Robert Norman Bland

Robert Norman Bland (1859–1948), or "R. N. Bland," as he was more commonly known then in The Straits, was Resident Councillor of Penang and a career civil servant in the Colonial Administration of the Straits Settlements.
Bland joined the Colonial Civil Service of the Straits Settlements as a Cadet in 1883, learning Chinese and Malay languages, and later Law, and spent 27 years working his way up the Civil Service ladder through various different roles and positions, often holding multiple positions at the same time, retiring in 1910 as Resident Councillor of Penang. Brief biographies are given of him in Twentieth Century Impressions of British Malaya One Hundred Years of Singapore, Who's Who in the Far East, Burke's Irish Family Records and other works. The ones from the first two, read:
"The Resident Councillor of Pinang: is the Hon. Mr. Robert Norman Bland, B.A. A son of Major-General Bland, R.E., he was born at Malta in 1859. He was educated at Cheltenham College and at Trinity College, Dublin, where he obtained the degree of B.A. in 1882.
Mr. Bland has had a long and varied career in the Straits Settlements Civil Service. Arriving in the colony early in 1883, he was attached to the Colonial Secretary's Office as a cadet learning Chinese, and in the following year he also qualified in Malay.
He has served as private secretary to the Acting Governor, Collector and Magistrate at Kuala Pilah in the Negri Sambilan, Assistant Resident Councillor at Pinang, Collector of Land Revenue at Pinang and Singapore, officer in charge of Sungei Ujong, Inspector of Prisons for the Straits Settlements, Colonial Treasurer and Collector of Stamp Duties, and Resident Councillor at Malacca.
In 1887 he was engaged in reporting upon a system of Mukim boundaries in Pinang and Province Wellesley.
He is ex-officio Chairman of the Pinang Committee of the Tanjong Pagar Board, of the District Hospital, of the Library, and of the Gardens Committee, Pinang; a trustee of St. George's Church and of St. George's Girls' School ; and president of the Free School's Committee.
Mr. Bland raised and commanded a company of volunteers in Malacca.(1902-6).
He is a member of the Colonial Institute and of the Sports Club, London, and is enrolled either as a patron or member of all the local clubs. His recreations are golf and riding.
He married, in 1895, Laura Emily, eldest daughter of the late Mr. Thomas Shelford, C.M.G., head of the firm of Paterson, Simons Co., and for some twenty years member of the Legislative Council of the Straits Settlements. Mrs. Bland is a member of the Straits branch of the Royal Asiatic Society and of the Royal Anthropological Institute. She takes a keen interest in women's work amongst the Malays."
"Mr. R. N. Bland, C.M.G. Mr. Robert Norman Bland was appointed a Cadet in the Straits service in 1882. He held various offices in the three Settlements, and was also in charge of Sungei Ujong and Jelebu from 1893 to 1895. He became Colonial Treasurer in 1904, and was successively Resident Councillor, Malacca, from 1904 to 1907, and of Penang from 1907 to 1910, when he retired. He became a C.M.G. in the latter year. He is the author of the illustrated work Historical Tombstones of Malacca, which has done much to preserve the records of monuments of the past, otherwise only too likely to perish, and he was a frequent contributor to the Royal Asiatic Society's Journal."
The sometimes contradictory accounts of the dates or periods he held these positions for, is due to two practices at that time. Firstly, holding multiple positions at the same time (a substantive role, together with other less substantive, temporary or acting roles). And second, being appointed to a role (substantive) but not functioning in that role, while someone else acts in that role or performs that function temporarily. These practices can be seen from the details provided below in the accounts of his appointments in the Straits Settlements and F.M.S. civil service.
The Colonial Civil Service Examinations.
When Granville Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville was Secretary of State for the Colonies (9 December 1868 to 6 July 1870) competitive examinations were instituted for candidates between 20 and 23 years of age. Sir Frank Athelstane Swettenham was among the first Cadets to arrive at the Straits under this system which continued as it was until 1882. Swettenham's contemporaries, also arriving under this system included James Kortright Birch, Charles Walter Sneyd-Kynnersley, Arthur Philip Talbot, Henry Arthur O'Brien, Edward Charles Hepworth Hill, Frederick Gordon Penney, Edward Marsh Merewether, and Walter Egerton. Ernest Woodford Birch also came out at this time but was excused the Cadet Examinnations, having been previously employed at the Colonial Office for some time. John Wodehouse, 1st Earl of Kimberley served as Secretary of State for the Colonies twice, the first from 6 July 1870 to 17 February 1874 and then again 21 April 1880 to 16 December 1882. During the latter period open competition for entry to the service of the Straits Settlements, Hong Kong and Ceylon, was started. Those who were successful were allowed to choose among the available vacancies in these three places. They had to pass through the qualifying and then the advanced examination. It was under this system that Robert Norman Bland, William Evans, Reginald George Watson, Arthur Warren Swete O'Sullivan, James Oliver Anthonisz, George Thompson Hare, Edward Lewis Brockman, and John Robert Innes entered the service of the Straits Settlements' Colonial Administration.
Bland had prepared for his Eastern Cadetship Examination with the help of the Wren and Gurney College. He came out 2nd in the Examination. He was not alone. Making use of this same institution were Evans (3rd), Innes (2nd), Watson (2nd), Sullivan (4th) A. H. Capper (5th), and Francis Powell (1st)
Cadetship.
On 21 January 1883, the Messageries Maritimes steamer Iraouaddy [Irrawaddy], Captain Pasqualini, departed Marseilles with 23-year-old Robert Norman Bland and 22-year-old William Evans. They passed Naples, Port Said, Suez, Aden and Colombo, arriving at Singapore alongside the Borneo Company's wharf on the morning of 19 February 1883. They reported their arrival immediately upon landing. On 2 March 1883, vide the Government Gazette of even date, the Secretary of State appointed Bland and Evans to be Cadets in the Service of the Colony of the Straits Settlements. By that same Gazette, the Governor, at Singapore, appointed John Hope Callcott to be Superintendent of Works and Surveys, Singapore, and Acting Deputy Colonial Engineer and Surveyor-General, Penang, vice William Daniel Bayliss, retired; and Frederick Charles Sheppard to be Superintendent of Works and Surveys, Malacca, and Acting Superintendent of Works, Singapore, vice John Hope Callcott, promoted.
Bland began his internship as a Cadet attached to the Colonial Secretary's Office, learning the Chinese language.
The next year, on 11 June 1884, Cadet Bland passed his Final Examination in the Malay language. Under the same Government Gazette of 13 June that recorded this, the Secretary of State approved the appointments of Swettenham and John Pickersgill Rodger as Acting Residents of Perak and Selangor, respectively, and the Acting Governor made several appointments: Robert Douglas Hewett to be a Justice of the Peace for the Straits Settlements; Acting Inspector-General of Police Robert Walter Maxwell to Chairman of the Board of Licensing Justices, Singapore; Hancock Thomas Haughton to Member of the Board of Licensing Justices, Singapore, vice Richard Spear O'Connor; E. W. Birch to Magistrate for the Settlement of Singapore, Temporary Protector of Chinese and Registering Officer under the Contagious Diseases Ordinance of Singapore. The Acting Governor also granted, subject to the approval of the Secretary of State: Leave of absence with half salary for three and a half months from 1 June to Resident at Sungei Ujong William Francis Bourne Paul; Vacation leave for three months from 13 June after which leave of absence with half salary for 12 months to Acting Protector of Chinese Singapore Francis Powell; Vacation leave for two and a half months after which leave of absence for four and a half months at half salary to Senior Magistrate and Commissioner of the Court of Requests at Singapore R. S. O'Connor; and subject to the approval of Her Majesty's Government, the Governor recognised Senor Don Carlos de Garcimartin as Consul for Spain from 6 June.
