Sir George Smith (8 March 1858 – 14 June 1938) was a British civil servant. He began his career in the

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

in 1878 but joined the office of the chief secretary of

British Cyprus British Cyprus was the island of Cyprus under the dominion of the British Empire, administered sequentially from 1878 to 1914 as a British protectorate, from 1914 to 1925 as a unilaterally annexed military occupation, and from 1925 to 1960 as a ...

the following year. He was promoted to assistant chief secretary in 1883 and afterwards transferred to the crown colony of

British Mauritius Mauritius was a Crown colony off the Southeast coast of Africa. Formerly part of the French colonial empire, British rule in Mauritius was established de facto with the Invasion of Isle de France in November 1810, and de jure by the subsequent T ...

where he was acting

receiver general A receiver general (or receiver-general) is an officer responsible for accepting payments on behalf of a government, and for making payments to a government on behalf of other parties. See also * Treasurer * Receiver General for Canada * Recei ...

and chief collector of customs from 1905 to 1909. He was colonial secretary of Mauritius from 1910 to 1913 when he was appointed governor of the protectorate of

Nyasaland Nyasaland () was a British protectorate located in Africa that was established in 1907 when the former British Central Africa Protectorate changed its name. Between 1953 and 1963, Nyasaland was part of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasala ...

. He held this position for ten years which included the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and the

Chilembwe uprising The Chilembwe uprising was a rebellion against British colonial rule in Nyasaland (modern-day Malawi) which took place in January 1915. It was led by John Chilembwe, an American-educated Baptist minister. Based around his Church in the village ...

. Smith encountered difficulties in relations with the

Ngoni people The Ngoni people are an ethnic group living in the present-day Southern African countries of Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, and Zambia. The Ngoni trace their origins to the Nguni and Zulu people of kwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. The di ...

over the

hut tax The hut tax was a form of taxation introduced by British in their African possessions on a "per hut" (or other forms of household) basis. It was variously payable in money, labour, grain or stock and benefited the colonial authorities in four inter ...

and had to deal with an influx of white ex-servicemen after the war. His governorship saw advances in the transport infrastructure in Nyasaland and the cultivation of many crops.

Early career

George Smith was born on 8 March 1858, the son of Hugh Smith from

Darvel Darvel ( sco, Dairvel, gd, Darbhail) is a small town in East Ayrshire, Scotland. It is at the eastern end of the Loudoun, Irvine Valley and is sometimes referred to as "The Lang Toon" ( en, the Long Town). The town's Latin motto, , means "No ...

, Ayrshire. After receiving a private education he joined the

in 1878. The following year he transferred to the office of the chief secretary (the senior

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

) of

as a clerk. He was promoted to chief clerk in 1881 and to assistant chief secretary of the protectorate in 1883. From 1886 to 1891 Smith served as clerk to the protectorates legislative council and was acting chief secretary from May to October 1888. From 1891 he was district commissioner at

Paphos Paphos ( el, Πάφος ; tr, Baf) is a coastal city in southwest Cyprus and the capital of Paphos District. In classical antiquity, two locations were called Paphos: Old Paphos, today known as Kouklia, and New Paphos. The current city of Pap ...

. Smith married Lucy McDuff Cargill in 1894, with whom he had three daughters. From 1895 he served as a member of the legislative council and from 1905 to 1909 he was acting

and chief collector of customs. Smith transferred to the crown colony of

as colonial secretary in 1910, holding the position for three years.

