William Thomas Bridges (1820 or 1821 – 30 September 1894; ) was a lawyer and public servant in

British Hong Kong Hong Kong was a colony and later a dependent territory of the British Empire from 1841 to 1997, apart from a period of occupation under the Japanese Empire from 1941 to 1945 during the Pacific War. The colonial period began with the Briti ...

, where he held the post of Acting Colonial Secretary from 1857 to 1858. He was born in 1820 or 1821 in

Blackheath, Kent Blackheath is an area in Southeast London, straddling the border of the Royal Borough of Greenwich and the London Borough of Lewisham. It is located northeast of Lewisham, south of Greenwich, London, Greenwich and southeast of Charing Cross, ...

. Having studied at

Winchester College Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of the ...

and

Corpus Christi College, Oxford Corpus Christi College (formally, Corpus Christi College in the University of Oxford; informally abbreviated as Corpus or CCC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1517, it is the 12th ...

, Bridges was

called to the Bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

at the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...

in 1847. He emigrated to Hong Kong in April 1851 and rose rapidly in local society owing to his special status as a qualified barrister in a colony short of legal experts, becoming Acting

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

within a year of his arrival.. After a sojourn in England in 1856, where he was awarded an honorary

Doctorate of Civil Law Doctor of Civil Law (DCL; la, Legis Civilis Doctor or Juris Civilis Doctor) is a degree offered by some universities, such as the University of Oxford, instead of the more common Doctor of Laws (LLD) degrees. At Oxford, the degree is a higher ...

, Bridges became a provisional member of the

Executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dire ...

and Legislative Councils upon his return to Hong Kong, and was appointed Acting Colonial Secretary while the incumbent secretary,

William Thomas Mercer William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

, was on leave in 1857.. In 1856,

Thomas Chisholm Anstey Thomas Chisholm Anstey (1816 – 12 August 1873) was an English lawyer and one of the first Catholic parliamentarians in the nineteenth century. He served as Attorney General of Hong Kong for 4 years. He also wrote pamphlets on legal and politi ...

arrived in Hong Kong as Attorney General, and his campaigns to root out official corruption rapidly made an enemy of Bridges. Soon afterwards, in 1858, Bridges became prominently involved in a major local scandal when Anstey accused

Daniel Richard Caldwell Daniel Richard Francis Caldwell (19 September 1816 – 2 October 1875) was a colonial government official in Hong Kong. He was Registrar General and Protector of Chinese from 1856 to 1862 and was involved in the notorious Caldwell Affair in the ...

, responsible as

Registrar General General Register Office or General Registry Office (GRO) is the name given to the civil registry in the United Kingdom, many other Commonwealth nations and Ireland. The GRO is the government agency responsible for the recording of vital records ...

for policy towards the local Chinese community, of corruption and favourable treatment of an influential Chinese pirate, Ma-chow Wong (黃墨洲). Bridges was a friend of Caldwell and a fellow

Freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

, and moved to protect him by ordering Wong's potentially incriminating account books to be destroyed. An initial inquiry acquitted Caldwell and Bridges in 1858;

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

John Bowring Sir John Bowring , or Phraya Siamanukulkij Siammitrmahayot, , , group=note (17 October 1792 – 23 November 1872) was a British political economist, traveller, writer, literary translator, polyglot and the fourth Governor of Hong Kong. He was a ...

recommended Bridges' advancement within the administration, tipping him as a future Attorney General.. The controversy surrounding the Caldwell affair continued, however, and after Bowring's departure in 1859 his successor as governor,

Hercules Robinson Hercules George Robert Robinson, 1st Baron Rosmead, (19 December 1824 – 28 October 1897), was a British colonial administrator who became the 5th Governor of Hong Kong and subsequently, the 14th Governor of New South Wales, the first Gover ...

, reopened the case and commenced a new inquiry in 1860, which recommended Caldwell's dismissal. Under fire from the press and facing the prospect of removal from office, Bridges quietly left Hong Kong on 15 April 1861, and retired to private life. He died on 30 September 1894 in

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

Bridges Street Bridges Street () is a 300-metre two-way street in Sheung Wan, Hong Kong. Location On the east, the street intersects Shing Wong Street and Staunton Street. On the west, it intersects Square Street. The west side of the street ends with a s ...

Sheung Wan Sheung Wan is an area in Hong Kong, located in the north-west of Hong Kong Island, between Central and Sai Ying Pun. Administratively, it is part of the Central and Western District. The name can be variously interpreted as ''Upper Dist ...

is named after him. The law practice he founded in Hong Kong in 1851 continues to exist today, renamed

Deacons A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

References

Sources

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bridges, William Thomas 1821 births 1894 deaths Government officials of Hong Kong Barristers of Hong Kong Members of the Middle Temple People educated at Winchester College Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Oxford Members of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong 19th-century Hong Kong people Hong Kong Freemasons 19th-century English lawyers