On 13 March 1885, Bland received the temporary appointment as the Acting Governor Cecil Clementi Smith's Private Secretary.
It was reported that on 1 February 1886, at a meeting of the Committee at the Chamber of Commerce in Penang, Bland, together with H. R. Maynard and Koh Seang Tat were appointed to the General Committee of the Penang Chamber of Commerce. At that time the Committee was discussing the plans for the celebration of the coming Centenary of Penang, and related fund-raising activities. However, he was conspicuously absent in news reports of the actual event, towards the end of August that year. Bland was also listed as a member of the Local Committee in Penang of the Straits Settlements Commission at Singapore appointed by the Colonial Governments for the Colonial and Indian Exhibition of 1886, which opened in May that year.
The Straits Settlements and F.M.S. Civil Service Appointments.
By the time he retired, Bland had served the people of the different parts of the Straits Settlements, and the Federated Malay States in a wide variety of roles spanning the Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches of Government.
Local government and public administration.
In 1888 Bland was appointed District Officer, Southern District (Nibong Tebal), Province Wellesley.
At the end of 1893 Bland, of the Land Office at Singapore, proceeded to Sungei Ujong to temporarily assume charge there, vice Walter Egerton who went to Singapore as First Magistrate, Cadet Elcum succeeding Bland at the Land Office. Bland arrived at Sungei Ujong, by train on 5 December 1893, met at the station by the Heads of Department there. On the 6th he visited all the Public Offices with Egerton, then took charge of the Residency.
He served as Officer in Charge, Negri Sembilan from January to April 1895.
Upon retirement of E. E. Isemonger and H. Trotter there was a reshuffle and Bland was appointed, in April 1897, Acting Senior District Officer for Province Wellesley.
In the first quarter of 1900 Inspector-General of Prisons for the Straits Settlements, Bland, was appointed Acting Resident Councillor of Malacca, with J. O. Anthonisz appointed Acting Inspector General of Prisons in addition to his existing duties. On 1 May 1900, Bland, who till then had taken his seat among the Officials of the Legislative Council as the Acting Colonial Treasurer, now took his seat as Acting Resident Councillor of Malacca.
In the first week of December 1901 Bland was nominated Municipal Commissioner for the town and fort of Malacca and appointed President of the Municipal Council vice Gilbert Amos Hall.
Returning from home leave in October 1906, Bland and his wife departed England and arrived in Singapore in November that year, proceeding to Penang which he arrived at on the 21st, to take up his appointment as Acting Resident Councillor there, vice J. K. BIrch, on three months vacation leave.
In May 1907 Acting Resident Councillor, Officer in Class I of the Straits Settlements Civil Service was appointed Resident Councillor of Penang in the same class. William Evans, whom Bland had arrived together with back in 1883, was similarly appointed Resident Councillor of Malacca.
Straits Settlements Legislative Council.
Bland was a lawmaker serving on the parliament of the Straits Settlements at that time, its Legislative Council, which was made up of senior members of the Straits Settlements Administration, called The Officials, and members of the general public, called The Unofficials, both appointed by the Government. He served among The Officials from November 1899 until the time he retired in 1910.
Bland had served there as Acting Colonial Treasurer, Acting Resident Councillor of Malacca, Acting Resident Councillor of Penang, and Resident Councillor of Penang.
The last Legislative Council meeting that Bland attended was on 11 April 1910. Among the articles for discussion was the decision that had been made to reduce the Status of Malacca and its head official. Unofficial Member the Hon. T. S. Baker introduced a motion requesting Government to reconsider its decision, which was seconded by Tan Jiak Kim and all other Unofficials. The only support from the Official Members came from Bland. The motion lost with 7 votes for and 8 against.
The Malayan Courts.
Apart from his appointment as Collector of Land Revenue at Sri Menanti in December 1886, Bland, at the same time, served Malacca as Magistrate. Martin Lister replaced Bland as Collector and Magistrate at the end of 1886.
From the Government Gazette of 27 May 1887 we learn that Cadet Bland passed the final examination in Law on 1 April. And from the Government Gazette of 13 May 1887, that he had been appointed Acting Second Magistrate at Penang, in addition to his existing duties as Acting Assistant Postmaster-General, the latter of which he was relieved of, upon Noel Trotter's return to Penang.
In 1889 the papers reported, "We are informed that a Marine Court of enquiry, consisting of Captain Bradbery, Harbour-Master, Mr. R. N. Bland, Acting Senior Magistrate, and Captain Menzel, will be held at the Police Court on Thursday next to enquire into the loss of the steamer Prye, at the entrance of Trang river, on the night of 8th ultimo."
Under Government Notification No. 210 of 9 April 1890, Bland was appointed to the Commission of the Peace for the Settlement of Singapore and reported in the Government Gazette of 29 August he was appointed a Magistrate for the Settlement of Singapore.
On 13 September 1890 Bland began serving as Acting Commissioner of the Court of Requests at Singapore vice Anthonisz, absent in Ceylon. However, serving in so many roles resulted in Bland postponing many cases a day. A backlog grew but was set right by middle of November 1890 on the return of Anthomisz.
In 1891 he was appointed to the Board of Visiting Justices, and by December that year was a Visiting Justice for the Singapore Prison.
A newspaper in May 1892 reported, "To-day, Mr. Kynnersley presided at the Third Court. Since the departure of Mr. Woodward, no official has been appointed to fill his place. The present arrangement is that Mr. Bland sits in the morning and Mr. Hare in the afternoon."
In early 1893 Bland was appointed a Visitor to the Lunatic Asylum under Indian Act 36 of 1858. In late April 1893 Collector of Land Revenue Bland was appointed Acting Sheriff of Singapore, vice Kyshe in addition to his existing duties. Sheriff Kyshe had been appointed to act as Registrar of the Supreme Court vice Thornton who departed for Europe on Holiday.
In mid-1896, T. H. Kershaw having accepted the position of Legal adviser to the Government of the Protected Malay States, Bland took over Kershaw's vacant position at the Official Assignee's Office, 2nd Assistant Colonial Secretary E. L. Brockman acting for Bland at the Land Office. A few months later, during the absence of Egerton, the duties of Registrar of Deeds at Singapore was added to this. At this time, his substantive position was that of Collector of Land Revenue at Singapore.
Towards the end of November 1896 Bland was appointed Acting Sheriff and Deputy Registrar at Singapore vice L. M. Woodward, appointed to act as Senior District Officer of Province Wellesley.
In May 1899 Bland was appointed to the Board of Licensing Justices.
Prisons.
In February 1897 Bland was appointed Acting Inspector of Prisons for the Straits Settlements and Superintendent of Prisons at Singapore, Ralph Scott taking over his post as Collector of Land Revenue at Singapore. In November that year he was confirmed in those appointments but was to proceed to Province Wellesley where he was to act as Senior District Officer there.
On 15 April 1898 Bland advertised the availability of rattan work. Baskets, chairs, and various kinds of coir matting made at the Prison were, it was announced, available for sale at reasonable prices, as were a limited number of tennis nets. Limited orders of finer work from the Women's Prison, could be accepted.
