Alexander Palmer MacEwen (1846–1919) was a British businessman in China and member of the

Legislative Council of Hong Kong The Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, colloquially known as LegCo, is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Hong Kong. It sits under People's Republic of China, China's "one country, two systems" c ...

Biography

MacEwen was head of the Holiday, Wise & Co., agent and member on the consulting committee of the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank, Jardine, Matheson & Co. and

Union Insurance Society of Canton The Union Insurance Society of Canton (commonly known as the Union) was a major Hong Kong–based insurance company regarded in the early 20th century as one of the four leading British businesses, or " hongs", of colonial Hong Kong alongside Hong ...

. He was also vice-chairman of the

Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce The Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce (HKGCC; zh, t=香港總商會) was founded on 29 May 1861, and is the oldest and one of the largest business organizations in Hong Kong. It has around 4,000 corporate members, who combined employ aroun ...

. member of the

as the representative of the chamber in April 1886 during the absence of Thomas Jackson, and from 1887 after Jackson's retirement until 1890 when left for England. He had advocated for the establishment of a municipal council, letting the local community to manage their own affairs, and also an unofficial majority in the Legislative Council for many years. The suggestions were later taken by the Petitioners, consisting of many local business leaders, to the

Colonial Office The Colonial Office was a government department of the Kingdom of Great Britain and later of the United Kingdom, first created in 1768 from the Southern Department to deal with colonial affairs in North America (particularly the Thirteen Colo ...

in 1893 and was eventually rejected by Lord Ripon, the then

Secretary of State for the Colonies The secretary of state for the colonies or colonial secretary was the Cabinet of the United Kingdom's government minister, minister in charge of managing certain parts of the British Empire. The colonial secretary never had responsibility for t ...

. During his stay in Hong Kong, he was also President of the Victoria Recreation Club and member of the

Hong Kong Golf Club The Hong Kong Golf Club is a private golf club. It is home to the Hong Kong Open, a tournament co-sanctioned by the European and Asian Tours. Founded in 1889 as the Royal Hong Kong Golf Club, the club originally played in Happy Valley, a l ...

. He later moved to Shanghai and became Chairman of the Shanghai General Chamber of Commerce and also member of the Watch and Defence Committee of the

Shanghai Municipal Council The Shanghai International Settlement () originated from the 1863 merger of the British and American enclaves in Shanghai, in which British and American citizens would enjoy extraterritoriality and consular jurisdiction under the terms of ...

until he returned to Hong Kong in 1896. In 1902, he was elected vice-president of the Hastings and St. Leonards Conservative Association. He returned to England to take the office at Hollington in

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

. His daughter, Mary Ethel Winifred MacEwen married Sir Sidney Barton.

References

1846 births 1919 deaths British businesspeople British expatriates in China People from British Hong Kong Chairmen of HSBC Jardines (company) Hong Kong businesspeople Members of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong 19th-century British businesspeople {{UK-business-bio-1840s-stub