Charles John Irving

Charles John Irving, CMG, (7 February 1831 – 23 February 1917)[1][2] was a British civil servant in the Malay Peninsula.

The Honourable Charles John Irving CMG
Resident Councillor of Penang
In office 1885–1887
Preceded by	Major Samuel Dunlop (Acting)
Succeeded by	Allan Maclean Skinner
Acting Lieutenant-Governor of Penang
In office 10 February 1879 – 16 May 1880
Preceded by	Major General Edward Anson
Succeeded by	Major General Edward Anson
Acting Colonial Secretary of Straits Settlements
In office 1875 – 17 February 1876
Monarch	Queen Victoria
Governor	Sir William Jervois
Preceded by	William Willans (Acting)
Succeeded by	Sir John Douglas
Auditor-General of Straits Settlements
In office 1867–1879
Personal details
Born	7 February 1831 Isabelle Place, Camberwell, London
Died	23 February 1917 (aged 86) Sarlsdowr, Exmouth
Spouse(s)	Mary Jane Tompkins
Mother	Anne Dorothea Madgwick
Father	Charles Mitchell Irving

Career

He was with the Colonial and Immigration Office from 1852 to 1853 and a clerk in the Audit Office at Mauritius from 1853 to 1864. He was one of the very few Straits officials who had studied the Malay political and social systems. He was an expert on native affairs on the Malay Peninsula whom Governors Ord and Anson used in different negotiations. In 1871 Anson sent James W. W. Birch, then Colonial Secretary, together with Auditor-General Irving to see Sultan Abdul Samad at Langat to re-establish order there.[3][4][5][6][7]

He was acting Lieutenant-Governor of Penang from 1879 to 1880, Resident Councillor of Penang from 1885 to 1887, Colonial Auditor General to the government of the Straits Settlements at Penang from 1867[8] to 1879 and acting Colonial Secretary of Straits Settlements from 1875 to 1876 under governors Sir Harry Ord, Edward Anson and Sir William Jervois.

He was a member of the newly formed Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society in Singapore, acting as the society's president around 1883.[9]

Honours

He was appointed Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in 1881.[1][10]

References

1. "Irving Road, Penang & Charles John Irving". 25 October 2010. Archived from the original on 23 August 2019. (Biographical data at bottom half of page)
2. "Deaths". The Straits Times. 7 April 1917. p. 8.
3. The Colonial Office List for 1867 By Great Britain Colonial Office Published by Harrison, 1867; Item notes: 1867; p. 98
4. "Irving, Charles John, (7 Feb. 1831–23 Feb. 1917), retired Government officer". ukwhoswho. 1 December 2007.
5. The Imperial Frontier in the Tropics, 1865-75: A Study of British Colonial Policy in West Africa, Malaya and the South Pacific in the Age of Gladstone and Disraeli By W. David McIntyre Published by Macmillan, 1967
6. British Intervention in Malaya, 1867-1877 By Cyril Northcote Parkinson Published by University of Malaya Press, 1960
7. Gentlemen Capitalists: British Imperialism in South East Asia, 1770-1890 By Anthony Webster Published by I.B.Tauris, 1998; ISBN 1-86064-171-7, ISBN 978-1-86064-171-8
8. "No. 23334". The London Gazette. 20 December 1867. p. 6933.
9. "Journal of the Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society" (PDF). Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
10. "No. 24976". The London Gazette. 24 May 1881. p. 2675.

Further reading

• The Voyages of Mohamed Ibrahim Munshi By Munshi Mohamed Ibrahim, A. Sweeney, N. Phillips Translated by A. Sweeney, N. Phillips Contributor A. Sweeney, N. Phillips Published by Oxford University Press, 1975
• The Gentleman's Magazine Published by Printed by F. Jefferies, 1868; p. 237
• An Almanack...: By Joseph Whitaker, F.S.A., Containing an Account of the Astronomical and Other Phenomena ...information Respecting the Government, Finances, Population, Commerce, and General Statistics of the Various Nation's of the World, with an Index Containing Nearly 20,000 References By Joseph Whitaker Published by Whitaker's Almanack., 1888; Item notes: 1888; p. 429
• The Making of Modern South-east Asia By D. J. M. Tate Published by Oxford University Press, 1979; Item notes: v.1