Henry Robert Butters (11 April 1898 – 1 March 1985) was a Scottish colonial civil servant. He was the first Labour Officer of Hong Kong and

Financial Secretary of Hong Kong The Financial Secretary () is the title held by the Hong Kong government minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters (“Department of Finance” per Article 60 of the Basic Law). The position is among the three most sen ...

from 1939 to 1941.

Biography

Butters was born in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

on 11 April 1898. He was educated at the Glasgow High School and won a scholarship to the

Glasgow University , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

in 1916. He joined the Eastern cadetship and was appointed to Hong Kong in 1922. He served as District Officer North, Assistant Secretary for Chinese Affairs, Deputy Clerk of Councils and Assistant Colonial Secretary. He was appointed police magistrate on five occasions in the New Territories, Kowloon and Hong Kong Island. He also took the law examinations and was called to the Bar at

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and W ...

. In 1934

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 ...

Sir William Peel singled him out for praise in the Legislative Council for his work on the budget. Butters was appointed by Sir

Geoffry Northcote Sir Geoffry Alexander Stafford Northcote, KCMG KStJ (羅富國;9 February 1881 – 10 July 1948) was a British colonial administrator. Early life, education, and early colonial services career Northcote was the son of Reverend the Hon. Arthur ...

the first Labour Officer of Hong Kong when the Hong Kong government was under pressure from London to give attention to the Chinese child labour. Butters completed a comprehensive study entitled ''Report on Labour and Labour Conditions in Hong Kong'', the first report in Hong Kong labour history. In the report, Butters argued for more support of the workers and prosed the expansion of labour welfare legislations to include a variety of occupational diseases in the proposed Workmen's Compensation Ordinance. He also acknowledged the prevalence of tuberculosis and the problem of opium or heroin addiction among the working poor. He drafted two bills, a Trade Union Ordinance and a Trade Boards Ordinance, in which the latter was passed in 1940 but the earlier was not enacted. In December 1939, he succeeded Sydney Caine as the second

. During his tenure, he amended the Wall Revenue Ordinance to raise revenue in the preparation for the Japanese aggression. He went on leave in 1941, travelling to America and returned to Hong Kong in November, five weeks before the Japanese invasion. He was one of the civilian defenders during the Battle of Hong Kong in 1941 and was interned in the

Stanley Internment Camp Stanley Internment Camp () was a civilian internment camp in Hong Kong during the Second World War. Located in Stanley, on the southern end of Hong Kong Island, it was used by the Japanese imperial forces to hold non- Chinese enemy nationals a ...

. Butters was sent home to recuperate after the war and Geoffrey Follows arrived as financial advisor to the military administration, who later replaced him as the Financial Secretary. He was subsequently assigned to

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 ...

and

Colonial Office The Colonial Office was a government department of the Kingdom of Great Britain and later of the United Kingdom, first created to deal with the colonial affairs of British North America but required also to oversee the increasing number of c ...

in 1947 as assistant secretary to head the Finance Department. He retired in 1949 at the age of 50. Butters married Jean Bain in 1926 and had two daughters and a son. He died in

Stirling Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...

, Scotland on 1 March 1985 at the age of 86.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Butters, Henry 1898 births 1985 deaths Alumni of the University of Glasgow Scottish expatriates in Hong Kong Government officials of Hong Kong Financial Secretaries of Hong Kong Members of the Executive Council of Hong Kong Members of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong World War II prisoners of war held by Japan Civil servants from Glasgow 20th-century Scottish businesspeople People educated at the High School of Glasgow Internees at Stanley Internment Camp