\n\nIn the same letter, Hart also referred to an incident in 1904 involving the two wards (ibid: 1479):\n\nI dare say we shall hear more of Herbert and Arthur from Canada: already a year ago someone who signed \"E. B. Hart\" wrote me from Canada saying a young man was moving about using my name (possibly Arthur) and asking me to authorise denial!\n\nIn the end of the letter Hart also wrote a post script mentioning that Lady Hart and her daughter, Nollie, planned to visit America, even this caused him disquiet (ibid);\n\nLady H. and Nollie propose visiting America this autumn: I don't want to dissuade them, but it is possible Herbert may find them out and something disagreeable may occur.\n\nIt indicates that Hart was concerned by these recurring troubles. He realised the repercussions of his 'mistake' were far from over. It is in this context that he wrote the first statutory declaration - Declaration 1, dated 19th August 1905, only 8 days after he wrote the letter mentioned above to Campbell. In the declaration, Hart, after detailing his non-marital relationship with Ayaou and the illegitimacy of his three children by her, declares clearly that \"I was married to Hester Jane Bredon in 1866; she is my wife: her son Edgar Bruce is my only legitimate son, and is the legitimate heir to the Baronetcy!\" It is obvious that although Hart was annoyed with Herbert for his attempts at blackmail, Hart's main concern is not money but the inheritance of his title. The fact that Herbert himself made claim in the newspaper - \"eldest son of Sir Robert Hart\" - and also the possibility that Arthur moved about using Hart's",
        "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-2003.txt",
        "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/2v242g390",
        "rank": 0
    }
]