Sir Henry Edward Pollock, QC, JP (, 16 December 1864 – 2 February 1953) was an English barrister who became a prominent politician in Hong Kong. He acted as Attorney General in Hong Kong on several occasions, and was once appointed to the same post in Fiji. He also served as

Senior Unofficial Member The Senior Unofficial Member, later Senior Member and, finally, Convenor of the Non-official Members, was the highest-ranking unofficial member of the Legislative Council (LegCo) and Executive Council (ExCo) of British Hong Kong, which wa ...

of both the Legislative Council and Executive Council for many years in pre- Pacific War Hong Kong. Along with

Sir Paul Chater Sir Catchick Paul Chater ( hy, Փոլ Չաթեր; ; 8 September 1846 – 27 May 1926) was a prominent British businessman of Armenian descent in colonial Hong Kong, whose family roots were in Calcutta, India. Biography Early life Chater was ...

, then Governor Sir Frederick Lugard (later Lord Lugard) and others, Sir Henry was one of the founders of the

University of Hong Kong The University of Hong Kong (HKU) (Chinese: 香港大學) is a public research university in Hong Kong. Founded in 1887 as the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese, it is the oldest tertiary institution in Hong Kong. HKU was also the f ...

Biography

Family background

Pollock was born to a well-known family in the law. His grandfather,

Sir Frederick Pollock, 1st Baronet Sir Jonathan Frederick Pollock, 1st Baronet, PC (23 September 1783 – 28 August 1870) was a British lawyer and Tory politician. Background and education Pollock was the son of saddler David Pollock, of Charing Cross, London, and the elder br ...

served as

Attorney General for England and Wales His Majesty's Attorney General for England and Wales is one of the law officers of the Crown and the principal legal adviser to sovereign and Government in affairs pertaining to England and Wales. The attorney general maintains the Attorney G ...

between 1834 and 1835 and 1841 and 1844 in the

Tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. The ...

administrations of

Sir Robert Peel Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet, (5 February 1788 – 2 July 1850) was a British Conservative statesman who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1834–1835 and 1841–1846) simultaneously serving as Chancellor of the Exchequer ...

; one of his many cousins,

Sir Frederick Pollock, 3rd Baronet Sir Frederick Pollock, 3rd Baronet PC, FBA (10 December 1845 – 18 January 1937) was an English jurist best known for his ''History of English Law before the Time of Edward I'', written with F.W. Maitland, and his lifelong correspondence w ...

was a renowned professor of

jurisprudence Jurisprudence, or legal theory, is the theoretical study of the propriety of law. Scholars of jurisprudence seek to explain the nature of law in its most general form and they also seek to achieve a deeper understanding of legal reasoning a ...

in the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

; another cousin of Pollock,

Ernest Pollock, 1st Viscount Hanworth Ernest Murray Pollock, 1st Viscount Hanworth, KBE, PC (25 November 1861 – 22 October 1936), was a British Conservative politician, lawyer and judge. He served as Master of the Rolls from 1923 to 1935. Background Pollock was born in Wimbledo ...

, served as the

Master of the Rolls The Keeper or Master of the Rolls and Records of the Chancery of England, known as the Master of the Rolls, is the President of the Civil Division of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales and Head of Civil Justice. As a judge, the Master of ...

from 1925 to 1935. Pollock's father was Dr. Arthur Julius Pollock (7 February 1835 – 11 May 1890). He was the eldest son in the second marriage of Sir Frederick Pollock, though he ranked thirteenth among the twenty-four children that Sir Frederick had. Dr. Pollock was a physician and lecturer in the Foundling Hospital and

Charing Cross Hospital Charing Cross Hospital is an acute general teaching hospital located in Hammersmith, London, United Kingdom. The present hospital was opened in 1973, although it was originally established in 1818, approximately five miles east, in central L ...

. He was also a Council member of the

Royal College of Physicians The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of physicians by examination. Founded by royal charter from King Henry VIII in 1 ...

. Pollock was the third child of his mother, Ellen Bailey (? – 25 October 1895). He had an elder sister, Caroline (4 August 1862 – ?), an elder brother, Arthur Julius (21 August 1863 – 28 May 1914), and a younger brother, Charles Frederick (17 July 1866 – 17 July 1919).

Early years

Pollock was born in London, England on 16 December 1864. He spent his early childhood in London and was later admitted to the Charterhouse School. He quit the school in 1882 at the age of 18, and was promptly employed by a bank in Drury Lane. After one year of working, Pollock earned 50 pounds in total, and opted for continuing his study. He was successfully enrolled by the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and ...

in 1883 and was called to the bar upon graduation in 1887. In April 1888, seeking for new opportunities elsewhere, Pollock left his family and departed England for the then Crown Colony of

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

. He was soon qualified as a barrister in Hong Kong, and set up his career in the

legal profession Legal profession is a profession in which legal professionals study, develop and apply law. Usually, there is a requirement for someone choosing a career in law to first obtain a law degree or some other form of legal education. It is difficult to ...