In April 1900 he was transferred to Malacca to act as Resident Councillor there, duly reporting to Malacca upon his return from home leave at the end of October 1901.
In October 1903, Inspector of Prisons Bland was once more posted to Malacca as Resident Councillor.
Colonial Treasurer.
On 1 November 1899 Bland was sworn in as Acting Colonial Treasurer and took his seat on the Legislative Council. His appointment was on top of his existing duties.
In June 1904 Inspector General of Prisons in Class II (a) Bland was promoted to the Office of the Treasurer of the Straits Settlements in Class I, vice F. G. Penney. However, Penney was to continue in the Office of Treasurer and Bland as Acting Resident Councillor at Malacca.
Land Office.
Towards the end of May, 1886, Bland proceeded to "Qualla Pilah to take up the appointment of Collector of Land Revenue" at Sri Menanti, arriving there aboard the S.S. Pakan on 28 May.
While serving as Magistrate at Penang, in 1887, Bland was deputed, during the re-survey of Penang and Province Wellesley, to divide the areas of Province Wellesley to be surveyed, into Mukims. It was at this time that the term Mukim came into use in the Straits Settlements.
He was appointed Collector of Land Revenue at Penang in 1889. In January 1890 Collector of Land Revenue at Penang, Bland, was appointed Collector of Land Revenue at Singapore, William Evans, then 2nd Assistant Protector of Chinese at Penang being appointed to Bland's vacant position. At the same time Bland was also appointed Acting Registrar of Bills of Sale at Singapore.
1891 seemed, for Bland, to be taken up with the auctioning off of land including the former Hye San Kongsee's property (2,278 square feet) at Upper Cross Street on 15 January, and various other plots sold under Section 8 of Ordinance IV, 188 on 16 April, 17 September. Auctions were also held under his hand on 25 March 1892.
In October 1892, together with Tunku Mahmud bin Sultan Ali, Bland was appointed a Demarcation Officer for that part of Singapore to be demarcated: (a) Rochor Road; (b) Beach Road and Little Cross Street; (c) Jalan Sultan and Sultan Road; (d) Arab Street.
In December 1898 Bland was appointed Acting Collector of Land Revenue at Singapore in addition to his existing duties as Inspector of Prisons Straits Settlements and Superintendent of Prisons in Singapore.
Straits Settlements Postal Service.
In April 1886, Dudley Francis Amelius Hervey, Resident Councillor of Malacca, left for Europe on home leave. This created the need to fill his seat on the Legislative Council among the Official Members and gave rise to a reshuffle in the S.S. Civil Service. Edwin Empson Isemonger, who sat on the Council as Acting Colonial Treasurer, moved to Malacca as Acting Resident Councillor; Richard Spear O'Connor, then Senior Magistrate, took Isemonger's place as Acting Colonial Treasurer; Henry Arthur O'Brien, Magistrate at Malacca and Acting British Resident at Sungei Ujong, to act as Senior Magistrate; Edward Marsh Merewether, Collector of Land Revenue and newly appointed Magistrate at Singapore, to act as Magistrate in Malacca; and Hancock Thomas Haughton, newly appointed Acting Superintendent of Police, Licensing Officer (Excise and Gunpowder Ordinances and Act), Deputy Registrar (Contagious Diseases Ordinance) and Coroner at Malacca, to act for Merewether.
A similar sort of shuffling had led to Bland's appointment as Acting Assistant Postmaster-General. The position of Assistant Postmaster-General had been held by Noel Trotter who was formerly Postmaster-General at Penang, a post that was subsequently downgraded to Assistant Postmaster-General, who also, at that time, having moved to Singapore for the purpose, was Acting Postmaster-General. Trotter had acted in that role several times in the past for Isemonger who also held the position of Postmaster-General. In July 1887, Hervey returned, Isemonger resumed his position of Postmaster-General and Trotter moved pack to Penang from Singapore, to once again continue as Assistant Postmaster-general there.
Vernacular Schools Commission.
Together with Hill and Venerable Archdeacon Perham, Bland was appointed a Commissioner to enquire into the workings of the Vernacular Schools at Penang, under the Chair of the Resident Councillor at Penang, and left for there on 27 July 1893. By the middle of September the Commission were in Malacca enquiring and reporting on the workings of the Malay schools in that Settlement.
Royalist and patriot.
Bland had established the League of the Empire, devoted to bringing all the units of Overseas Great Britain into touch, mainly by the observance of Empire day in schools, at Malacca. Upon its inauguration there a Chinese Malaccan Ong Kim Wee founded a fund to provide an annual prize on Empire Day, to be competed for by the English-speaking boys of Malacca. The $600 he gave to this, would produce about $40 a year to be used for the purchase of prizes that the elder boys could compete for. A newspaper reporting on that in September 19006, also noted that Bland, unlike the heads of government at the other two Settlements was not someone to be admired from a distance but had personal relationships with many of the local community who view him as their head.
In May 1907 Bland offered Penang Free School students a $25 prize for the best pupils passing the examination in the history of the British Empire.
As he had done in Malacca, Bland inaugurated public celebration of Empire Day at Penang. In 1907 the local populace were treated to a parade by the Cadet Corps of the Penang Free School at the Esplanade. In May 1908, two thousand students assembled at the Esplanade. The Penang Cadet Corps, and pupils of the Anglo-Chinese Free School and St. Xavier's School were reviewed at the Esplanade, densely thronged by interested members of the local community.
By August 1908 Bland was busy taking steps to organise a branch of the National Service League at Penang.
Health, disease and quarantine.
Rinderpest in Malacca.
In 1900, as Acting Resident Counciilor of Malacca, Bland had ordered the slaughter of twenty-eight buffaloes and five cows in order to help check an outbreak of rinderpest that had occurred during the year. He had done this without carefully observing the law that provided for no slaughter unless first examined by a qualified veterinary surgeon and pronounced to be infected with rinderpest. In November that year, the Legislative Council, without any dissenting voices, voted $1,005 to compensate owners of the animals slaughtered by Bland.
Pulau Jerejak Quarantine Camp.
On 5 January 1910 Bland, together with Colonial Engineer F. J. Pigott, Deputy Colonial Engineer C. G. May and Captain Stockley, accompanied Governor Sir John Anderson G.C.M.G. on an inspection of "Prai and the northern district of Province Wellesley, motoring up to Permatang and Bindabari, on the Kedah frontier, where the party crossed the Muda River to Kota, the principal township of Kuala Muda, in the district of Kedah." Having inspected the courthouse, general hospital and police station, they returned to Penang on 6 January, along the same route. On the 7th they proceeded to inspect the works at Pulau Jerejak.
In mid-May 1907 Bland accompanied Governor Sir John Anderson on an inspection of the site for a proposed F.M.S. Quarantine Camp at the northern end of Pulau Jerejak.
On 3 June, Bland was back at Pulau Jerejak, accompanied by Acting Deputy Colonial Engineer C. G. May, Colonial Surgeon Thomas Crichton Mugliston, and Superintendent of Works Norman Wilkinson (Wilkie) to inspect the site of the proposed quarantine camp for the Colony and the Federated Malay States, and a new temporary shed, after which they went over to the Leper Asylum to choose a site for a new leper ward.
