Cecil Clementi Smith

Not to be confused with Smith's nephew Sir Cecil Clementi, who also served as a colonial governor in Singapore.

"Straits Settlements"
Clementi Smith as caricatured in Vanity Fair, January 1892

The Right Honourable Sir Cecil Clementi Smith G.C.M.G. (23 December 1840 – 6 February 1916),^[1] was a British colonial administrator.

Background

The son of an Essex rector, John Smith, and his wife Ceceilia Susanna Clementi (daughter of Muzio Clementi), Cecil Clementi Smith received his education at St Paul's School and Corpus Christi College, Cambridge.^[2] In 1864 he began his civil service career as a cadet interpreter in Hong Kong, learning much about the Chinese culture and gradually became an accomplished scholar of the Chinese culture.^[1]

Civil Service

A bust of Clementi Smith in Victoria Concert Hall

In 1878 Clementi Smith took office in Singapore as a Colonial Secretary in the Straits Settlements, and understudied Governor Frederick Weld. His knowledge of Chinese culture and competence in the language proved useful as he was able to communicate effectively with leaders of the growing Chinese community. He become known for his effective work in quelling Chinese secret societies in the Straits Settlements, such as those in Singapore which had been terrorising locals for decades. He also established the Queen's Scholarships in 1889 to fund bright Singaporean students to further their studies in top British universities.^[1]

In 1887 he was appointed Governor of the Straits Settlements and High Commissioner to Malaya till 1893. A popular governor, the local Chinese community petitioned for a continuation of his appointment when he left Singapore in 1893.^[1][3]

Subsequently, he was Lieutenant Governor of Ceylon, and the Master of the Mercers' Company in 1897. He was president of the commission of inquiry on the Trinidad riots in 1903, and was chief British delegate to International Opium Conference at The Hague in 1909.

Family

A view of tree-lined Clementi Road, named after Clementi Smith

Clementi Smith married Teresa Alice Newcomen in 1869, they had two children, Beatrice (born c. 1872) and Eustace (born c. 1879, and later a lieutenant colonel). Clementi Smith died in Welwyn Garden City, Welwyn Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England, aged 77.^[4] His nephew was Sir Cecil Clementi who also served as Governor of the Straits Settlements and in other administrative positions in Hong Kong and Singapore.

Legacy

Clementi Road (formerly Reformatory Road) and the neighbourhood of Clementi in western Singapore were named after him.^[1]

References

• Singapore: Days of Old. A Special Commemorative History of Singapore Published on the 10th Anniversary of Singapore Tatler, Singapore: Illustrated Magazine Pub. Co., 1992, pp. 48–49, ISBN 978-962709319-0 .
• Tate, D. J. M. (1988), A Portrait Gallery of Nineteenth Century Singapore, Singapore: Antiques of the Orient, ISBN 978-981-00-0668-6 .
• Turnbull, C[onstance] M[ary] (1989), A History of Singapore, 1819–1988 (2nd ed.), Singapore: Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-588911-6 .

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cecil Clementi Smith.