Nyasaland

Smith reached the usual civil service retirement age of 55 in 1913 but was offered an opportunity to prolong his career. Smith was appointed governor and Commander in Chief of the protectorate of

on 23 September 1913. He was appointed a

Knight Commander of the Order of Saint Michael and Saint George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in honour ...

in 1914. In the early part of his term Smith clashed with the tribal chiefs of the

. Poor soil condition and overgrazing had led to a time of famine and many of the Ngoni found the

unaffordable. The chiefs asked Smith to reduce the tax for the most needy, but he refused. Relations continued to deteriorate during the

(19141918) during which Nyasaland was a key route to supply and reinforce British forces in East Africa. Smith implemented unpopular measures such as the centralisation of powers previously held by the chiefs, calling for Africans to enlist in the British forces and requisitioning food from areas already facing shortages. One of Smith's first actions during the war was to commandeer all ships on

Lake Nyasa Lake Malawi, also known as Lake Nyasa in Tanzania and Lago Niassa in Mozambique, is an African Great Lake and the southernmost lake in the East African Rift system, located between Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania. It is the fifth largest fre ...

and launch an attack upon the German vessel ''Hermann von Wissmann'' at Sphinx Hafen. On 20 August 1914 Smith mobilised the

Nyasaland Volunteer Reserve The Nyasaland Volunteer Reserve (NVR) was a reserve infantry unit in the British protectorate of Nyasaland (modern-day Malawi). The British Central Africa Volunteer Reserve was formally established by the colonial government in 1901 and was rename ...

which defended the colony from a German invasion and later served elsewhere in the East African campaign. After the 1915

, which he moved swiftly to quash, Smith noted that it marked "a new phase in the existence of Nyasaland" and established a commission to investigate its causes. Smith was granted responsibility for administering the former German East African territories occupied by British forces advancing from Nyasaland and sent many of his civil servants into these areas. After the war a large number of ex-servicemen migrated to Nyasaland and Smith took measures in 1918 to limit the leasing of crown land to these men, as he determined that it was needed for the resettlement of Africans evicted from their farms. He also set about reforming the police service, which had been a recommendation of the Chilembwe commission. Smith attempted to put in place reforms to improve the social development of the protectorate including expanding healthcare provision. He opened 70 rural dispensaries which allowed for a fivefold increase in the number of patients treated by his health service. Smith retired as governor on 12 April 1923, having served an unusually long term for a colonial governor. The war had adversely affected Smith's plans to improve transport infrastructure in the protectorate and create links to the rest of the world. However, by Smith's retirement the government's plans for the

Dona Ana Bridge The Dona Ana Bridge spans the lower Zambezi River between the towns of Vila de Sena and Mutarara in Mozambique, effectively linking the two halves of the country. It was originally constructed as a railway bridge to link Malawi and the Moatize co ...

in neighbouring

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

, that would allow rail communications to the port of Beira, were well progressed and a railway laid to Lake Nyasa. In Smith's term the number of acres devoted to tea, cotton and tobacco cultivation increased more than a hundredfold. During the war he greatly expanded Nyasaland's road network and expanded maize production, and also acted to control

rinderpest Rinderpest (also cattle plague or steppe murrain) was an infectious viral disease of cattle, domestic buffalo, and many other species of even-toed ungulates, including gaurs, buffaloes, large antelope, deer, giraffes, wildebeests, and warthogs ...

. Smith retired to

Addlestone Addlestone ( or ) is a town in Surrey, England. It is located approximately southwest of London. The town is the administrative centre of the Borough of Runnymede, of which it is the largest settlement. History The town is recorded as ''Attels ...

, Surrey. In 1924 Smith wrote an article for the journal ''

African Affairs ''African Affairs'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal published quarterly by Oxford University Press on behalf of the London-based Royal African Society. The journal covers any Africa-related topic: political, social, economic, environmental an ...

'' on the economic development and future of Nyasaland. He died on 14 June 1938 in Addlestone of a combination of pneumonia, chronic bronchitis, and

arteriosclerosis Arteriosclerosis is the thickening, hardening, and loss of elasticity of the walls of Artery, arteries. This process gradually restricts the blood flow to one's organs and tissues and can lead to severe health risks brought on by atherosclerosis ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, George 1938 deaths Governors of Nyasaland Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George British civil servants 1858 births People from Darvel