William Edward Maxwell

Sir William Edward Maxwell
KCMG
Sir William Edward Maxwell KCMG
Governor of the Gold Coast
	In office; 7 April 1895 – 6 December 1897
Monarch	Queen Victoria
Preceded by	William Brandford Griffith
Succeeded by	Frederick Mitchell Hodgson
Acting Governor of the Straits Settlements
	In office; 30 August 1893 – 1 February 1894
Monarch	Queen Victoria
Preceded by	Sir Cecil Clementi Smith
Succeeded by	Sir Charles Mitchell
6th Colonial Secretary of the Straits Settlements
	In office; 9 March 1892 – 1895
Monarch	Queen Victoria
Governor	Sir Cecil Clementi Smith; Sir Charles Mitchell
Preceded by	Sir John Frederick Dickson; Arthur Philip Talbot (Acting)
Succeeded by	James Alexander Swettenham
British Resident of Selangor
	In office; 1889–1892
Preceded by	Frank Athelstane Swettenham; John Pickersgill Rodger (Acting)
Succeeded by	William Hood Treacher
Personal details
Born	5 August 1846
Died	10 December 1897 (aged 51); sea off Grand Canary[1]
Spouse	Lillias Grant Aberigh-Mackay (m. 1870)
Children	Sir William George Maxwell
Parents	Sir Peter Benson Maxwell (father); Frances Dorothea (mother);
Occupation	Colonial administrator

Sir William Edward Maxwell, KCMG (5 August 1846 – 14 December 1897)[1] was a British colonial official who served as Colonial Secretary of the Straits Settlements and Governor of the Gold Coast, then a British colony.

Early days

Born on 5 August 1846, William Edward Maxwell was the son of Sir Peter Benson Maxwell, the Chief Justice of the Straits Settlements.

Career

Straits Settlements

Maxwell followed his father into the legal profession, and also served in the courts of the Straits Settlements.[1]

In 1883, Maxwell was appointed the Commissioner of Land Titles in the Straits Settlements, to be a Member of the Executive and Legislative Councils of those Settlements.[2] In 1889, he was appointed the Resident of Selangor. He became the Colonial Secretary of the Straits Settlements in 1892,[3] and was acting governor from 30 August 1893 to 1 February 1894.

Anglo-Ashanti War

In 1895, Maxwell was promoted to the governorship of the Gold Coast (now Ghana).[4] Under his governorship the British declared war on the Asante Empire, the fourth Anglo-Ashanti War, known as the "Second Ashanti Expedition" in 1895.

An earlier Treaty signed by the Asantes in 1874, but whose terms were widely considered as absurd and unenforceable, was invoked by Maxwell. When the Asante King, Asantehene Agyeman Prempeh, could not meet the terms, Maxwell had him arrested, together with his mother, father, brother, uncles and a dozen advisors.[5] They were later exiled to the Seychelles, not returning to the Gold Coast (now Ghana) until the 1920s.

Death and legacy

Suffering malaria, Maxwell died at sea off the Canary Islands and was buried at sea. He had married Lillias Grant Aberigh-Mackay in 1870, and left issue. At the Holy Trinity Cathedral, Accra in Ghana (formerly the Gold Coast) a memorial tablet to him exists. It reads:

"To the glory of God in memory of Sir William Maxwell KCMG Governor of the Gold Coast Colony, who sacrificed his life to his unselfish devotion to duty. Under his rule the Kingdom of Ashanti was brought under British control. In impaired health he undertook an expedition to the northern territories of the colony to extend peace and protection to slave raided tribes and contracted fever of which to the undying regret of all who knew him died on the voyage home. Born 5th August 1846. Died 14th December 1897. 'Neither count I my life dear unto myself so that I might finish my course.'"[6]

Under the terms of his last will, he requested his niece to burn his private letters and diaries without examination, which was undertaken.[6]

Awards and honours

Maxwell was invested with Companion of the Most Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George (CMG) in 1885[7] and Knight Commander of the Most Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George (KCMG) in 1896.[8]

References

"Maxwell, William Edward".
"No. 25256". The London Gazette. 3 August 1883. p. 3867.
"No. 26260". The London Gazette. 23 February 1892. p. 991.
"No. 26596". The London Gazette. 8 February 1895. p. 773.
Jeal, Tim (1989) Baden-Powell, London: Hutchinson, p.168
Mohamad Rashidi Pakri, 'An Imperial or a Personal Legacy? The Rivalry of W. E. Maxwell and F. A. Swettenham in British Malaya', Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, Vol. 84, No. 2 (301) (December 2011), pp. 33-44
"No. 25461". The London Gazette. 14 April 1885. p. 1669.
"No. 10770". The Edinburgh Gazette. 14 April 1896. p. 361.

