Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the Emperor of China and the King of Korea in 1885, can hardly be called a break, as it was only of some two months' duration, at the end of which brief interval Sir Robert yielded to the appeal of the Chinese Government and returned to his former position.
Sir Robert Hart has more decorations from the Chinese Government than any other foreign civilian. He received the brevet title of An Ch'a Ssu (Provincial Judge), with civil rank of the third class, in 1864; the brevet title of Pu Cheng Ssu (Provincial Treasurer) with civil rank of the second class, in 1869; the Order of the Red Button of the First Class in 1881; the Order of the Double Dragon, Second Division, First Class, and the distinction of the Peacock's Feather, in 1885; Ancestral Rank of the First Class of the First Order dated back for three generations, with Letters Patent, in 1889; and the brevet title of Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent in 1901. In 1902 he was received in audience by the Empress Dowager and Emperor. The edict sanctioning Sir Robert's application for leave in the current year conferred upon him the brevet rank of President of a Board in token of appreciation of his eminent services. At the hands of the British Government he has received signal recognition, being created a Knight Commander of the Order of St. Michael and St. George in 1882, a Knight Grand Cross of the same order in 1889, and a baronet in 1893. To mark their appreciation of his services in connection with the successful issue of the negotiations between France and China in June, 1885, the French Government made him a Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour. Other decorations which Sir Robert has received include those of Chevalier of the Order of Wasa, Sweden-Norway, 1870; Knight Grand Cross, Order of Francis Joseph, Austria, and Commander, Order of Pius IX, Rome, 1885; Knight Grand Cross, Order of Christ, Portugal, 1888; Knight Grand Cross, Order of the Polar Star, Sweden, 1894; Knight Grand Cross, Order of Orange Nassau, Holland, 1897; Order of the Crown, First Class, Prussia, 1900; Knight Grand Cross, Order of the Crown of Italy, 1907; Knight Grand Cross, Order of St. Olav, Norway, 1908. Sir Robert Hart's calm courage under adverse circumstances of health during the defence of the Legations at Peking against the Boxers in 1900 will not soon be forgotten, and it will long be a matter for regret that all official records of his faithful and distinguished services were lost irrevocably when the Inspectorate-General, with all its archives, was destroyed by the rebels.
In May, 1906, two Chinese officials were appointed respectively Administrator-in-Chief and Vice-Administrator of Customs, and this led to strong protests by the British Minister, as their appointment was looked upon as involving the supersession of Sir Robert Hart, though Sir Robert Hart himself never supported that view. Sir Robert is now on leave, and the duties of Inspector-General of Customs have, in his absence, devolved upon the Deputy Inspector-General, Sir Robert E. Bredon, K.C.M.G.
A man of great learning, Sir Robert Hart has done much to further the spread in the West of a general knowledge of the Far East, as a patron of Oriental museums in England and on the Continent, as well as in his authoritative work, "These from the Land of Sinim," which was published in 1901. In 1866 Sir Robert married Hester Jane, eldest daughter of Alexander Bredon, M.D., of Portadown, and by this marriage has one son and two daughters. When in China Sir Robert resides at Peking; his London addresses are 38, Cadogan Place, S.W., and the Athenæum Club.
SIR ROBERT BREDON, K.C.M.G., the Deputy Inspector-General of the Chinese Imperial Maritime Customs, is, like Sir Robert Hart, an Irishman. It was originally intended that he should follow his father in the medical profession, but, although he obtained first place in the examination for the Army Medical Staff, first place in the final examination for students at Netley Hospital, and was appointed to the 97th Regiment, all in one year, 1867, he retired after six years' service and joined the Chinese Imperial Maritime Customs. He has held his present substantive appointment since 1898, and is now Acting Inspector-General in the absence of Sir Robert Hart. He was closely associated with the negotiations leading up to the Mackay Treaty, and is generally credited with the responsibility for Article 8, the most important of all the articles in that instrument. A loyal servant of the Chinese Government, he has incurred the displeasure of a certain section of the foreign community, but has never acted in any way unworthy of a British subject. He was present with his wife and family in the British Legation, Peking, during its siege and bombardment, and received the China medal and clasp. He was created a K.C.M.G. early in 1904, and his other decorations include those of an Officer of the Legion of Honour (France); Commander of the Order of Olaf (Norway); Second Class, Sacred Treasure (Japan); Second Division, Second Class, Double Dragon (China); and Second Class, Crown of Prussia, with star. His writings, which have been naturally limited by his many activities in other directions, comprise various papers in Customs publications on Chinese railway and financial questions, including some in Chinese. Born on February 4, 1846, at Portadown, Ireland, Sir Robert is the eldest son of the late Alexander Bredon, M.D., and Katherine, daughter of the late Joseph Breadon, R.N., of Stanstead, Canada. He was educated at the Royal School, Dungannon, and at Trinity College, Dublin, where he was an honoursman in both classics and mathematics, and obtained the degree of M.A.
He is also a Bachelor of Medicine and a Master of Surgery. In 1897 he married Lily Virginia, youngest daughter of Thomas Crane Banks, of San Francisco, U.S.A., and has one daughter. His address is the Inspectorate-General of Customs, Peking, China. He is a member of the Shanghai Club, the Shanghai Country and Race Clubs, the Peking Club, and the Junior United Service Club, London.
