RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1969 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/9g553n20d Council in February of this year, and more recently both Mr. J. S. Lee and Mr. M. S. Cumming have resigned owing to their many other commitments, and in the case of Mr. Cumming owing to the likelihood of his being away a good deal from the Colony during the year. Of the original Council of 1959 there are only two left - Dr. Marjorie Topley and myself. The Council is a hard-working body; it meets at least once a month and its activities involve a great deal of time and labour. It is essential for the future of the Society to fill the vacancies with persons who have real interest in the work of the Society and are prepared to share the work in furthering its interests. In concluding I want to thank all my colleagues on the Council for their unremitting work, the British Council for their traditional help in a variety of ways and for the use of their premises for the meetings of the Council and their Library to house the greater part of the Society's books, and last but not least Mrs. O'Hara, also of the British Council, for her ever-willing and ready help and secretarial work which have been most valuable. 28 April, 1969. Lectures in 1968 comprised:- 15 January Professor Michael Sullivan. "The Cave Temples of Maichishan (with slides). 26 February J. R. JONES "The British Treaty with Siam of 1855" 16 March Mr. Robert Bruce. Visit to Chinese Vegetarian Halls (chai-t'ang) and the Sects of Former Heaven (Hsien-t'ien Tao). 18 March Dr. Philip Mao. "Some Aspects of Ching Dynasty Porcelain of the Kang Hsi, Yung Cheng & Ch'ien Lung Periods" (illustrated with slides). 8 April Annual General Meeting. 29 April Mr. T. C. Cheng. "Chinese Unofficial Members of the Legislative and Executive Councils in Hong Kong up to 1941". ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1983 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/j9607p61v Hon. Treasurer's Report As usual, Mr. Gilkes will provide a separate account. Conclusion Finally, I wish to thank all members of the Council for their support and hard work. We are all busy people, and yet nothing can be achieved for the Society without effort. We are fortunate in having a good Council and an efficient, helpful Assistant Secretary. I wish also to thank others who have helped us during the year, including Government Information Services for the use of their theatre for our lectures, our honorary auditors and our printers, our Assistant Secretary, and Mr. Philip Bruce whose work has been noted above. Thank you. 30 March 1984. xiv JAMES HAYES Page 15 Page 16 ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1988 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/ft84gb83q Luk and I have discussed this question also. She tells me that other Societies with private collections on long loan also wish their members to have fuller access to their books, but this will not be possible until under a different arrangement more space in new premises enables the collections to be placed on free access in a reference library. In the meantime, Mrs. Luk wishes to facilitate our members' use of the RAS Collection. She is considering issuing updated catalogues and arranging for books to be requisitioned at, and be collected from and returned to, certain public libraries on this side of the harbour. The will to assist is obvious, and we shall be very grateful for improved borrowing arrangements meantime. The Council and its Helpers Members of the Council have worked hard during the year, in their various capacities. If I may say so, they are talented and competent, and make a good team: which is why (I suppose) you have not made any other nominations this year! They are also friendly and supportive, and it has been a pleasure to work with them. The same is true of our helpers who, under our new arrangements, are assisting on the various committees. They, too, deserve a word of thanks. Those serving on the Activities Committee have certainly made it possible to do more than the Councillors could do unaided. Insufficient hands was one of the constraints impeding the growth of the Society, and it is very gratifying to be able to report the success of this particular outcome of the 1987 symposium. Those concerned are Rosemary Lee, Dan Waters and Geoffrey Roper on the Activities Committee, Betty Wei on the Editorial Board, Michael Kirkbride and, again, Rosemary Lee on the External Links Committee, and Helena Hung, David Yung and Choi Chi-cheung on the Ad Hoc Committee on Chinese Membership. Other members, some of them here tonight, have offered to help. Never fear! It is still "early days" with the newer committees, and we shall be co-opting you and other members once they get into their stride. The new arrangements enable us to be as flexible as is required. At this point, I must also repeat what I said last year about the excellent support given by Mrs. Sharon Bruce, our tireless Assistant Secretary, helped on the side by the Acting, Unpaid Assistant Secretary, husband xii : ! ! ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1989 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8336pm92h 23 March Dr. Elizabeth Sinn "Management of the Chinese in 19th Century Hong Kong and the Role of the Tung Wah Hospital” The following Visits were made: 29 April 6 May 24 June 1 July Anita Wilson and Dr. James Hayes Visit to the Pottery Kiln at Tuen Mun, Ha Tsuen Tang Ancestral Hall and Old Market, Ling Wan Monastery (with vegetarian lunch), Lai Family Study Hall and Mansion at Sheung Tsuen, Hakka Mansion at Sham Ka Wai, and Yuen Long Old Market Dr. James Hayes and Ted Brown Visit to Kowloon Walled City, Again! Phillip Bruce Visit to Old Marine Police Headquarters at Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon Phillip Bruce Repeat of the Visit of 24 June 14 September Dr. Patrick Hase and Lee Man-yip Visit to Wo Hang for the Hot Air Balloon release at Mid Autumn Festival 25 November Dr. James Hayes 9 December Visit to places of interest on Hong Kong Island, including Waterfall Bay, the Aberdeen Country Park Management Centre, Chung Hom Kok, Shek O Village and Lei Yu Mun Barracks and Leisure Centre Rosemary Lee and Richard Gee Repeat of the N.T. Visit of 29 April 13-14 January Anita Wilson, Dr. Dan Waters, Rev. Carl Smith and Dr. Joseph Ting 22 January 18 February Week End Visit to Macao Phillip Bruce Visit to some interesting Naval and Military Graves in the Colonial Cemetery Phillip Bruce and Dr. Anthony Siu Visit to the Tung Chung Area, the site of Hong Kong's Future Replacement Airport This varied and interesting programme has again been due to the Activities Committee, which has worked hard under Dr. Elizabeth Sinn's ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1989 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8336pm92h 378 Hart to daughter Mable, (5) 1888 1892, and two, sender unidentified Hart to son Bruce, (20) 1877 — 1894 Letters to and from Hart re Charlotte's death 1868 Hart to Beauclerk children Postcards to Lady Hart from various persons BOX 3 6 photographs Draft despatch from London office of Inspector-General of Chinese Maritime Customs, to Inspector-General, Peking (n.d.) 17 Chinese name "cards" (red paper) Sheets of what appear to be school exercises (Robert's?) School reports of R. Hart (grandson) and other papers re his boarding at University College, Oxford 1 page of a caricature of Hart (dressed as a Chinese Mandarin) from Vanity Fair 1 published page entitled "Men of the Day, no. 608”, incomplete and source unknown 2 menus painted in water colour 1 water colour painting autographed W. V. G. (?) J.H. Roberts to Gillson (n.d.) 4 invitations to Bruce Hart 1 cigarette card 1 Christie's catalogue, Autumn, 3 July, 1951 BOX 4 14 Miss Gillson's music certificates "Lines inscribed on a fan by Pan tsien yu a Chinese lady of the Han dynasty in the reign of Han Ching Tỉ BC 18. Transl. by Dr. Martin President of the Tung Wen Kuan Peking, Set to music by Bessie L'Evesque Pirkis” (MS) Misc. publications: a. Royal Coronation b. A Maid in Touraine c. Supplement to the London Gazette 28 Oct 1902 d. Supplement to Modern Society 26 Dec 1903 e. The Thames and all That, 1824-1935 ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1989 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8336pm92h 379 The Morning Post, Jan 1, 1901 Cover Page of La Politique de Pe'kin BM7 Jun, 1914, with Sir Robert Hart on it 1 booklet "Topside Galan" illustrated by Bessie L'E. Pirkis, in water colour (MS) 10 Chillon College Magazine, Vol II: XI XII (2 copies); Vol III: I, II, IV, VI, VII, VIII: VOL IV, 1 School reports, 1937 Bundles of theatre programmes and theatre tickets Minutes of the Seventh Annual Meeting of the Board of Managers of the Peking University, January 16, 1906 (University Press) Misc. clippings, newspapers and magazines Loose papers, some with Robert's childish scribbling for Granny Some calling cards 3 menus Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank to Lady Hart, 29 Oct 1906 5 photographs in an envelope addressed to E Prince (?) Hart Esq. 1 poem (MS) Invitations Postcards to Hart (Moore to Hart, 3 Aug 1909), Lady Hart (5), Bruce (1), Robert (6) BOX 5 Bundle of misc. letters to Robert Bundle of misc. letters to Mr. & Mrs. Bruce Hart Bundle of misc. letters to Carrie and others