The Postmaster General

Britain: Nation of Haves and Have Nots. 

The English economy in 1846 was buoyant, to say the least. Britain had just repealed the Corn Laws, protective tariffs which had restricted trade to the colonies. Tariff-free trade meant British manufacturers could trade with whomever had the cheapest raw materials and paid the highest price for their manufactured goods. And with the passing of the Enclosures Act, the landed gentry were able to replace low profit tenant farmers with high profit mechanized farms. The very fortunate among the landed found coal deposits on their estates or built fee-for-passage canals, creating lucrative new income streams. As well, bankers, the wealthy and syndicates of investors were making overnight fortunes from the immensely profitable, slave driven sugar plantations in the Caribbean. The doors to free trade had been swung wide open, heralding an era of untold wealth for British industrialists, traders and investors. Britain was awash with money. The Industrial Revolution was in full swing. This was wealth which had never before been seen in the western world.

Yet a walk through the poor neighbourhoods of virtually every city and town in England told a different story. Here lived the servants, factory workers and labourers, many of them children, who toiled for unspeakably long hours in unbearable working conditions, to provide privileged lives for the ‘haves.’ There too were the new arrivals — survivors of the Irish potato famine and the displaced from the Scottish enclosures — seeking a better life. They were beyond poor. In these neighbourhoods, people lived in run-down, overcrowded tenements, on narrow lanes where the air was fetid with the smell of sewage and industry, and thick with the particulates of coal-fed fireplaces. Here, the drinking water was contaminated, rats proliferated and disease spread rapidly. Britain had become a place for the exceedingly rich and the exceedingly poor, with few souls in between. 

Emigration

For the great mass of British, then, immigrating to the colonies became an attractive alternative to what they had —very little. The tale ‘The Immigrants,’ tells the story of the Lawrence family immigrating to Australia. The parents, James Lawrence and Mary née Grimes were my 3X great grandparents. A daughter Mary Lawrence from their family married Francis Williams Mitchell and they became my 2x great grandparents. They emigrated to Hong Kong where they raised their family of four children.  — Francis Jr,  Mary, Frederick and Rosa. 

Mitchell Origins

In our family archive is a portrait of a very distinguished Francis Williams Mitchell, PMG. On the back, in my father’s handwriting, is this notation: “Francis Williams Mitchell, protegé of Lord Eldon.” Protegé of Lord Eldon? It seems extraordinary that the son of a working class builder, who Francis was, came under the tutelage of a Lord, politician and prestigious lawyer? Perhaps the term ‘protegé ‘is a reference to Francis’ work as an articling clerk. That we know from his marriage certificate. And perhaps Francis came to the attention of the law firm because he was exceptionally bright. Or perhaps Francis’ or his father knew the right person. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

The Mitchells were from Cornwall, as far back at least as the 1750s when the records fade away. Francis’ father, William Henry Mitchell (1787-1847) was born in Falmouth, Cornwall. He married Ann Williams in 1811 and together, they had five children, the eldest of which was Francis Williams Mitchell, born in 1820.  At some point, the Mitchell family moved to London where work opportunities were likely better than in their home town of Truro. Truro, in the early 1800s, had regional importance for its iron smelters, potteries and tanneries. Had the family stayed in Truro, the bright young Francis might have lived a life of drudgery, poverty and frustration. 

At age 26, Francis married Mary Lawrence (31) at St John’s Anglican Church, London. Both their fathers were builders, so perhaps the families were friends. Francis’ work as an articling clerk seemed to position him well to become a successful London lawyer. The work would be hard, the hours long, but the rewards would be great — a large home in an upscale neighbourhood, servants, membership for Francis in a prestigious men’s club, the best of schools for their children and the opportunities for influential positions which good lawyers frequently secure.

Hong Kong

Then something or someone changed young Francis’ mind. He pivoted 180 degrees. Francis quit his job as articling clerk and secured a position with the Imperial Post Office in Hong Kong. The post office? Hong Kong? A place known for its stifling heat and humidity, pirates, mosquitos, tropical diseases and high death rates? Perhaps it was a sense of adventure that prompted Francis to start a life in such a rough and tumble, faraway place. Perhaps Francis had shrewdly determined that his chances of advancement were far greater in the fledgling colony of Hong Kong which was desperate for the educated and ambitious, than in highly competitive London. Or perhaps Mary wanted to be within reach of her family who were immigrating to Melbourne, Australia. Whatever the reason, Francis gave up his articling position and he, Mary and their first child, Francis Williams Junior (born 1847 in London), booked passage to Melbourne, where Mary gave birth to their second child, Mary Jr (born 1850). They remained in Melbourne for several months while Mary recuperated from the birth, then continued on to Hong Kong and their new chapter. The Mitchells had two more children, Frederick and Rosa.

Home Life

While Francis pursued his career, Mary was the dutiful wife and mother. Women in that era were seldom visible. They were socially barred from politics and only working class women held jobs. As a result, we know much about Francis and little about Mary.

As was the practise with many British families in Hong Kong (and across the British Empire), parents educated their children in English boarding schools, considered the best in the world (for those able to afford the best schools). An English education, apart from the quality of the education itself,  served as a ticket to a secure future. Often close friendships formed during the school years in England that became an invaluable ‘old boys network’ throughout a person’s life. Some students returned to colonial homelands to build a career and raise a family; others stayed and created a life for themselves in England. The Mitchells were likely no exception to the English schooling tradition.

A Rising Star

Francis was bright, analytic, well-organized and dedicated to his work. He proved himself quickly at the Imperial Post Office and was assigned more and more challenging responsibilities. In March 1857, he was appointed Deputy Registrar of the Supreme Court and in the same year, he became the Chief Clerk of the Imperial Post Office.  A year later, aged 33, he was the Acting Postmaster.  

Francis’ meteoric rise through the ranks of the civil service never stopped. In 1859 he was appointed auditor-general for the colony of Hong Kong and of the Consular and Diplomatic accounts of China and Japan. When, in 1860, the Imperial Post Office was transferred to the colony, Francis was appointed Assistant Postmaster General. By November of 1862, he was the Postmaster General.  He was created a Justice of the Peace in 1864 and filled in as Police Magistrate in 1867 and 1868.  Francis carried out investigations, mediated disputes, served as trustee and treasurer for the St John’s Cathedral, and analyzed and improved the postal service of both China and the Philippines. The Spanish government was so grateful for his efforts that in 1871 the King Amadeus of Spain conferred upon Francis a Knighthood of the Distinguished Order of Carlos III. This was a man of exceptional character and abilities who played an instrumental role in organizing and directing the affairs of early Hong Kong.

Francis Williams Mitchell was precisely the right man in the right place at the right time.

Not all went so smoothly in his personal life. For more on that, please see Tales, ‘The Unsuitable Suitor,’ ‘Femme Fatale’ and ‘Reborn, 1886.’