Ernest Woodford Birch

Sir Ernest Woodford Birch

Sir Ernest Charles James Woodford Birch KCMG (born April 29, 1857 in Trincomalee , Ceylon, † December 17, 1929 in Battle , Sussex , England ), ICS , was the eighth British resident of Perak and the eldest son of James Wheeler Woodford Birch .

Private life

Although he was born in Trincomalee , Ceylon in April 1857 , when he was 10 years old his parents sent him to England to be cared for by his grandfather, Rev. James Woodford Birch, vicar at All Saints Church in Hertford . In 1882 he married Margaret, the eldest daughter of Lawrence Niven, director of the Singapore Botanic Gardens. Sir Ernest and Lady Margaret had two sons and four daughters. However, her eldest son drowned in Tanjung Kling, Malacca in 1890 when he was only seven years old . The other son, Patrick, followed in his father's footsteps and served in the Indian Civil Service .

School education and study

Ernest Woodford Birch's education began at Hertford Grammar School . Further stations until 1874 were Sidney College , University of Bath , Elstree School and Harrow School . In preparation for his studies, he went to Oxford and took a year of private lectures before enrolling at the university and then serving in the Indian Civil Service . His studies ended abruptly when his father was murdered in Pasir Salak. The government gave him then in January 1876 generously a place in the Colonial Office in Downing Street, where worked until 1878 and then as a contender in the administrative service of the Straits Settlements entered.

Career

After his arrival in Singapore he got a job in the secretariat under Sir Cecil Clementi Smith , who was a lifelong friend to him. In 1881 he worked for a few months for the property office in Melakka and then, in July 1881, in the same position in Singapore. In May 1882 he became acting Second Assistant Colonial Secretary . He made his first official visit to the Cocos Islands in 1885, and after returning from his home leave in 1887, he was confirmed as Second Assistant Colonial Secretary and overseen a commission to investigate the murder of WA Pickering.

In January 1888 Sir Ernest was transferred to Malacca in order to enforce the land policy of Sir William George Maxwell in a double function as administrative and financial officer . At the same time he was District Officer in Alor Gajah and Jasin . Although many had not thought it possible, through a deep understanding of the circumstances, he was able to implement the new system and significantly increase yields during his four-year stay. Perhaps it was this success that moved Sir William George Maxwell to send him to Selangor to explore the land system in 1890 .

In 1892 he was British Resident of Selangor for a period of eight months and in January 1893 he was promoted to the rank of Secretary of State to the Governor of Perak. His outstanding achievement in this position was the introduction of a new land surveying system in Perak and the advancement of plans for an irrigation system in the Kerian district . In May 1894 he was granted a longer home leave from which he returned in August 1895. During Sir Frank Swettenham's vacation , he represented him as Acting British Resident of Perak.

While serving as Acting British Resident of Perak, he convened the first meeting of the State Council. He chose November 2, 1895 - the 20th anniversary of the murder of his father - as the date. Birch took the chair and made the Sultan and the assembled chiefs aware of the date and the event. In June of the following year he returned to his original post as Secretary of State. From February 1897 he took over the representation of Martin Lister as Acting British Resident in Negeri Sembilan . After his death he was confirmed as British resident and held this office until May 1900. During his brief tenure, he managed to increase Negeri Sembilan State revenues from $ 552,000 to $ 1,085,000, introduce a new land surveying system, and improve public administration.

In recognition of his services, he was knighted by Queen Victoria at Windsor in 1900 and accepted into the Order of St. Michael and St. George . He became Agent for the North Borneo Chartered Company and Governor of North Borneo in 1901. During the two years and eight months he spent in North Borneo, he was diligently devoted to the welfare of the country. He returned to England in December 1903 and was made a British Resident in Perak in February 1904 . There he successfully managed to carry out an administrative reform. He enriched social life by introducing various clubs and a number of sports.

He died on December 17, 1929 in Battle , Sussex .

Individual evidence

1. ^ Entry in the familysearch.org personal database
2. ^ ^{A b c d} A. Wright: Twentieth Century Impressions of British Malaya
3. ^ Entry in England & Wales, Death Index 1916-2005 , 4th quarter 1929, page 59; here reference to the register in Battle, Volume 2b, page 70
4. ↑ England & Wales National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1861–1941, entries for names beginning with "Bi" in 1930, page 13

Web links

• World statesmen

literature

• Wright, Arnold: Twentieth Century Impressions of British Malaya: Its history, people, commerce, industries and resources , 1908

predecessor	Office	successor
Sir James Wheeler Woodford Birch	British resident in Perak 1875–1876 (1st term)	Sir James Guthrie Davidson
Sir Hugh Low	British resident in Perak 1889-1896 (2nd term)	Sir William Hood Treacher
Hugh Charles Clifford	Governor of North Borneo 1901 - 1922 (first term)	Edward Peregrine Gueritz