Colonial life

Pollock was substantially valued by the local society not long after his arrival to the colony. For six months from September 1888 to March 1889, he had been appointed by the government as acting

Police Magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

. In 1891, he was appointed unofficial Justice of Peace, and later in 1892, he had served as acting

Puisne Judge A puisne judge or puisne justice (; from french: puisné or ; , 'since, later' + , 'born', i.e. 'junior') is a dated term for an ordinary judge or a judge of lesser rank of a particular court. Use The term is used almost exclusively in common law ...

for the government for half a year. In 1894, Hong Kong was suffered from a severe

plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pe ...

which caused thousands of deaths. Pollock was noted for his work on relief during the plague and was awarded a gold medal by the government afterwards. From 1896 to 1901, Pollock was appointed by the government as acting Attorney General, and thus became an ''ex officio'' member of both the Legislative Council and Executive Council. During his tenure as both an Attorney General and a councillor, his performance was highly regarded by his colleagues, and he was appointed

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister o ...

as a reward in 1900. In 1902, Pollock was posted to Fiji and served as Attorney General in there. Nevertheless, he did not stay long in Fiji and returned to Hong Kong a year later. A year in Fiji did not weaken his influence in Hong Kong: he went on to serve as a member of the

Sanitary Board The Urban Council (UrbCo) was a Municipality, municipal council in Hong Kong responsible for municipal services on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon (including New Kowloon). These services were provided by the council's executive arm, the U ...

from March 1903 to February 1906.

Life as councillor

In 1903, under the promotion of the Chamber of Commerce, Pollock had briefly served as acting Unofficial Member of the Legislative Council for around a year. Soon afterwards, he was again nominated by the unofficial Justices of Peace and became a full unofficial member of the council in December 1905. For nearly forty years, Pollock would continuously represent the unofficial Justices of Peace constituency in the council. In his long tenure in the Legislative Council, Pollock was active in public service and served in a number of committees as member or chairman, including the Peace Celebration and War Memorial Finance Committee, Housing Commission and the Standing Law Committee. During 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 ...

, Pollock also sat as a Judge in the Appeal Tribunal; he was later reappointed for the same post on the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

in 1939. As early as 1911 and 1912, Pollock was provisionally appointed twice as unofficial member of the Executive Council. However, he lost the chance to be appointed a full unofficial member in November 1915 when he unsuccessfully pressured the then governor, Sir Henry May in a Legislative Council meeting for replacing a vacancy for an unofficial member in the Executive Council through limited election. Pollock was one of the most prominent activists on

constitutional reform A constitutional amendment is a modification of the constitution of a polity, organization or other type of entity. Amendments are often interwoven into the relevant sections of an existing constitution, directly altering the text. Conversely, ...

in pre-war Hong Kong. He did not give up after his request was abruptly turned down by Sir Henry. In January 1916, he sent a petition compiled with a few hundreds signatures to the Secretary of State for the Colonies, Bonar Law, and called for reform in both the Legislative and Executive Council. According to his proposal, he suggested that more unofficial seats should be created on the two councils. These new seats should be elected by members of the Chamber of Commerce and the unofficial Justices of Peace to let them be more fully represented. Also, Pollock supported the appointment of more Chinese to the two councils. Pollock's proposal was also rejected by Bonar Law with no reason given. The relationship between Pollock and Sir Henry, was so badly damaged that Pollock was never again chosen to sit on the Executive Council during the governorship of Sir Henry. Pollock only became an unofficial member of the Executive Council after the retirement of Sir Henry, when his successor, Sir Reginald Stubbs, appointed him in 1921. Three years later, Pollock was appointed a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are th ...

in the

King's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning British monarch's official birthday by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are prese ...

in 1924. Pollock was appointed acting Attorney-General for three times in 1919, 1925 and 1928 respectively. In his capacity as acting Attorney-General, he sat in the two councils as ''ex officio'' member rather than unofficial member, and his unofficial seats in the Legislative Council was provisionally elected by his fellow Justices of Peace. In 1917, he succeeded Sir Boshan Wei Yuk as Senior Unofficial Member of the Legislative Council; later in 1926, he also became Senior Unofficial Member of the Executive Council after the death