Misc. clippings, scribbling, empty envelopes, etc. Robert Bredon to Lady Hart, 7 Sept 1911 27 May 1912 Bundle of papers for learning meaning and pronunciation of Chinese characters (MS) 1 printed address accompanying the Testimonial to Sir Robert Hart GCMG. with Sir Robert Hart's Reply (Peking, 22 Aug 1890) 1 printed letter, E.B. Drew to Alex. Jamieson, 28 August 1890 Letters to Lady Hart from various persons and institutions mainly regarding her finances 1 typed letter to Editor of The Times, "The China Crisis”, from H. Crouch Batchelor 5 letters to Hart Letters from Hart ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1989 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8336pm92h 380 a. Hart to Geo. McAnliffe Esqre, 7 Aug 1880 b. Hart to Association of Ulster-men-in-London, 22 Jan 1909 (draft) c. Hart to Nellie (?), 18 April 1897 d. Hart to (?) [only postscript] Receipt of £146 3s. 9d. bequeathed to Hester Jane Bredon (Hart) Documents to Bond and Stockholders, National Consolidated Wire and Cable Co. Letters, Evy to Mabel (7) Sheets of paper with Evy's German? School exercise 1 photograph Congratulations on birth of child, 8 July 1873 BOX 6 Bundles of telegrams to Hart and Lady Hart Bundle of Lady Hart's papers re her investments, esp. National Steel and Wire Letters to Lady Hart from various institutions and persons, mainly condolences for Hart's death Letters to Bruce Hart, condolences for his father's death BOX 7 Chinese despatch, Hart to Prince Ch'ing, Kuang-hsu 26.8.22 (15 Sept 1900) Chinese despatch from the Grand Councillor to Hart (received, 1 Sept 1900) Bundle of 24 Chinese documents (folded scrolls) marked "Various proposals of mine 1900 1908, R. Hart", on mint, currency, reforms, land tax, gold tariff and other subjects Bundle of 11 Chinese documents, unmarked, but similar to above, 1904 - 1906. BOX 8 Robert's (Robin) letters, mostly to his mother. This is a very large collection. Page 405 Page 406 ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1989 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8336pm92h 381 BOX 9 Newspaper clippings covering mainly the "Chinese Crisis" of 1900, Hart's death and estate, misc. reports on Hart's activities and letters published in the papers. Hymns In Memoriam, Church of Our Saviour, Peking, 25 September 1911 (booklet) PHOTOGRAPHS There are hundreds of photographs placed in three cartons in no particular order, and further sorting needs to be done. A straightforward tally could have been made of them but for the fact that many are in duplicate, triplicate, even quadruplicate copies. Almost all are mounted and generally in excellent condition. A few are autographed or captioned. The three generations of Harts are well represented, with a large number of Hart himself at different ages. Another large group is of friends of the various Harts and relatives. Note: A couple of other non-photographic items are kept in these cartons because of size. SOME ITEMS OF SPECIAL INTEREST These cartons also contain certain items of special interest. There are what might be called "Chinese official photographs": including autographed portraits of Chinese officials presented to Hart and Lady Hart, including T.Y. Chang, Prince Chen, Tieh Liang, Wen-chi, P'u lun, Sieh (Hsieh Fu-cheng) (in colour!). A particularly interesting one is a group photograph of Manchu princesses and European ladies who are identified individually. (CARTON 1) There are two photographs of what appear to be Hart's music band, one of adults and the other of teenagers (?) (CARTON 1) Report of H.F. Merrill and E. Bruce Hart concerning the International Postal Union Conference, Washington D.C., dated 16 June 1897 to ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1990 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/d79206299 year as your President. Have we coped, you may ask? Well, I believe we have, and for this I need to thank my fellow councillors for the very loyal and hard work they have put into ensuring that the Society's affairs run in a smooth and on the whole organised way. In particular mention must be made of Elizabeth Sinn for arranging a varied programme of activities and lectures, Carl Smith, for his loyal and perceptive encouragement, Patrick Hase, for arranging interesting visits and editing the Journal (perhaps the most arduous duty), Robert Nield for keeping us on the right financial track, for our team of ladies, Evelyn Caldwell our Secretary, a post which really holds the Society together, Anita Wilson for doing the newsletter, and our Assistant Secretary, Sharon Bruce, also our Librarian Y.C. Wan, and all those other Council members and helpers who help to make this Society tick and