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[bio-1] "Maxwell, William Edward".

[2] "No. 25256". The London Gazette. 3 August 1883. p. 3867.

[3] "No. 26260". The London Gazette. 23 February 1892. p. 991.

[4] "No. 26596". The London Gazette. 8 February 1895. p. 773.

[5] Jeal, Tim (1989) Baden-Powell, London: Hutchinson, p.168

[Mohamad_Rashidi_Pakri_2011_pp._33-44-6] Mohamad Rashidi Pakri, 'An Imperial or a Personal Legacy? The Rivalry of W. E. Maxwell and F. A. Swettenham in British Malaya', Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, Vol. 84, No. 2 (301) (December 2011), pp. 33-44

[7] "No. 25461". The London Gazette. 14 April 1885. p. 1669.

[8] "No. 10770". The Edinburgh Gazette. 14 April 1896. p. 361.

Resident Councillors, Colonial Secretaries & Chief Secretaries of Singapore (1826 – 1959) (with italics * for the Acting)
Resident Councillors of Singapore (1826 – 1867)	John Prince Kenneth Murchison Samuel George Bonham Thomas Church Henry Somerset MacKenzie Ronald MacPherson
Colonial Secretaries of Straits Settlements (1867 – 1942)	Ronald MacPherson James W. W. Birch Thomas Braddell * William Willans * Charles John Irving * John Douglas Cecil Clementi Smith Sir John Frederick Dickson Arthur Philip Talbot * William Edward Maxwell James Alexander Swettenham Walter Egerton * Charles Walter Sneyd-Kynnersley * Sir William Thomas Taylor Frederick George Penney Edward Lewis Brockman * Sir Arthur Henderson Young Edward Lewis Brockman Richard James Wilkinson Sir Frederick Seton James George Hemmant * Edward Shaw Hose Sir Hayes Marriott George Hemmant * Sir John Scott Sir Andrew Caldecott Sir Alexander Sym Small Stanley Wilson Jones Hugh Fraser *
Colonial Secretaries of Singapore (1946 – 1955)	Sir Patrick McKerron J D M Smith * Wilfred Lawson Blythe William Allmond Codrington Goode
Chief Secretaries of Singapore (1955 – 1959)	Sir William Allmond Codrington Goode Edgeworth Beresford David

Governors of Singapore (1819–1959)
(with italics * for the Acting)
Resident of Singapore (1819–1826)	William Farquhar Dr. John Crawfurd
Governors of the Straits Settlements (under British India) (1826–1867)	Robert Fullerton Robert Ibbetson Kenneth Murchison Sir Samuel George Bonham William John Butterworth Edmund Augustus Blundell
Governors of the Straits Settlements (under Colonial Office) (1867–1942)	Sir Orfeur Cavenagh Sir Harry St. George Ord Sir Andrew Clarke Sir William Jervois Sir Archibald Edward Harbord Anson * Sir William Cleaver Francis Robinson Sir Archibald Edward Harbord Anson * Sir Frederick Aloysius Weld Sir Cecil Clementi Smith William Edward Maxwell * Sir Charles Bullen Hugh Mitchell Sir James Alexander Swettenham * Sir Frank Athelstane Swettenham Sir John Anderson Sir Arthur Henderson Young Sir Laurence Nunns Guillemard Sir Hugh Charles Clifford Sir John Scott * Sir Cecil Clementi Sir Andrew Caldecott * Sir Thomas Shenton Whitelegge Thomas
Japanese Mayor of Syonan (1942–1945)	Shigeo Odate Kanichi Naito
British Military Administration of the Straits Settlements (1945–1946)	Lord Louis Mountbatten Sir Thomas Shenton Whitelegge Thomas
Governors of the Crown Colony of Singapore (1946–1959)	Sir Franklin Charles Gimson Wilfred Lawson Blythe * Sir John Fearns Nicoll William Allmond Codrington Goode * Sir Robert Brown Black Sir William Allmond Codrington Goode

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