In September 1907 there was an outbreak of cholera and smallpox aboard the British India steamer Teesta, bringing in 3,700 Indian Coolies bound for, among other situations, the many plantations on the Peninsula. About 2,500 of them were landed at Pulau Jerejak, the remaining 1,200 or so, meant for disembarkation at Port Swettenham were taken to St. John's Island. This new influx, bringing the total there to over 3,000 inmates, strained the resources of Pulau Jerejak to near breaking point. The Agricultural Coolies, imported by the Malay Peninsula Agricultural Society, housed in wooden sheds, fed and slept on wooden benches, a situation considered to give rise to the harbouring of germs and the spread of infection. Bland had had to draw 50 of George Town's Sikh Police to stand guard duty at Pulau Jerejak. By 17 September things had improved, a total of 900 under detention being released over the 16th and 17th, and it was being proposed to take in 500 passengers from the British India steamer Thongwa, the remainder of the Thongwa's 3,000 passengers to be sent to S. John's Island, Singapore.
In late February, after nineteen deaths had occurred during its voyage, the Blue Funnel steamer Idomeneus bringing 859 pilgrims from Jeddah, arrived at Penang. 24 pilgrims, including 7 with smallpox, were landed at Pulau Jerejak, the remaining pilgrims proceeding to quarantine at St. John's Island, Singapore. In late March 1908 the British India steamer Thongwa, from the Coromandel Coast was ordered to remain outside the Penang Harbour limits. Cholera had broken out and two had died during the voyage. The remaining 862 ordinary passengers and 744 immigrants were quarantined at Pulau Jerejak.
In May 1908 Superintendent of Immigrants, Lewis Hare Clayton, paid a report on Indian Immigration for 1907 before the Legislative Council. The figures argued for an increase in the capacity that could be managed at Pulau Jerejak. 60,547 immigrants had arrived in Penang from Southern India in 1907, the highest number ever recorded. Clayton's reported noted that the accommodation at Pulau Jerejak had been considerably extended in 1907 to handle up to 3,500 inmates, and that a new and improved quarantine camp, in course of construction on the western side of the island, was expected to be completed before the end of 1908.
Apparently this was insufficient.
On 24 June Bland called for tenders, to be received at the Resident Councillor's Office by noon 12 September 1908 for supply and erection of steelwork for thirty-two corrugated iron buildings at Pulau Jerejak. The work took much longer than first estimated. In the first week of January 1910, just a few months before he retired and left the Colony, Bland escorted Governor John Anderson on an inspection of the work in progress there.
On 24 August, Bland received a deputation from the Penang Chinese Chamber of Commerce, comprising Leong Lok Hing, J.P. (Chairman), Lim Hua Cheam, J.P. Lim Eu Toh, Goh Taik Chee, and Yeoh Guan Seok, who wished to address the Resident Councillor on the regulations for the quarantine of passengers. Also in attendance at that meeting were, Dr. Sidney Herbert Reginald Lucy, Acting Senior Medical Officer, Penang, Dr. George Williamson Park, Municipal Health Officer, and Mr. David Beatty, Acting Assistant Protector of Chinese, were in attendance. The Chamber desired the Government to allow any member from an imported port to land provided he produces a certificate of membership, with his photograph affixed; and that its members may be allowed to stand security for the daily appearance of any passenger before the Municipal Health Officer. In both cases, the member guaranteeing his own or any one else's appearance will pay a penalty of $100 in default. The deputation had been appointed to explain to the Resident Councillor the Chamber's request that its certificate of membership should be recognised as a sufficient guarantee to permit of the landing of a passenger from an infected port. Bland requested the deputation to supply further particulars concerning the constitution of the Chamber before giving his reply. They were not heard from again.
The work seemed to get bigger and bigger.
On 18 September 1908, the Colonial Secretary called for tenders for the erection of a reinforced concrete jetty for the new quarantine camp at Kampong Panchor, Pulau Jerejak.
In his 1910 Budget speech, on 1 October 1909, Governor Sir John Anderson noted that progress had been made with the new quarantine camp at Pulau Jerejak and that it was expected to be finished at the end of 1910.
It was not.
In April 1911, a year after Bland had left, the new quarantine camp at Pulau Jerejak was opened, quietly, without ceremony. It was finally completed at a cost of $500,000.
Surra in Penang.
On 22 May 1907 Bland received a telegram from the Police at Balik Pulau reporting that Glanders had broken out there. Bland immediately sent Alfred Martin White, Government Veterinary Inspector, across the hills to investigate. White, whose diagnosis was later confirmed by a pathological examination by Government Veterinary Surgeon, William Henry MacArthur, who identified the bacteria as being the Trypanswomes.
On 3 June Bland visited Balik Pulau himself, together with MacArthur. He determined that stringent measures and every precaution must be taken to check the spread of the disease.
It was fortunate that the whole district of Balik Pulau, being isolated from George Town by the intervening hill ranges, was suitable for the purposes of quarantine.
A few days later Bland had issued an order prohibiting the export of equines, other than bona fide race-horses, from Penang, except under a certificate from the Government Veterinary Surgeon, McArthur.
Moments in Malayan history.
Penang fishermen's dispute.
In March 1907 Acting Resident Councillor Bland visited the Siamese Western Malay States. Upon his return to Penang he proceeded immediately to Gertak Sanggul at the southern part of Penang Island to settle a dispute among the Chinese villagers there. Some fishermen had cut down several coconut trees on Crown Land leased to one Chinese there in order to clear more space for their nets. After receiving a warning from the relevant District Officer they made an appeal to Bland who determined that more space was needed and therefore allowed for the fishermen.
Penang's sampan-men dispute.
In 1908, the sampan-men of Penang harbour went on strike. Looking in on the situation, Bland determined the need for a broader and deeper investigation into the complaints of the sampan-men, and the public who complained about their unusual charges. In December 1908, the Government acted on Bland's suggestion and a Committee comprising Judge L. E. P. Wolferstan (Chairman), Harbour Master Commander D. C. MacIntyre R.N.R., and Assistant Protector of Chinese David Beatty was appointed to enquire into the complaints of the sampan men of Penang.
The cause of the strike was, according to the complainants, due to the prohibition of careening and repairing on Weld Quay, and inadequate fares. Launches from the Government Wharves, the Prye Dock and elsewhere, carried on passenger traffic and assisted in loading and discharging cargo.
This strike was carried on by sampan-men of all ethnicities. The sampan-men had earlier on been fined heavily for insisting that passengers pay more than the two cents per passenger each way to and from steamers within the inner harbour and four cents to vessels in the outer harbour set down in the Harbour Rules for Sampans. While some viewed this as extortion there were cases mentioned where passengers gave more than the rules called for, of their own accord. The case where a passenger gave 30 cents and the sampan-man was fined $20 is said to have led to the leaders of the sampan-men initiating the strike. The sampan-men found the prohibition on repairing their boats along Weld Quay a hardship and the fares dictated by the Harbour Rules inadequate. The prohibition, apparently came about because of complaints from tongkang-men who were unable to get near to Weld Quay, being obstructed by sampans laid up for repair. The strike was said to have involved 150 sampans.
According to reports, on 2 November from thirty to forty sampan-men entered the house of the contractor who supplies the Harbour Department with fuel for launches, and threatened to maim him if he refused to join their cause by stopping supplies. The contractor told them he would not have anything to do with them, and, fearing an attack, collected in all of his coolies, although the sampan-men did not reappear. On 13 November Lim Eow Thong and Goh Taik Chee introduced a deputation of sampan-men to Assistant Protector of Chinese Beatty, whereupon the sampan-men related the hardship brought about by the prohibition on repairs along Weld Quay, and of the inadequacy of the present fare structure. Beaty said he would lay these complaints before Bland. Following that a meeting took place at Bland's office. In addition to the Chinese sampan-men who talked to Beatty, leaders of the Malay and Indian sampan-men approached Major H. Barry de Hamel, the Chief Police Officer, and L. H. Clayton, the Superintendent of Indian Immigration. The Government refused to do anything unless the sampan-men called off their strike.