move forward. So what have we done and where do we stand? I will start with the Programme. During the year there were the following talks and visits: Talks: Chang Tsong Zung Peter Leeds Michael Luk Peter Steyn James Hayes Wang Gungwu Miss May Wong Anne and Stephen Selby Sister Beatrice Leung Susanna Hoe Richard Stott Visits Hong Kong Art in the 80s History of Transport in Hong Kong The Origins of Chinese Bolshevism Memories of India The Libraries of the Royal Asiatic Societies in China Western Scholarship, Asian Continuities Changing Lifestyle of Young Japanese Women Pidgin English on the China Coast Sino-Vatican Relations and the Recent Developments of the Chinese Catholic Church Gin and Bridge All Day: Myths about Western Women in Hong Kong 1841-1941 Hong Kong Birds Visits were to Waglan Island, organized by Geoff Roper and Roger Perry, Wo Hang Mid-Autumn Festival visit organized by Dr. Patrick viii ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1990 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/d79206299 Hase, Chek Lap Kok organized by Philip and Sharon Bruce, Fung Ping Shan Museum (x2) organized by Michael Lau, Parsee Building and Parsee Temple organized by Geoff Roper, Lam Tsuen Ta-Chiu festival organized by Dr. Patrick Hase. Shataukok visit (x2) organized by Dr. Patrick Hase, and a visit to the Chinese University of Hong Kong with its Arts Gallery organized by myself. Without detracting from the other lectures I would like to mention that we were very privileged to have Dr. Wang Gangwu, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Hong Kong, to speak on the occasion of our 30th Anniversary, followed by a Chinese dinner at the City Hall restaurant.* I must confess it came as a surprise to find that it was 30 years since our rebirth. I think that all those who heard Dr. Wang's lecture on this occasion would agree that his lecture was as stimulating and thought provoking as you would ever wish to hear. It will, incidentally, we hope, be published in a future edition of our Journal. Overseas Tours From time to time members have asked us to organise tours overseas, and in response to this we have recently circulated a proposal for a visit to South Korea, where we would hope to meet up with the Royal Asiatic Society there. Unfortunately although many members have expressed interest, the final numbers who have definitely said they will go are below what we think is financially viable, and unless there is a strong interest in this trip within the next day we will be cancelling it. I am grateful to Dan Waters for all the hard work he has put into this, and I think we have learnt by this experience. We will continue to consider overseas tours but I think it will be a question of something closer and for shorter periods. Members' advice on this would be very much appreciated. Membership At the end of last year my predecessor reported to you that there were 638 local members and 80 overseas members, making a total of 718 Members. Mrs. Bruce reports that at the last count there were 596 local members (492 living on Hong Kong Island, 65 in Kowloon, and 39 in the New Territories) and again around 80 overseas members, making a total of 676 members. This decline in the total membership * See Plate 16 ix ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1990 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/d79206299 92 to present a neatly typewritten note in English, carefully preserved in a cellophane envelope, stating that the area was prohibited. The pheasant shooting season continued until the Chinese New Year holiday, which falls late in January or early in February. It was generally possible to get two or three days off for this holiday, and at this date in 1937 two of us found ourselves some ten miles up the Yangtze above Nanking in the neighbourhood of the Three Hills. We had come in the houseboat, now so seldom used owing to the opening of the countryside to the greater convenience of the motor car. Only where the river bank was steep-to could we bring the boat sufficiently inshore to throw a plank across and step off; and so having disembarked we had to walk awhile until we reached a small creek, which we crossed in a borrowed sampan, before arriving at the extensive reed beds for which we were heading. At this late season great stretches of the reeds had already been cut by the country people for use as fuel, leaving small clumps and narrow strips standing here and there. Inland, the fields, turned over by the shallow Chinese plough, showed long rows of soft green where the shoots of winter wheat sprouted. The country was ideal for pheasant. Unfortunately it was drizzling and blowing hard. Sandy, the