, and therefore became the Senior Member of both two councils. Nevertheless, on 16 September 1928, Pollock had an accidental fall in his home at No. 367, the Peak. He broke his

thigh In human anatomy, the thigh is the area between the hip ( pelvis) and the knee. Anatomically, it is part of the lower limb. The single bone in the thigh is called the femur. This bone is very thick and strong (due to the high proportion of ...

heavily and could not assume his duties in the councils. As a result, another member of the Legislative and the Executive Council, Sir Shouson Chow, temporarily replaced him as Senior Member during his incapacity. Pollock recovered from the fall in December and reassumed his duties again. The University of Hong Kong in 1912

Besides his duties in the two councils, Pollock had served as chairman of the Hong Kong Branch of the Navy League, the Chess Club, the

Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals A Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) is a common name for non-profit animal welfare organizations around the world. The oldest SPCA organization is the RSPCA, which was founded in England in 1824. SPCA organizations operate i ...

and the Constitutional Reform Association. He had also served as Commodore of the

Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club The Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club is a Hong Kong watersports club for sailing, rowing and paddling. History In 1849 the ''Victoria Regatta Club'' was formed and later absorbed into the ''Hong Kong Boating Clu''b which, in 1889, was in turn ...

, Secretary of the Odd Volumes Society and corresponding secretary to the

Royal Colonial Institute The Royal Commonwealth Society (RCS) is a non-governmental organisation with a mission to promote the value of the Commonwealth and the values upon which it is based. The Society upholds the values of the Commonwealth Charter, promoting conf ...

. Pollock was instrumental to the establishment of the

as he was one of the founders of the University. Pollock was originally a member of the council of the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese. In March 1908, along with Sir Paul Chater, Sir Kai Ho-Kai and a few other people, Pollock was appointed to the newly founded organising committee of the University of Hong Kong which was chaired by Sir Paul Chater by then governor Sir Frederick Lugard (later Lord Lugard). When the University of Hong Kong was officially founded in 1911, Pollock was appointed a life member of the University Court. Pollock was said to be an active member who frequently attend the Court's meetings, and was noted for his enthusiasm towards the development of the University. In acknowledging his contribution, he received Honorary Doctorates of Law from the University on 5 January 1925. Sir Henry Edward Pollock

Pollock had close ties with St. Stephen's College as he was one of the guests invited to the foundation stone-laying ceremony of the College's new school site in

Stanley Stanley may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Stanley'' (1972 film), an American horror film * ''Stanley'' (1984 film), an Australian comedy * ''Stanley'' (1999 film), an animated short * ''Stanley'' (1956 TV series) ...

in 1928. Furthermore, in 1933, under the assistance from him and

Sir Robert Kotewall Sir Robert Hormus Kotewall (羅旭龢; 1880–1949) was a British Hong Kong businessman, civil servant and legislator. Early life Kotewall was born in 1880. He was the son of Hormusjee Rustomjee Kotewall, an Indian Parsi, and Cheung A-cheung. ...

, the student-actors and student-actresses of the College were allowed to play on the same stage in a fundraising drama event regardless the opposition from the conservative Chinese community.

Final years

On 17 January 1940 and in the beginning of 1941, Pollock was appointed unofficial member of the Legislative and the Executive Council respectively for a further period of four years and five years. However, in December 1941, the Pacific War broke out suddenly and Hong Kong fell into

Imperial Japan The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent forma ...

's hands after a month of resistance. Fortunately, Pollock and his wife were in Australia for health reason at the outbreak of the war, thus they were not in Hong Kong during the Japanese invasion and did not end up in Hong Kong as prisoners of war. Although the colonial Legislative Council and Executive Council ceased to operate during the

Japanese occupation of Hong Kong The Imperial Japanese occupation of Hong Kong began when the Governor of Hong Kong, Sir Mark Young, surrendered the British Crown colony of Hong Kong to the Empire of Japan on 25 December 1941. The surrender occurred after 18 days of fierce ...

, Pollock was still nominally the Senior Member of the Legislative and Executive Council until the expiration of his terms in 1944 and on 8 March 1946. Pollock's final term as Senior Unofficial Member of the Executive Council traversed the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong and ended after the Liberation of Hong Kong in 1945, but in reality, he never attended any meeting of the two councils after the fall of Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Government later issued a notice in the '' Hong Kong Gazette'' in May 1946, thanking Pollock for his contribution to the colony. The

made a sudden ending to Pollock's life and public service in Hong Kong. Although he paid several visits to Hong Kong after the war, he and his wife settled permanently in Sydney after the outbreak of the Pacific War. Pollock died in Sydney on 2 February 1953, aged 88.

