Cecil Clementi Smith

The son of an Essex rector, John Smith, and his wife Cecilia Susanna Clementi (daughter of Muzio Clementi), Cecil Clementi Smith received his education at St Paul's School and Corpus Christi College, Cambridge.{{acad|id=SMT859CC|name=Smith, Cecil Clementi}} In 1864 he began his civil service career as a cadet interpreter in Hong Kong, learning much about the Chinese culture and gradually became an accomplished scholar of the Chinese culture. He was also the Colonial Treasurer of Hong Kong.

File:Bust of Sir Cecil Clementi Smith, Victoria Concert Hall, Singapore - 20141101-03.JPG]]

On 3 September 1878,{{London Gazette|issue=24622|date=6 September 1878|page=5037}} Clementi Smith took office in Singapore as a Colonial Secretary in the Straits Settlements, and understudied Governor Frederick Weld. His knowledge of Chinese culture and competence in the language proved useful as he was able to communicate effectively with leaders of the growing Chinese community.

Smith became known for his effective work in quelling Chinese secret societies in the Straits Settlements, such as those in Singapore which had been terrorising locals for decades. He also established the Queen's Scholarships in 1889 to fund bright Singaporean students to further their studies in top British universities.

In 1887 he was appointed Governor of the Straits Settlements and High Commissioner to Malaya till 1893. A popular governor, the local Chinese community petitioned for a continuation of his appointment when he left Singapore in 1893.{{cite news|url=http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/singfreepressb18930824-1.2.1|title=Farewell public banquet to H.E. the governor|newspaper=The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser|date=24 August 1893|page=2}}{{cite news|url=http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes18930824-1.2.6|title=The farewell banquet to H.E. the Governor|newspaper=The Straits Times|date=24 August 1893|page=2}}{{cite news|url=http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes18930824-1.2.34|title=The farewell banquet to H.E. the Governor|newspaper=The Straits Times|date=24 August 1893|page=3}}{{cite news|url=http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes18930830-1.2.38|title=His Excellency Sir Cecil Clementi Smith|newspaper=The Straits Times|date=30 August 1893|page=3}}

Subsequently, he was Lieutenant Governor of Ceylon, and the Master of the Mercers' Company in 1897. He was president of the commission of inquiry on the Trinidad riots in 1903, and was chief British delegate to International Opium Convention at The Hague in 1912.{{cite web|url=http://www.tc.edu/centers/cifas/drugsandsociety/background/OpiumConvention.html|title=INTERNATIONAL OPIUM CONVENTION SIGNED AT THE HAGUE JANUARY 23, 1912|date=23 January 1912|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20050125000432/http://www.tc.edu/centers/cifas/drugsandsociety/background/OpiumConvention.html|archivedate=25 January 2005}}

Clementi Smith married Teresa Alice Newcomen; they had three sons and four daughters. Clementi Smith died in Welwyn, Hertfordshire, England, on 6 February 1916, aged 75.{{cite news|url=http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/singfreepressb19160209-1.2.29|title=Sir Clementi Smith dead|newspaper=The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser|date=9 February 1916|page=6}}. His nephew was Sir Cecil Clementi who also served as Governor of the Straits Settlements and in other administrative positions in Hong Kong and Singapore.

File:Cecil Clementi Smith Vanity Fair 1892-01-23.jpg, January 1892]]

Clementi Smith was invested with Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in 1880,{{London Gazette|issue=24848|date=28 May 1880|page=3220}} Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) in 1886{{London Gazette|issue=25592|date=29 May 1886|page=2634}} and Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (GCMG) in 1892.{{London Gazette|issue=26238|date=1 January 1892|page=1}}

He was also appointed as Privy Counsellor in 1906.{{London Gazette|issue=27928|date=3 July 1906|page=4545}}

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{{Reflist}}

• {{citation|title=Singapore: Days of Old. A Special Commemorative History of Singapore Published on the 10th Anniversary of Singapore Tatler|location=Singapore|publisher=Illustrated Magazine Pub. Co.|year=1992|pages=48–49|isbn=978-962709319-0}}.
• {{citation|last=Tate|first=D. J. M.|title=A Portrait Gallery of Nineteenth Century Singapore|location=Singapore|publisher=Antiques of the Orient|year=1988|isbn=978-981-00-0668-6}}.
• {{citation|last=Turnbull|first=C[onstance] M[ary]|authorlink=Mary Turnbull|title=A History of Singapore, 1819–1988|edition=2nd|location=Singapore|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1989|isbn=978-0-19-588911-6}}.

{{Commons category|Cecil Clementi Smith}}

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{{s-gov}}

{{s-bef |before = Frederick Forth}}

{{s-ttl |title = Colonial Treasurer of Hong Kong|years=1874-1878}}

{{s-aft |after = Sir James Russell}}

{{s-bef |before = Sir John Douglas}}

{{s-ttl |title = Colonial Secretary of Straits Settlements|years=1878-1885}}

{{s-aft |after = Sir John Frederick Dickson}}

{{s-bef |before = Sir Frederick Weld}}

{{s-ttl |title = Governor of the Straits Settlements |years = 1887–1893}}

{{s-aft |after = William Edward Maxwell (acting)
Sir Charles Mitchell}}

{{end}}

{{Financial Secretary (Hong Kong)}}

{{Resident Councillors & Chief Secretaries of Singapore}}

{{Governors of Singapore}}

{{Chief Secretary of Ceylon}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Clementi Smith, Cecil}}

Category:1840 births

Category:1916 deaths

Category:Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge

Category:Colonial Administrative Service officers

Category:Financial secretaries of Hong Kong

Category:Governors of Penang

Category:Governors of the Straits Settlements

Category:Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George

Category:People educated at St Paul's School, London

Category:British people of Italian descent

Category:Chief secretaries of Ceylon

Category:Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom

Category:Chief secretaries of Singapore

Category:Administrators in British Singapore