smooth-haired black Labrador was at the top of his form, but nonplussed by the poor shooting. In such weather the birds would as a rule sit tight until the last moment, when they would get up suddenly at your feet; for some reason today they were wild and rising almost out of range. As we approached each patch of reeds, inside which pheasant might be sheltering from rain and squall, we would carefully move to the lee end and beat our way back upwind. My wife worked with us, and two of the boatmen, who also served to carry the bag. The pheasants were reluctant to fly, and would run unseen out of the reeds through the more open stretches of stubble to start up cackling indignantly at unexpected moments. The expenditure of cartridges was considerable, but so far as I remember, the bag only held six brace. Late in the afternoon, soaked, we boarded the houseboat. Luckily the run down with the tide was much quicker than the outward trip, and there was something in the icebox to keep the damp out. Little did we realise that was to be the last shoot for many a season! That year was Coronation year: great preparations were made by ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1994 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/zk522640g 195 Birch, John Grant, Travels in North and Central China, London Hearst and Blackett, 1902 Bishop, Isabella Lucy, The Golden Chersonese and the Way Thither, London J Murray, 1883 The Yangtze Valley and Beyond, New York Putnam, 1900 Blackburn Chamber of Commerce, Report of the Mission to China of the Blackburn Chamber of Commerce, 1896-7, Blackburn North East Lancashire Press, 1898 Blakiston, Thomas Wight 1832-1891, Five Months on the Yang-Tze and Notices of Present Rebellions in China, London J Murray, 1862 Bland, John Otway Percy, Houseboat Days in China, London Heinemann, 1919 Boardman, Eugene, Christian Influence Upon the Ideology of the Taiping Rebellion, 1851-1864, Madison University of Wisconsin Press, 1952 Bohr, Paul Richard, Famine in China and the Missionary Timothy Richard as Relief Administrator and Advocate of National Reform, 1876-1884, Cambridge (Mass) Harvard University Press, 1972 Boone, Murel, The Seed of the Church in China, Edinburgh St Andrews Press, 1973 Braam Houckgeest, Andreas Everard van, An Authentic Account of the Embassy of the Dutch East India Company to the Court of the Emperor of China in the Years 1794 and 1795 (Subsequent to that of the Earl of Macartney) from the journals of..., London printed by R Phillips, 1798 Bradford, Ruth, "Maskee?" The Journal and Letters of Ruth Bradford 1861-1872, Hartford The Prospect Press, 1938 Bredon, Juliet, Sir Robert Hart: The Romance of a Great Career, London Hutchinson, 1909 (New York Dutton, 1909) —, Peking, Shanghai Kelly and Walsh, 1931 (Hong Kong reprint Oxford University Press) Bruce, Clarence D., In the Footsteps of Marco Polo, Edinburgh Blackwood, 1907 Bryson, Mary Isabella, The Land of the Pigtail, London The Sunday School Union, 1905 Burland, Cottie Arthur, The Travels of Marco Polo (with photographs by Werner Forman), London Joseph, 1971 Cable, Mildred, Through Jade Gate and Central Asia, with an introduction by Rev John Stuart Houghton, London Constable, 1927 ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1998 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/1g05n0794 336 I do not know if a couple of bus-loads of "extras" were sent on in advance of our arrival at the beach, but we were greeted again by the sight of bridal couples - a beachful of them! I have a photograph that clearly shows more than 30 couples, the brides for the most part in western white gowns and the grooms in black suits. The heavily decorated taxis were present here too, but so was a totally different kind of conveyance, one that is rather hard to describe. Bright red in colour, it appeared to be the sort of car that might have been designed by Walt Disney - long and open with running boards and big frog-eye headlights. Our guide explained that the city had commissioned 20 of these wonderful creations. One of our number (the dashing and debonair Philip Bruce) found out that such cars were available for hire (with driver) during the evenings when not being used for weddings - and so off he went later that night for a very special city tour. At the eastern end of the beach is the commanding building that was once the governor's seaside retreat and hunting lodge. Fully open to the public, and containing a souvenir and trinkets shop, it affords a wonderful panorama back across the city and the beach full of brides. The day finished with dinner in a nearby restaurant, where our enthusiasm to support the local beer-making industry easily