Francis Fleming
Sir Francis Fleming Colonial Secretary of Hong Kong | |
|---|---|
| In office 17 January 1890 – 26 February 1892 | |
| Preceded by | Frederick Stewart |
| Succeeded by | G. T. M. O'Brien |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Francis Fleming 31 July 1842 Middlesex, England |
| Died | 4 December 1922 (aged 80) South Kensington, London, England |
| Citizenship | British |
| Spouse | Constance Mary Kavanagh (1858–1950) |
| Children | Sec.-Lieut. Hugh Joseph Fleming (1895–1916) |
| Occupation | British colonial administrator |
Sir Francis Fleming
Early life and education
The son of James Fleming (1812–1887),
He attended Downside School near Bath, studied law at the Middle Temple, and became a barrister in 1866.
Career
Three years later, from 28 April 1869, he became acting District and Stipendiary Magistrate in Mauritius earning £700 per annum, successively followed by Crown Solicitor (from 15 April 1872), acting District and Stipendiary Magistrate in Savanne (2 November 1872), acting District and Stipendiary Magistrate, and Poor Law Guardian in Flacq (1 March 1873), District and Stipendiary Magistrate in Black River (1 January 1874), and acting District and Stipendiary Magistrate in Moka.[1] Whilst in Mauritius he also went to Seychelles as acting District Judge for four months.[2]
From then held a succession of posts as district judge in Jamaica (1876-1878); Attorney-General of Barbados and acting Chief Justice (from 1878); and acting Chief Justice of St. Lucia.
This was followed in 1880 as private secretary to Sir G. C. Strahan, administering the Government of the Cape, and in 1881, removed to
It was December 1886, as he was to be awarded the Order of St Michael and St George,[5] he returned to Mauritius to take up the roles as colonial secretary and administrator (acting governor) from 24 February 1887 to December 1888.[6][7]
For over a year he was Colonial Secretary of Hong Kong between 1890 and 1892[8] (years later Fleming Road in Wan Chai, Hong Kong was named after him).
While Governor-in-Chief at Sierra Leone, from 16 May 1892 to January 1894, he witnessed in November 1892 the first systematic strike of the 800 underpaid labouring men of the Royal Engineers' Department in the history of that colony. He wrote that in his opinion the striking workers were "entirely in the right" and that their demands were "wholly justifiable" and "reasonable." He ruled in their favor and raised their pay. The previous governor, John Joseph Crooks, disagreed with Fleming and referred to the raise in pay as a "capitulation." Throughout 1893 there were a number of times in which native leaders from the Mende, Sherbro and Temne communities took their concerns directly to Fleming who proved willing to listen. This reputation largely started with his listening to the striking workers.[9]
Fleming assumed the post as governor of the Leeward Islands from January 1894 where he remained till his retirement in 1901.
Personal life and death
Fleming was
Fleming died at the age of 80 at home at 9 Sydney Place, South Kensington, on 4 December 1922.[11] His will was probated the following month; his widow survived him by nearly three decades.
References
- ^ The Mauritius Almanac and Colonial Register. 1874. p. 183.
- ^ Eyre, G. E. (1876). Report of the Commissioners. p. 17.
- ^ "Gleanings from the Globe". The Nassau Guardian. Nassau, Bahamas. 2 June 1883. p. 2. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
It is announced that Mr. Francis Fleming, one of the puisne judges of British Guiana, has been appointed Queen's Advocate of Ceylon, in succession to Mr. Bruce Lockhart Burnside, who has been appointed to Chief Justice of Ceylon.
- ^ Fleming, Francis. Men at the Bar. p. 157.
- ^ The Solicitors' Journal Vol.34. 1890. p. 49.
- ^ The Mauritius Almanac and Commercial Handbook. 1922. p. 54.
- ^ "Mauritius Colony".
- ^ Norton-Kyshe, J. W. (1898). The History of the Laws and Courts of Hong-kong... p. 137.
- ^ Crooks, J. J. (1900). A Short History of Sierra Leone... p. 137.
- ^ Burnand, F. C. (1917). The Catholic Who's Who Vol. 10. p. 508.
- ^ Obituary: West Indies Chronicle Volume 37. 1922. p. 568.
External links
- "Sir Francis Fleming". National Portrait Gallery. Retrieved 24 March 2011. (web image not currently available)
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