Family

Pollock married his wife, Pauline Oakley in Hong Kong in 1906 when he was 42. They had no children. Lady Oakley was a long-time resident in Hong Kong and was noted for her active participation in local public services, especially in the Street Sleepers' Society,

St John's Cathedral :''This list is for St. John the Evangelist Cathedrals. For St. John the Baptist Cathedrals, see St. John the Baptist Cathedral (disambiguation)'' St. John's Cathedral, St. John Cathedral, or Cathedral of St. John, or other variations on the name ...

Women's Guild and the

. Since the outbreak of the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...

in 1937, the refugee camps in Hong Kong had also become a chief interest to Lady Pollock. In 1940, Lady Pollock,

Soong Ai-ling Soong Ai-ling (), legally Soong E-ling or Eling Soong (July 15, 1889 – October 18, 1973) was a Chinese businesswoman, the eldest of the Soong sisters and the wife of H. H. Kung (Kung Hsiang-Hsi), who was the richest man in the early 20th cent ...

and others initiated a campaign in Hong Kong and Canton to set up

cooperative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-contro ...

s which could accommodate 6,000 refugees to restore production. Lady Pollock was subsequently appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the

New Year Honours The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, with New Year's Day, 1 January, being marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. A number of other Commonwealth realms also mark this ...

of 1941 for her eminent contribution.

Bibliography

* ''Bill of Lading Exceptions'', London: Stevens and Sons, 1894. * ''Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea''

Honours

* J.P. (24 April 189

* Gold Medal for Plague Services (1894) * Queen's Counsel, Q.C. (1900) * Kt. (King's birthday honour list 1924)

Honorary degrees

(Hon. LLD, 5 January 1925)

Place named after him

* Pollock Path: a cul-de-sac on the top of

Mount Gough Mount Gough () is a peak on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. It lies directly east of Victoria Peak and rises to a height of above Admiralty. It is named for Hugh Gough, 1st Viscount Gough, Commander-in-Chief of British Forces in China. See also *L ...

, Hong Kong Island.

Footnotes

References

English materials

* ''Who Was Who'', London: A & C Black, 1996. * Sir Frederick Pollock,
The Will of Sir Jonathan Frederick Pollock
', proved on 7 November 1870. *
OBITUARY
, ''THE BRITISH MEDICAL JOURNAL'', 17 May 1890. *
Hong Kong Government Gazette
', Hong Kong: Government Printer, 1940 – 1941. * Great Britain Colonial Office,
Corona: The Journal of His Majesty's Colonial Service
' version 5, London: Secretary of State for the Colonies by H. M. Stationery Office, 1953. * Lai-bing Kan and Grace H. L. Chu,
Constancy of Purpose
', Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 1988. * , 8 December 2001. * "Honour for Mr. Pollock", ''The China Mail'', Page 1, 3 June 1924. * "Sir H. E. Pollock, K.C., Honour for Long and Faithful Service", ''The China Mail'', Page 5, 3 June 1924. * "Degree Congregation. Honours Bestowed by Hong Kong University", ''The China Mail'', Page 7, 6 January 1925. * "The Hon. Sir Henry Pollock, Fractures Limb as Result of Fall", ''HONGKONG TELEGRAPH'', Page 1, 18 September 1941. * "Eight Residents in Honours List", ''HONGKONG TELEGRAPH'', Page 8, 2 January 1941. * Endacott, G. B., ''Government and people in Hong Kong, 1841–1962: A Constitutional History'', Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 1964. * Oliver Lindsay, ''The Battle for Hong Kong 1941–1945: Hostage to Fortune'', Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 2005.

Chinese materials

* 張蓮興, ''香港二十八總督'', 朝華出版社, 1997. * "普樂夫人等發起香港工合單位", ''大公報'', page 2, part 6, 13 April 1940. * "孔祥熙夫人普樂夫人等發起香港工合單位", ''香港華字日報'', page 3, part 2, 13 April 1940. * "非官議員普樂離職", ''大公報'', page 2, part 6, 22 September 1940. * "普樂返港", ''大公報'', page 2, part 6, 28 November 1940. * "港府昨正式發表行政局議員名單", ''工商日報'', page 4, 8 May 1946.

External links

Constancy of Purpose
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pollock, Henry 1864 births 1953 deaths Attorneys General of Hong Kong Barristers of Hong Kong Members of the Executive Council of Hong Kong Members of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong Members of the Sanitary Board of Hong Kong Knights Bachelor Members of the Inner Temple People educated at Charterhouse School Politicians from London Lawyers from London Attorneys General of the Colony of Fiji Attorneys-general of Fiji 19th-century King's Counsel 20th-century King's Counsel