broke the budget of our unfortunate China Qingdao Overseas Tourist Company guide. Despite the preponderance of good beer in all the places we visited, some of our number preferred to sample the local wine. Chinese wine has been around for some time, during which it has steadily been getting better. A local find worth noting was the excellent Hua Dong, which really took by surprise those who sampled it. Comments were heard such as: "I have never tasted a good Chinese-made wine before." In fact the Hua Dong winery has been made famous by none other than the globe-trotting Michael Palin, who went there in his TV series as well as managing to stay at the German Governor's residence in Qingdao. Chefoo - The Brighton of China The road from Qingdao to Chefoo (or Yantai as it is now known) ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1999 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/s178b887x 226 concerning the Opium Question and have come to the conclusion that we have no right to date the present eruption to that cause, as we have been insulted, our Trade interfered with, and British subjects have been maltreated long before Opium was mentioned and we have only been too tardy in seeking redress.” Letter of August 21st 1840 from Chusan, from “An Artillery Officer in China, 1840-1842”, Blackwood's, 1964, p. 80. "The Cree Journals, The Voyages of Edward H. Cree, Surgeon R.N., as Related in his Private Journals, 1837-1856 Edited and with an Introduction by Michael Levien. (Exeter, Webb & Bower, 1981), p. 117. 12 As, e.g. in Bingham, op.cit., Vol.I, p. 187: "Captain Elliot assured the Chinese, by proclamations in their language, that no harm was intended to the peaceable inhabitants by the present expedition; that it was caused by Lin's bad treatment of the English; and that the force would only act against the mandarins, officers, and soldiers of the government." 13 Bingham, Vol.II, p.171, and Jack Beeching, The Chinese Opium Wars (Hutchinson of London, 1975), p.129. 14 Beeching, p.149. They had done the same in Lower Burma in 1824-26 (George Bruce, The Burma Wars 1824-1886 (London, Hart-Davis, MacGibbon, 1973) pp.33-35. 15 See Michael Howard, George J. Andreopoulos and Mark R. Sheridan (Eds), The Laws of War, Constraints on Warfare in the Western World (New Haven, Yale University Press, 1994), chapter 6, "The Age of Napoleon”, in which Gunther Rothenberg wrote (p.97) that "Professional soldiers were well aware of the laws and customs of war between civilized states, and by and large observed them,” and that despite atrocities and violations, their "basic existence and validity” were never challenged. 16 The most notable example being the firing of a salute of minute guns by the flagship, HMS Blenheim, when Admiral Kuan's body was recovered by his family after the battle of the Bogue in January 1841: see Bingham, Vol.II, p. 151, and Beeching, p. 128. 18 Beeching, pp. 147, 151. Wyndham Baker in Blackwood's p.79. By way of comment he added, “The ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-2003 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/2v242g390 64 some of the vagueness that has been apparent in previous research on Hart's secret domestic life. Discovery and transcription of the statutory declarations The 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. One 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. To give readers a clearer and more general idea about the contents of the declarations, we have transcribed the relevant items as follows. Declaration 1: When 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 ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-2003 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/2v242g390 65 she 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. I 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! I certify the above statement to be true in every respect, Robert Hart (signature) Peitaiho, 19th August 1905 Declaration 2., Item 12: 1. 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 ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-2003 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/2v242g390 67 Shortly 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: My 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". In the same letter, Hart also referred to an incident in 1904 involving the two wards (ibid: 1479): I 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! In 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); Lady 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. It 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 ================================================================================