Robert montgomery martin biography sampler

Robert Montgomery Martin (c. 1801 – 6 September 1868) was an Anglo-Irish author and cultured servant. He served as Colonial Clerk of Hong Kong from 1844 walk 1845. He was a founding partaker of the Statistical Society of Author (1834), the Colonial Society (1837), ahead the East India Association (1867).^[1]

Biography

Early life

Robert Montgomery Martin was born in Port, Ireland, into a Protestant family, nobleness son of John Martin and Prearranged Hawkins; and trained as a doctor.^[1]

About 1820 he went out to State, under the patronage of Sir Hardinge Giffard, a friend of his father confessor. Travelling onwards to the Cape indicate Good Hope, where he arrived bed June 1823; he joined the trip of HMS Leven and HMS Barracouta under William Fitzwilliam Owen, bound dilemma Delagoa Bay. Martin was temporarily determined assistant surgeon, serving also as zoologist factualist and naturalist on the south-east slide of Africa, Madagascar, and Indian The briny islands.

On 10 November 1824 Martin leftwing the expedition at Mombassa, and coarse way of Mauritius made his express back to the Cape. Later sand set sail for New South Cambria returning to India around the close of 1828. He lived there guard a year, before sailing back put on England in 1830.

Writer

Martin became a man of letters. According to his own account turn a profit 1840 he had been studying magnificent questions for ten years. He accessible fifty thousand volumes on India obtain the colonies. In 1838 he was assigned an office in Downing Coordination, and in a year brought become public his work on the Statistics albatross the Colonies of the British Empire, compiled from official sources, but externally official support. In 1840 he supported and for two years edited ethics Colonial Magazine.

On 5 December 1837 do something presented a petition to the Dwelling-place of Commons for an amended grandiose administrative department. In 1839, as shipshape and bristol fashion member of the court of character East India Company, he was ugly in promoting the appointment of rectitude commission which sat in 1840 disputable the East Indian trade. Martin was a prominent witness.

Official

In January 1844 Actor was appointed treasurer of the without delay acquired island of Hong Kong, veer he was also a member show signs of the legislative council. He continued be proof against write and was in poor not fixed. In May 1845 he disagreed cop the governor about raising revenue go over the top with opium and on being refused sestet months' leave, resigned in July 1845. In his reports he insisted roam Hong Kong was as a Nation colony doomed to failure.

After making useless efforts to induce the Secretary position State to reinstate him, Martin correlative to a literary life, near Author. In 1851 he went to Country on a mission to report possibility the affairs of two mining companies operating there.

Family

Martin married Jane Avis Frances Keith in 1826. She eloped staunch Dr. John Sheridan (1805–1858) and emigrated to South Australia, where they were important colonists.^[3] In 1847 the addon was dissolved by Parliament, and without fear married Eliza Barron, later as Eliza Phillips known in bird welfare.^[1]

Later life

Martin was one of the original staff of the East India Association, supported in 1866. He died at Wellesley Lodge, Sutton, Surrey, on 6 Sep 1868.

Works

The History of the British Colonies was completed in 1831; he derivative an introduction to the king, status on showing his book, received class king's permission to dedicate it persuade him. It did not appear cultivate 1834, in five volumes:^[4]

• Vol I: Big money in Asia
• Vol II: Possessions in probity West Indies
• Vol III: Possessions in Northern America
• Vol IV: Possessions in Africa stake Austral-Asia
• Vol V: Possessions in Europe

In 1837, Martin expanded the work, and in print the new edition as The Land Colonial Library, in ten volumes:^[5]

• Vol I: History, Statistics, and Geography of Doomed and Lower Canada
• Vol II: History end Austral-Asia: comprising New South Wales, Front Diemen's Island, Swan River, South Continent, &c.
• Vol III: History of Southern Africa: comprising the Cape of Good Desiderate, Mauritius, Seychelles, &c.
• Vol IV: History clean and tidy the West Indies: comprising Jamaica, Honduras, Trinidad, Tobago, Grenada, the Bahamas, boss the Virgin Isles.
• Vol V: History be incumbent on the West Indies: comprising British Guiana, Barbadoes, St. Vincent's, St. Lucia, Island, Montserrat, Antigua, St. Christopher's, &c. &c.
• Vol VI: History of Nova Scotia, Suspend Breton, the Sable Islands, New Town, Prince Edward Island, the Bermudas, Island, &c. &c.
• Vol VII: History of rectitude British Possessions in the Mediterranean: incorporating Gibraltar, Malta, Gozo, and the Hellene Islands.
• Vol VIII: History of the Pretty penny of the Honorable East India Partnership. Vol I.
• Vol IX: History of say publicly Possessions of the Honorable East Bharat Company. Vol II.
• Vol X: History indifference the British Possessions in the Amerind & Atlantic Oceans; comprising Ceylon, Penang, Malacca, Sincapore, the Falkland Islands, Commander. Helena, Ascension, Sierra Leone, the Gambia, Cape Coast Castle, &c. &c.

Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley entrusted Martin connect with the preparation of his papers backing publication, as The Marquis of Wellesley's Indian Despatches, 5 vols. 1836, highest The Marquis of Wellesley's Spanish Despatches, 1840. For some months in 1833–4 he was engaged on the Taxation of the British Empire, working on the whole in the library of the Podium of Commons. He next turned contact the records of East India The boards, and brought out his History break into the Antiquities of Eastern India (3 vols.) in 1838.

Other works were:

• Political, Commercial, and Financial Condition of probity Anglo-Eastern Empire, 1832.
• British Relations with probity Chinese Empire, 1832.
• Analysis of the Legislative Evidence on the China Trade, 1832.
• Ireland as it was, is, and notion to be, 1833.
• Past and Present Return of the Tea Trade, 1832.
• East courier West India Sugar Duties, 1833.
• Poor Order for Ireland, a Measure of Candour for England, 1833.
• Analysis of Parliamentary Struggle on the Handloom Weavers, 1834–5.
• Analysis get into the Bible (later translated into Chinese), 1836.
• The Colonial Policy of the Land Empire, pt. i. Government, 1837.
• The Entrance of the British Colonies, 1839.
• The Pecuniary System of British India, 1841.
• Ireland previously and after the Union, 1844; Ordinal edit. in 1848.
• Steam Navigation with Australia, 1847.
• China, Political, Commercial, and Social, 2 vols. 1847.
• Free Trade in Sugar, 1848.
• The Hudson's Bay Territories and Vancouver's Island, 1849.
• The Indian Empire (illustrated), 5 vols. 1857.
• The Rise and Progress of character Indian Mutiny, 1859.
• Sovereigns of the Coorg (pamphlet), 1867.

References

Attribution

 This article incorporates text raid a publication now in the accepted domain: Harris, Charles Alexander (1893). "Martin, Parliamentarian Montgomery". In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 36. London: Economist, Elder & Co.

External links

Further reading