The strike ended and the men went back to work on the 14th.
Towards the end of March 1909 an elaborate table of fares for use in Penang Harbour was published in the Government Gazette.
Penang Chong Hwa Confucian School opening.
On 8 February 1909 at 12 noon, Penang's Resident Councillor, Bland, officiated at the opening ceremony of the Chung Hwa Confucian High School. Assembled there at the opening of the new $80,000 Mandarin-medium school were the principal members of the ethnic-Chinese community of Penang.
Beginning his address, Bland said, "Mr. Thio Tiau Siat was responsible for the building of the new school, at a cost of about $65,000. The site cost $15,000, exclusive of the portion given by the Hok Tek Cheng Sin Kongsi, and the building just opened cost $50,000."
Thio Tiau Siat, or Cheong Fatt Tze as he is known by some today, was a Guandong-born Hakka, a Sumatran planter and businessman, Commissioner of Railways for Swatow and Director of the Canton-Hankow Railway, Sole-Proprietor of the Ban Joo Hin line of steamships at Penang, and Chinese Consul-General for Singapore and Vice-Consul for Penang.
In 1905, Thio, together with Foo Choo Choon and three others, each subscribed $5,000 towards the inauguration of a Mandarin-medium school in Penang, the classes at that time being conducted at a room inside the Penang Chinese Town Hall, the cost of classes at $500 a month being defrayed by Thio. Eventually, a suitable site was identified and secured and a building erected. The new school, situated at Maxwell Road next to the Anglo-Chinese School there, by that time already had a population of 100 pupils and 4 teachers.
Bland noted that it was fitting to have a Mandarin-medium school given that three-fourths of the population of China spoke Mandarin, three-fourths of the population of the Straits Settlements were ethnically Chinese, and that whether Straits-born or China-born, all of them should have the opportunity of learning Mandarin. He commended a knowledge of Chinese Classics to those students in the Colony and trusted that, should they return to China, they would take with them the idea of freedom as imparted to them in that British Colony of the Straits Settlements.
Yeoh Guan Seok, on behalf of the principal ethnic-Chinese members present, thanked Resident Councillor Bland and took the opportunity to dispel a misleading rumour. The establishment of the new institution, he said, had no political intent. There were many ethnic-Chinese in Penang who were naturally interested in the place of their ancestral origins, including its politics, but enjoyed the peace and prosperity they experienced under British governance, also taking a keen interest in the activities and achievements of the British government, so ably represented by Bland. The objects of the new school, Yeoh said, were simply to provide pupils a knowledge of Chinese literature and people, with a view to intellectual development and to help prepare them for careers in business.
Malacca's Victoria Memorial Fountain.
On 24 May 1905, Acting Resident Councillor Bland officiated at the unveiling of Malacca's Victoria Memorial Fountain. In his address to the assembled, Bland noted that Malacca owed their memorial largely to the action and efforts of the late Lee Keng Liat and other Chinese gentlemen associated with him. "In 1902 the Committee of the Memorial Fund Singapore had invited Malacca to join them in the erection of a Town Hall in Singapore. A meeting was held in Malacca to discuss this, and on behalf of the Chinese Lee Keng Liat expressed a desire to erect instead some local memorial, and stated that some $1,500 had already been subscribed for that purpose. The meeting upon this decided that a fountain should be erected in front of the Stadt House and designs were called for. The designs submitted locally were not generally approved, and subsequently, Messrs Doulton of London were asked to submit one. They did so and their design with some few alterations was accepted, and had resulted in this graceful memorial, which had been erected at a cost of about $5,000.." Bland said that thanks were due to the late Lee Keng Liat and also to C. Garrard (Secretary of the Committee), Doulton of London, and Superintendent of Works Lupton who had supervised the project.
Malacca's Jubilee Tablet.
Acting Resident Councillor Bland officiated at the unveiling of a tablet commemorating the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria at Malacca on 2 July 1900. $2,000 had been contributed by the local population to which Government had added $1,500 making a total of $3,000. From its proceeds a scholarship had been established to be won by the best boy in the seventh standard, which was won in its first year by Sit Peng Lock who held it for a year and was at this date pursuing this studies at the Madras Medical College, and in the second year by A. J. Minjoot who was, at that time, doing well in his studies at Malacca.
Malacca Railway.
On 1 December 1905, signalled by the arrival whistle of a locomotive's engine, the Malacca branch of the F.M.S. Railway was declared open, Acting Resident Councillor Bland having arrived at 6.30 a.m. at Kubu Station where he met R. C. Fryer, Firmstone, Lupton and Darbishire (the constructing engineer), after which they proceeded to Tampin, arriving there at 7.40. With the extension of rail services to Malacca, it was now possible to leave there at 1 p.m. and arrive at Penang at 6.21 a.m. the following day, instead of taking two or three days by steamer. The project had pushed ahead with speed. The first sod was cut on 9 June 1901 and plate laying commenced October 1904. Malacca's first engine was put together at the Malacca Yard, and steam was got up on 9 November 1904. The rails were joined to the trunk line on 15 May and the laying of 2.5 miles of railway track completed by 1 December.


Zor Sanjak

The Sanjak of Zor () was a sanjak of the Ottoman Empire, which was created in 1857. Some of its area was separated from the Baghdad Vilayet. Zor was sometimes mentioned as being part of the Aleppo Vilayet, or of the Syria Vilayet.
The capital was Deir Ez-Zor, a town on the right (i.e., south) bank of the Euphrates, which was also the only considerable town of the sanjak. At the beginning of the 20th century, the sanjak had an area of , and an estimated population of 100,000, mostly Arab nomads. The capital itself was just a village before becoming the centre of the sanjak.
After the fall of the Ottoman Empire in 1918, Ottoman forces withdrew from the area leaving a no man's land. The region was subsequently occupied by Iraqi nationalists representing the Arab Kingdom of Syria in Damascus, and after the Paulet–Newcombe Agreement in 1923, it became part of the French Mandate for Syria.
Administrative divisions.
Kazas of the Sanjak:


Moggallana II of Anuradhapura

Moggallana II was King of Anuradhapura in the 6th century, whose reign lasted from 540 to 560. He succeeded his brother Dathappabhuti as King of Anuradhapura and was succeeded by his son Kittisiri Meghavanna.


History of Peshawar

The history of Peshawar refers to the history of the city of Peshawar, Pakistan. Being among the most ancient cities of the region, Peshawar has for centuries been a center of trade between West Asia, Central Asia, and South Asia.
Ancient Peshawar.
Peshawar was likely established as a village in the 5th-6th century BC within the cultural sphere of eastern ancient Persia. The region around Peshawar was known as "Gandhara" in Sanskrit, Hindko the language used by the Buddhist kingdoms which first ruled the area. The Gandhara region surrounding Peshawar found mention in the Zoroastrian Zend Avesta as "Vaēkərəta", the seventh most beautiful place on earth created by Ahura Mazda. It was known as the "crown jewel" of Bactria and also held sway over "Takshashila" (modern Taxila).
