George Vane

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George Vane
13th Treasurer of Ceylon
In office
1865–1882
Preceded byFrederick Saunders
Succeeded byWilliam Dumaresq Wright
Personal details
Spouse
Harriet Braybrooke
(m. 1847)
ChildrenFrederick William, Henry George Bagnall
ProfessionColonial administrator

George Vane CMG, CCS, was the thirteenth Treasurer of Ceylon (1865-1882), and a member of both the Legislative Council and Governor's Executive Council, under the Robinson, Gregory and Longden administrations.

Career[edit]

Vane was initially appointed to the custom's department in Liverpool in 1834, before being appointed as inspector general of imports and exports in London in 1837, then landing waiter in 1839.[1]

In 1847 he was made comptroller of customs in Jaffna, British Ceylon. In 1854 he was the deputy collector of customs in the western and north-western province of Ceylon.[2]

Vane served as superintendent of fisheries from 1855 to 1860 and was primarily responsible for administering pearl fishing in the Gulf of Mannar, during that time.[3] In 1887 a report he prepared on the Ceylon pearl fisheries was published by the Royal Asiatic Society.

In 1861 he was appointed the principal collector of customs in Ceylon.[4][5][6]

On 1 September 1865 he was appointed as Treasurer of Ceylon by Governor Hercules Robinson, replacing Frederick Saunders.[7] A position he retained until he retired in 1882.

In 1877 Vane was awarded Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George at the Queen's Birthday Honours.[8]

Family[edit]

On 15 December 1847 he married Harriet Braybrooke, daughter of Colonel Samuel Braybrooke, in Colombo. She was the sister-in-law of William Dumaresq Wright, Treasurer of Ceylon from 1882 to 1886.[9]

His oldest son, Frederick William, ISO (b. 1852), served on numerous occasions as acting Postmaster-General and Director of Telegraphs, Controller of Government Stores and Secretary, Savings Bank for Ceylon,[10] his daughter Alice Emma (1859-?), married Brigadier General August Hill (1853-1921),[11] and his younger son, Henry George Bagnall (1861-1938), was the State Auditor and Financial Commissioner of the Federated Malay States (1909-1915).[12]

Publications[edit]

  • Vane, George (1887). "The Journal of the Ceylon Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain & Ireland". Report on the Pearl Banks of Ceylon and the Fisheries from 1855 to 1860. 10 (34). Royal Asiatic Society of Sri Lanka: 14–40.
Government offices
Preceded by Treasurer of Ceylon
1843–1882
Succeeded by

References[edit]

  1. ^ Sargeaunt, William C.; Birch, Arthur N. (14 May 2022). The Colonial Office List for 1862. BoD – Books on Demand. ISBN 9783375034252.
  2. ^ The Ceylon Almanac (PDF). Colombo: William Skeen - Government Printer. 1854. p. 64.
  3. ^ Thurston, Edgar (1894). Pearl and Chank Fisheries of the Gulf of Manaar (PDF). Madras: Superintendent Government Press. p. 31.
  4. ^ "London Gazette" (PDF). No. 22532. 23 July 1861. p. 2997.
  5. ^ "The Gentleman's Magazine and Historical Review". 18 October 1861.
  6. ^ Thurston, Edgar (1890). Pearl and Chank Fisheries of the Gulf of Manaar (PDF). Madras: Superintendent Government Press. p. 39.
  7. ^ Colonial Office, Great Britain (18 October 1867). "The Colonial Office List".
  8. ^ "No. 24464". The London Gazette. 30 May 1877. pp. 3442–3443.
  9. ^ Lewis, John Penry (January 1913). "List of inscriptions on tombstones and monuments in Ceylon, of historical or local interest, with an obituary of persons uncommemorated".
  10. ^ "The Indian Biographical Dictionary (1915)/Vane, Frederick William - Wikisource, the free online library".
  11. ^ "Allen's Indian mail and register of intelligence for British and foreign India: 1878,7/12". 18 October 1878.
  12. ^ "History".