Obituary—Sir Frank Swettenham, G.C.M.G., C.H

attainment of our objectives will be obvious from a perusal of the booklet : and we are confident that all Old Peterites and others of our friends will give generously to ensure that the future of St. Peter's shall be worthy of its long and distinguished past.

Meanwhile, everything possible is being done to overcome immediate difficulties. The erection of a temporary dining hall is proceeding with what, in these days, seems commendable speed. And the acquisition of No. 24 Clifton, adjoining our other property, No. 1 St. Peter's Grove, has proved of real benefit. The two houses have been conjoined to make a highly satisfactory boarding house, which this •term will house the Manor. The original Manor premises are thus freed to become the main headquarters of the Rise, though it is still necessary to make use of dormitories in Brantwood. Even so, the new arrangement will do much to ease the situation for the members of the Rise, who have had to live uncomfortably enough since the raid of 1942. And here we may take the opportunity of expressing our good wishes to Major and Mrs. Crews, who administer the Rise from the beginning of this Christmas Term. Mr. Wiseman, who has acted as temporary housemaster for the past two years, remains to supervise Brantwood, as Major Crews' assistant, and so will not sever his connection with the house.

The record of the Summer Term, which is fully told in the pages which follow, would not be complete without a reference to an event which falls outside the scope of our ordinary reporting. On the 24th July the family of the Headmaster and Mrs. Dronfield was increased to three by the birth of a second son, Michael William. The christening took place in Chapel, on Sunday, the 29th September. We offer our heartiest congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Dronfield.

For the School Play, " Macbeth " has been chosen, and three performances will be given on the '12th, 113th and 14th December.

OBITUARY

SIR FRANK SWETTENHAM, G.C.M.G., C.H.

We regret to record the death, on 1 1 th June, 1946, at Mount Street, W., of Sir Frank Swettenham, G.C.M.G., C.H. His passing, at the advanced age of 96, severs a link with the remote past, for he was at St. Peter's from 1866 to 1868, in the Headmastership of the Rev. Richard Elwyn, and the School has lost one of the most distinguished of its sons. Sir Frank Swettenham was Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Straits Settlements from 1901 to 1904, and was universally regarded as one of the highest authorities on Malaya. The interest developed during 34 years in the Malayan Civil Service was sustained to the very end of his life, and in the early part of this year he wrote several letters to " The Times," in which he was severely critical of the proposed Malayan Union. We of the present-day St. Peter's are gratified by the knowledge that he 2

never lost his affection for his old school. Within recent months he had been in correspondence with the Headmaster, inquiring about our welfare and requesting copies of " The Peterite." His observations on his schooldays, made in his autobiography, " Footprints in Malaya " (1942), are of considerable interest, and we are happy to be able to reprint the relevant pages elsewhere in this number.

The following obituary notice is reproduced from " The Times ": " Frank Athelstane Swettenham, born in 1850, fourth son of James Oldham Swettenham, of Giffield House, Derbyshire, and a younger brother of the late Sir James Alexander Swettenham, passed into the Straits Settlements Civil Service, after competitive examination, under the first scheme for cadets in 1870. He rapidly acquired an intimate knowledge of Malay and passed the final examination in that language in 1872. After holding various posts in Penang, he was sent on special missions to Perak in 1874. In that year he was present as interpreter at the signing of the Treaty of Pangkoh, the treaty which inaugurated the Residential system ' in the Malay States. Swettenham was sent to live with the Sultan of Selangor and, in December, 1874, was appointed Assistant Resident of Selangor. During 1874.75 he made several visits to Perak to help the Resident (Mr. J. W. Birch), and was in Perak when Birch was murdered at Pasir Sala.k in 1875 ; his escape from a similar fate was largely due to the advice and devotion of his companion, Raja Haji Mahmud of Selangor. After the murder, Swettenham took charge of the Residency at Bandar Bharu and was appointed Deputy Commissioner with the punitive expedition which followed. His services were mentioned in dispatches and he received the medal and clasp of the Perak Expedition. He then became successively Assistant Colonial Secretary for Native Affairs from 1876 to +1881 ; British Resident, Selangor, 1882, and British Resident, Perak, in 1889. He was Commissioner of the Straits Settlements and Malay States at the Calcutta Exhibition, 1883.84, and Executive Commissioner for the S.S. and Malay States at the Colonial and Indian Exhibition of 1886.

The rapid development of the four States—Perak, Selangor, Negri Sembilan and Pahang—and their increasing prosperity under the Residential System was such that the Governor of the Straits found the work of dealing with four separate administrations under four separate Residents becoming too burdensome, and, in 1893, Swettenham drew up a scheme for the federation of the four States, under a Resident-General, resident in Kuala Lumpur. After nearly two years' consideration it was recommended that, if the Malay Rulers favoured the proposal, federation should be adopted. Swettenham visited the several States, explaining the scheme very fully to the Malay Rulers and the British Residents, and secured the consent and concurrence of them all. On 1st July, 1896, the four States became

The Federated Malay States,' and Swettenham was appointed the first Resident-General and was made a K.C.M.G. the next year. 3

The success of the scheme was immediate and phenomenal. Capital flowed into the country, the planting of rubber was started, modern machinery was introduced for the mining of tin, and the revenue had more than doubled when Sir Frank Swettenham was finally appointed Governor of the Straits Settlements and High Commissioner for the Malay Straits in . 1901. He was the first Governor of the Straits whose career had been spent entirely in the Malayan Civil Service, and his early retirement in 1904 was lamented throughout Malaya. During his 34 years' service, Sir Frank Swettenham saw the Malay States change from chaos to a high state of development. To his policy of opening the country with roads and railways—the latter with the aim to promote and contribute to a trunk line from Singapore to Burma and India—to his encouragement of European and Chinese planters and tin-miners and the opening of a first-class port for ocean-going steamers on the mainland, much of this development was due and, until the time of his departure, was all met from current revenue. As Governor he projected the Singapore Harbour improvements, introduced the currency conversion scheme to give stability to the gold value of the Straits dollar, which was completed by his successor, Sir John Anderson, and prepared the way for the bringing of the States of Kedah, Kelantan, Perlis, and Trengganu under British protection.

His name is perpetuated by Swettenham Wharf, at Penang, and Port Swettenham, Selangor, opened while he was Resident-General. He will be remembered not only as a great administrator and ' Empire builder,' but also as a writer of charm and merit. His book, ' British Malaya,' first published in 1906, will remain a standard work on its subject and a monument to his life's work. Other books= MalayEnglish Vocabulary ' (1880), ' Malay Sketches ' (1895), ' Unaddressed Letters' (1898), ' The Real Malaya" (1899), ' Also and Perhaps' (1912), and Arabella in Africa' (1925)--are further proof of his versatility as a writer of essays and stories. In .1942 he published his autobiography under the title of ' Footprints in Malaya.'

As a ' sportsman ' himself, in the truest sense of the word, he did much towards the introduction into Malaya of cricket, football, and other British games, and, as an owner, he was one of the leading patrons of racing in Malaya. After his retirement he lost none of his interest in Malaya, his information regarding changing conditions was extraordinary, while his unique knowledge of the Malay States made him an invaluable adviser to the Colonial Office, which repeatedly sought his advice upon matters of importance up to the time of his death. He was chairman of the Royal Commission on Mauritius in 1909, and from 1915 to 1919 was joint director of the official Press Bureau, being made a Companion of Honour in 1919. His knowledge of Malaya was invaluable in other spheres. In the rubber industry he was a director and chairman of several of the leading Malayan companies.