The city would later be referred to by several names, including Parashawar as transcribed by Al-Masudi, Poshpura as found in a Kharosthi inscription, and Pskbvr as noted in the ancient Persian Shapur inscription. Popular theory suggests the city's name was Purushapura based on the writing of a 7th-century traveler, but the name Purushapura does not appear in any ancient literary sources. Various theories have been put forth to explain the city's name, based primarily on Sanskrit or Ancient Persian names.
It later became the western capital of Gandhara Mahajanapada, after Pushkalavati.
By the 2nd century BCE, Peshawar was a center of learning, as witnessed in the Bakhshali Manuscript, used in the Bakhshali approximation was found nearby.
The region was annexed by the Persian Achaemenid Empire. Later, the region was invaded by Alexander the Great's army. The city passed into the rule of Alexander's successor, Seleucus I Nicator who ceded it to Chandragupta Maurya, the founder of the Maurya Empire. The inhabitants of Peshawar were mostly Hindu and Buddhist during this period. The fall of the Mauryans provided opportunities to the Indo-Greeks to establish their rule over the region. The Indo-Greek kings combined the Greek and Indian languages and symbols, as seen on their coins, and blended ancient Greek, Hindu and Buddhist religious practices, as seen in the archaeological remains of their cities and in the indications of their support of Buddhism, pointing to a rich fusion of Indian and Hellenistic influences. The diffusion of Indo-Greek culture had consequences which are still felt today, particularly through the influence of Greco-Buddhist art. The Indo-Greeks ultimately disappeared at Peshawar as a political entity around 10 CE following the invasions of the Indo-Scythians, although pockets of Greek populations probably remained for several centuries longer under the subsequent rule of the Indo-Parthians and Kushans.
Kushan Peshawar.
The city was then conquered by the Kushan Empire. The Kushan Emperor Kanishka, who ruled from 127 CE, moved the capital from Pushkalavati (present-day Charsadda district, in the Peshawar Valley) to Gandhara (Peshawar city) in the 2nd century CE. Buddhist missionaries arrived at Vedic, and animist Peshawar, seeking counsel with the Kushan rulers. Their teachings were embraced by the Kushans, who converted to Buddhism, assigning the religion with great status in the city. Following this move by the Kushans, Peshawar became a center of Buddhist learning.
The giant Kanishka stupa at Peshawar was built by King Kanishka to house Buddhist relics just outside the present-day Ganj Gate of the old city of Peshawar. The Kanishka stupa was said to be an imposing structure, as one traveled down from the Hindu Kush mountains onto the Gandharan plains. The earliest account of the famous building was documented by Faxian, the Chinese Buddhist pilgrim, who was also a monk, who visited the structure in 400 AD and described it as being over 40 "chang" in height (approximately ) and adorned "with all precious substances". Faxian continued: "Of all the "stûpas" and temples seen by the travelers, none can compare with this for beauty of form and strength." The stupa was eventually destroyed by lightning, but was repaired several times; it was still in existence at the time of Xuanzang's visit in 634 AD. A jeweled casket containing relics of the Gautama Buddha, and an inscription identifying Kanishka as the donor, existed at the ruined base of this giant stupa — the casket was excavated, by a team supervised by Dr D.B. Spooner in 1909, from a chamber under the very centre of the stupa's base.
Hindu Shahis and Muslim conquest.
The Kabul Shahis ruled the Kabul Valley and Gandhara (modern-day Pakistan and Afghanistan) from the decline of the Buddhist Kushan Empire in the 3rd century to the early 9th century CE. The Shahis are generally split up into two eras: the earlier Buddhist Shahis and the later Hindu Shahis, with the change-over thought to have occurred sometime around 870 CE - after which Hinduism gained primacy in the region.
The kingdom was known as the Kabul Shahan or Ratbelshahan from 565 CE to 670 CE, when the capitals were located in Kapisa and Kabul, and later Udabhandapura, also known as Hund, for its new capital.
The Hindu Shahis under Jayapala, is known for his struggles in defending his kingdom against the Ghaznavids in the modern-day eastern Afghanistan and Pakistan region. Jayapala saw a danger in the consolidation of the Ghaznavids and invaded their capital city of Ghazni both in the reign of Sebuktigin and in that of his son Mahmud, which initiated the Muslim Ghaznavid and Hindu Shahi struggles. Sebuk Tigin, however, defeated him, and he was forced to pay an indemnity. Jayapala defaulted on the payment and took to the battlefield once more. Jayapala, however, lost control of the entire region between the Kabul Valley and Indus River.
After the Ghaznavid victory, the Buddhist, Hindu, and Zoroastrian natives began converting to Islam following the early annexation by the Arab Empire from Khurasan (in what is Afghanistan, Turkmenistan and northeastern Iran).
Before Jayapala's struggle began, he had raised a large army of Punjabi Hindus. When Jayapala went to the Punjab region, his army was raised to 100,000 horsemen and an innumerable host of foot soldiers. According to Ferishta:
However, the army was hopeless in battle against the western forces, particularly against the young Mahmud of Ghazni. In the year 1001, soon after Sultan Mahmud came to power and was occupied with the Qarakhanids north of the Hindu Kush, Jayapala attacked Ghazni once more and upon suffering yet another defeat by the powerful Ghaznavid forces, near present-day Peshawar. After the Battle of Peshawar, he committed suicide because his subjects thought he had brought disaster and disgrace to the Shahis.
Jayapala was succeeded by his son Anandapala, who along with other succeeding generations of the Shahis took part in various unsuccessful campaigns against the advancing Ghaznavids but were unsuccessful. The Hindu rulers eventually exiled themselves to the Kashmir Siwalik Hills. Mahmud punished the Pashtuns, who had sided with the Hindus, and, as they converted entirely to Islam, the Pashtuns remained loyal to their new allegiance.
Pashtun and Mughal rule (1451–1758).
Peshawar was a northwestern regional center of the Pashtun Lodi Empire which was founded by Bahlul Lodi in 1451 and centered at Delhi. Peshawar was also incorporated into the Mughal domains by the mid of 16th century. The founder of the Mughul dynasty that would conquer South Asia, Babur, who hailed from the area that is currently Uzbekistan, arrived in Peshawar and founded a city called "Bagram", where he rebuilt a fort in 1530 AD.
The Pashtun emperor Sher Shah Suri, who founded the Sur Empire centered at Delhi, turned Peshawar's renaissance into a boom when he ran his Delhi-to-Kabul Shahi Road as a northwestern extension of the Grand Trunk Road through the Khyber Pass and Peshawar in the 16th century. Later Babur's grandson, Akbar the Great, recorded the name of the city as "Peshawa", meaning "The Place at the Frontier" or "Near Water" and expanded the bazaars and fortifications. The Muslim technocrats, bureaucrats, soldiers, traders, scientists, architects, teachers, theologians and Sufis flocked from the rest of the Muslim world to the Islamic Sultanate in South Asia, with many settling in the Peshawar region.
Khushal Khattak, the Pashtun warrior poet, was born near Peshawar, and his life was intimately tied to the city. As an advocate for Afghan independence, he was an implacable foe of the Mughal rulers, especially Aurangzeb.
Durrani Peshawar (1747–1823).
In December 1747, Peshawar joined the Pashtun Durrani Empire of Ahmad Shah Durrani, who used the Bala Hissar fort in Peshawar as his royal residence. In 1776, Ahmad Shah's son, Timur Shah Durrani, chose Peshawar as his winter capital. Up to the early 19th century, Peshawar was the winter capital of the Afghan Empire, and the Bala Hissar forn was the royal residence of Afghan kings. Pashtuns from Peshawar participated in the incursions of South Asia during the Durrani Empire. Peshawar remained under Durrani rule till the Sikhs captured Peshawar in March 1823.
Maratha attack (1758-1759).
During the Afghan rule, Peshawar was attacked and captured by the Maratha Empire of western India, which conquered Peshawar on 8 May 1758. A large force of Pashtuns under Ahmad Shah Durrani then re-conquered Peshawar in early 1759.
Sikh conquest (1823–1846).
Until 1823, Peshawar was controlled by Afghanistan, but was invaded by the Sikh Empire of Punjab. The arrival of a party led by British explorer and former agent of the East India Company, William Moorcroft was seen as an advantage, both in dealings with Kabul and for protection against the Sikhs of Lahore. Moorcroft continued to Kabul in the company of Peshawari horses and thence to the Hindu Kush.
In 1823, Peshawar was captured by Maharaja Ranjit Singh and paid a nominal tribute until it was finally annexed in 1834 by the Sikhs, after which the city fell into steep decline. Many of Peshawar's famous Mosques and gardens were destroyed by the Sikhs at this time. An Italian was appointed by the Sikhs as administrator. Acting on behalf of the Sikhs, Paolo Avitabile, unleashed a reign of fear – his time in Peshawar is known as a time of "gallows and gibbets." The city's famous Mahabat Khan, built in 1630 in the Jeweler's Bazaar, was badly damaged and desecrated by the Sikh conquerors.
The Gurdwara Bhai Joga Singh and Gurdwara Bhai Beeba Singh were constructed in the city by Hari Singh Nalwa to accommodate the influx of Sikh immigrants from the Punjab. While the city's Sikh population drastically declined after the partition of India, Peshawar's Sikh community has re-established itself, bolstered by Sikh refugees and by approximately 4,000 refugees from the Tribal Areas; in 2008, the largest Sikh population in Pakistan was located in Peshawar. Sikhs in Peshawar self-identify as Pashtuns and speak Hindko and Pashto as their mother tongues.
Afghan attempts to reconquer Peshawar.
An 1835 attempt to re-occupy the city by the Afghan Emir Dost Mohammad Barakzai failed when his army declined to engage in combat with the Dal Khalsa. However Barakzai's son, Wazir Akbar Khan, succeeded in regaining control of the city in the Battle of Jamrud of 1837. Following this, Peshawar was annexed by the British East India Company after the First Anglo-Sikh War in 1845–46.
British Empire (1846–1947).
Following the defeat of the Sikh's in the First Anglo-Sikh War in 1845–46, territories in the Punjab were also captured by British East India company. During the Sepoy Rebellion of 1857, the 40,000 members of the native garrison were disarmed without bloodshed; the absence of brutality meant that Peshawar was not affected by the widespread devastation that was experienced throughout the rest of British India and local chieftains sided with the British after the incident. British control remained confined within the city walls as vast regions of the Frontier province outside the city were claimed by the Kingdom of Afghanistan. The vast mountainous areas outside of the city were mapped out only in 1893 by Sir Mortimer Durand, foreign secretary of the British Indian government, who collaboratively demarcated the boundary of British-controlled areas with the Afghan ruler at the time, Abdur Rahman Khan.
The British laid out the vast Peshawar Cantonment to the west of the city in 1868, and made the city its frontier headquarters. Additionally, several projects were initiated in Peshawar, including linkage of the city by railway to the rest of British India and renovation of the Mohabbat Khan mosque that had been desecrated by the Sikhs. The British also constructed Cunningham clock tower, in celebration of the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria, and, in 1906, constructed Victoria Hall (now home of the Peshawar Museum) in memory of Queen Victoria. The British greatly contributed to the establishment of Western-style education in Peshawar with the establishment of Edwardes College and Islamia College in 1901 and 1913, respectively—these were established in addition to numerous other schools, many of which are run by the Anglican Church. For better administration of the region, Peshawar and the adjoining districts were separated from the Punjab Province in 1901.
Peshawar emerged as a centre for both Hindko and Pashtun intellectuals. Hindko speakers, also referred to as "Khaarian" ("city dwellers" in Pashto), were responsible for the dominant culture for most of the time that Peshawar was under British rule. Whereas before it was the Pashtuns and Mughals who beautified and brought culture to the region, until the Sikhs brought the city to shambles and deterioration.
Peshawar was the scene of a non-violent resistance movement that was led by Ghaffar Khan, a disciple of Mohandas Gandhi. In April 1930, Khan led a large group of locals, in a peaceful protest in Qissa Khawani Bazaar, against discriminatory laws that had been enacted by the British rulers — hundreds were killed when British horses opened fire on the demonstrators.
Post-independence history.
After the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in 1979 Peshawar served as a political centre for anti-Soviet Mujahideen, and was surrounded by huge camps of Afghan refugees. Many of the refugees remained there through the civil war which broke out after the Soviets were defeated in 1989, the rule of the Taliban, and the invasion by allied forces in late 2001. Peshawar would replace Kabul and Qandahar as the centre of Pakhtun cultural development during this tumultuous period. Additionally, Peshawar managed to assimilate many of the Pakhtun Afghan refugees with relative ease, while many other Afghan refugees remained in camps awaiting a possible return to Afghanistan.
Peshawar continues to be a city that links Pakistan to Afghanistan and has emerged as an important regional city in Pakistan and remains a focal point for Pakhtun culture.


Lewis Mason


Kanaung Mintha

Kanaung Mintha (; 31 January 1820 – 2 August 1866) was crown prince of Burma and son of King Tharrawaddy and younger brother of King Mindon of Burma. Towards the end of the Second Anglo-Burmese War, Kanaung and Mindon overthrew their half brother Pagan (1848–1853); Mindon ascended the throne and Kanaung became the Heir Apparent on 11 July 1853. He was the fiery "War Prince" and the peoples' idol. Kanaung attempted to modernize the country by sending scholars to Western countries and by founding an arms industry. However, his efforts were cut short when he was killed by his two nephews. Notwithstanding his short life, he is revered by Burmese nationals for his innovations in modernizing Burma.
Role as a modernizer.
King Mindon was dedicated to religion, but Kanaung was skillful in administration, serving as the leader (, "thamada") of the Hluttaw, the kingdom's administrative body. Under Kanaung's guidance, the following reforms were undertaken: centralization of the kingdom's internal administration, introduction of a salary system for the bureaucracy (to dampen the authority and income of bureaucrats), fixed judicial fees, comprehensive penal laws, reorganization of the financial system, removal of trade barriers including custom duties, reform of the "thathameda" taxes (to increase direct taxation), and modernization of the kingdom's army and introduction of new police forces.
Kanaung tried to rebuild the Burmese Army with modern weapons. He sent men to study in Western countries to establish an up-to-date arms industry. His efforts were well depicted in contemporary stories and poems. One story relates to his effort in testing depth charges in order to repulse British troops sailing up the Irrawaddy. Eventually, these testings were thwarted by the head of the Buddhist Sangha who protested against them by asserting their harmful effects on aquatic lives. Another story tells about his visits to the factories on cold early winter mornings while wrapping in a blanket. He was also known for his waywardness as depicted in a famous love song called "Seinchu Kya-nyaung bawlè" written by his wife, Princess Hlaing Hteik Khaung Tin.
Assassination.
In an unsuccessful palace coup on 2 August 1866 by the princes "Myingun" and "Myinkhondaing" (sons of King Mindon), Kanaung was killed at the Hluttaw (People's Assembly), along with 3 of his sons. Nevertheless, he managed to hold off the assassins to gain enough time for the King's escape. Kanaung's eldest son, the Padein Prince fled to Shwebo and launched a rebellion against Mindon. Royal forces defeated the revolt, and Padein was captured 6 October. He was executed in 1867 for his part in another alleged plot.
Upon his death, he was conferred the royal title "Thiri Pawara Maha Dhamma Yaza", nominally reserved for kings, as part of a "yadaya" ritual to "substitute" for Mindon's death. From almost a year (4 August 1866 to 6 June 1867), Kanaung's corpse was displayed in the middle of a temporary ceremonial palace (during the time, Mindon had relocated to a temporary palace as a form of "yadaya", owing to a prophecy that claimed a king would be lost in BE 1228. Kanaung, by assassination, had 'fulfilled' this prophecy and was thus entitled proper rites reserved for a monarch.) His body was buried in the grounds of the Sandamuni Pagoda, built in his memory at the foot of Mandalay Hill by Mindon.
In 1878, King Mindon died and his son Prince Thibaw acceded to the throne. In November 1885, King Thibaw surrendered to the British after the defeat at Third Anglo-Burmese War. Consequently, Thibaw was sent to exile in India. To this day, Burmese citizens believe that their history would have been considerably different if Kanaung were to survive and accede to the Burmese throne. The loss of Kanaung Mintha has been mourned by the Burmese nearly as much as that of Aung San. In addition, Burmese people believe British officers were behind the assassination plot of Aung San and Kanaung.
Epilogue.
In 1978 Ne Win, ruler of Burma since leading a military coup in 1964, married June Rose Bellamy, aka Yadana Nat-Me (Precious Angel), a great granddaughter of Ka Naung, daughter of Princess Hteiktin Ma Lat and Herbert Bellamy, an Australian orchid collector long settled in Burma. The marriage lasted only a few months and ended in divorce.


Lionel Astor Sheridan

Lionel Astor "Lee" Sheridan (born 21 July 1927) is a former educator and academic who served as the first Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Malaya, and its successor universities, in Singapore. He has been considered the "Father of Legal Education in Malaya".
Early life and education.
Lionel Astor Sheridan was born on 21 July 1927 in Croydon, Surrey, to Stanley Frederick Sheridan and Anne Quednan. He was educated at Whitgift School, and had at seventeen planned to enter Pembroke College, Cambridge, and study English and French literature. However, he changed his mind and began studying for a Bachelor of Laws degree at the University of London instead, graduating in 1947. In the next year, he was called to the bar.
After being called to the bar, he planned to study for a PhD at the University of London, and began teaching part-time as an Assistant Lecturer at the University of Nottingham to cover tuition costs. In 1949, he was given a lectureship at Queen's University Belfast and subsequently transferred his doctoral candidacy there. At Queen's, his doctoral supervisor was J. L. Montrose.
Sheridan's doctoral thesis, 'Fraud in Equity', was published and received some amount of critical acclaim.
Academic career.
In July 1956, Sheridan and his family arrived in Singapore, and he immediately set about his task of creating a Faculty of Law at the University of Malaya, as recommended by Roland Braddell and R. G. D. Allen in a report commissioned by the university. Sheridan's first lecture was on 19 October 1956.
As Dean of the new faculty, Sheridan set about hiring a wide range of academic staff, and the early faculty included:
Following the creation of an academic staff, Sheridan's first graduating class was in 1961. Despite his English background, Sheridan believed it was necessary to design the course so it was relevant to the local culture, and in 1960 stated that "success has been achieved in introducing a syllabus adapted to Malayan needs". He ensured that only English legal history which was relevant to Malayan law would be covered in classes, and focused on local customary law within his own work.
Sheridan's views on education differed from those that were mainstream at the time: he began teaching the Socratic method to his students, and argued that "examinations should test ability to argue from available legal materials and not the ability to remember what materials are available". Alongside this was Sheridan's insistence that students learn the philosophical premises of the law, with a mandatory reading of legal theory and philosophy.
The law library.
As early as 1957, Sheridan had set about creating a law library for the newly formed faculty to use. A report published by Sheridan in that year stated "we have almost a complete library of Malayan law though lacking some of the more ancient reports". He began subscribing to a range of periodicals from around the world, and made use of local lawyers and experts to source materials for the library.
"University of Malaya Law Review".
As a way of spreading legal information throughout Singapore, he created the "University of Malaya Law Review" journal (later the "Malaya Law Review" and now the "Singapore Journal of Legal Studies") in 1960. He had hoped the journal would become "important all over the world", and called its creation his "proudest achievement". Sheridan had retired as editor of the journal by its third volume, and was succeeded by Geoffrey Wilson Bartholomew.
Later career.
In May 1963, Sheridan left Singapore and returned to Belfast and became Professor of Comparative Laws at Queen's. In June 1963, the newly formed University of Singapore conferred on him an honorary Doctor of Laws degree.
He was instrumental in the creation of the Law Faculty at University College Cardiff. In March 1987, he became acting principal of the college, following C. W. L. Bevan's pre-retirement sabbatical leave. During this period, the college was facing high levels of debt and Sheridan was left to attempt to solve the issue by asking staff for short-term loans.
Personal life.
On 1 June 1948, Sheridan married Margaret Helen Béghin: in 1984 they had a daughter (Linda Anne) and a son (Peter Louis). Margaret assisted him in entertaining staff and students, and also edited parts of his work.
Selected works.
Andrew Phang refers to over 170 works published by Sheridan, of which the following are a selection:


Arughtai

Arughtai, also known as Alutai (; d. 1434), was a chingsang of the Northern Yuan dynasty based on the Mongolian Plateau, who fought against the Yongle Emperor of the Ming dynasty and the Four Oirats.
According to the Mongolian and Chinese chronicles, there are similar named figures among the Western and Eastern Mongols. One of them named Asud Arugtai was a war prisoner of the Oirats, who was released by the Borjigin princess Samur while another person, Alutai, raided the Chinese districts. Whatever his origin, the Oirad leaders, Gulichi and Mahamud, overthrew Elbeg Khan in 1399; and the former had himself enthroned as Khagan who appointed Arugtai or Alutai chingsang (councillor). However, Mahamud and Arughtai defeated Ugetchi or Gulichi; and Mahamud himself died soon after that.
In 1409 Alutai (Arughtai) set up the heir, Öljei Temür Khan Bunyashiri, of the Yuan dynasty at Beshbalik, and ignored Ming demands for satisfaction regarding the murder of an envoy in the previous year. War followed, in which at first Alutai was successful, owing to the rashness of the Ming dynasty; but in the following year he was beaten and fled. In 1413, for promising help against the Oirads, he received the title of Prince Hening (和寧) and sent a mission to the Ming dynasty. Beaten by the Oirads, he sought refuge on the Chinese frontier; but as soon as his strength increased, he renewed his raids. The Emperor marched against him in 1422, 1423, and 1424, but Alutai never risked a pitched battle and supported Adai Khan against the Oirads. Ten years later he was surprised and slain by Oirads under Toghan (Esen's father), and his son submitted to the Ming dynasty.
References.
This article incorporates material from Herbert Giles's "A Chinese Biographical Dictionary" (London: Arthur Probsthain, 1898), which is now in the public domain.