Morris, Arthur Henry

Young years and education

Arthur Henry Morris was born on January 3, 1861 in Ryde ( Isle of Wight ), becoming the eldest son in the family of Rev. Henry Morris, ( Lincolnshire ), and Eliza Jemima Morris, nee Broughton ^{[1] [2] [ 3] [4]} . Belonged to the church of England ^[3] . Morris was educated at ^{[5] [1] [6]} .

Military career

After a short service in the Yorkshire artillery , on January 27, 1883, Morris was drafted into the ^{[5] [1] [6]} . He participated in the (1884-1885), undertaken to assist General Charles Gordon , for which he was awarded the with a and in bronze. After that, Morris departed for India . During the Burmese War in 1885-1887, under the command of Brigadier General he served as a transport officer and took part in the assault on Nya-Kyang, Kanko and Cylon, for which he was awarded a buckle . In 1888, Morris served as a transport officer in and participated in an expedition against the Red Karen , for which he was and awarded a buckle. Morris was also the chief of transport for the Burmese column in the Chin - expedition of 1889-1890, for which he was mentioned in reports and was encouraged by the official gratitude of the Government of India ^{[5] [1] [6] [2] [7] [ 4] [8] [9]} .

On November 14, 1890, the Queen elevated Morris to the title of Chevalier of the Order of Outstanding Merit for “merit during the Chin-Lushai Expedition” ^[10] .

From July 1886 to April 1890, Morris was a special services officer. In 1891 he was promoted to captain. From October 1893 to October 1898, Morris served as an adjutant to the 18th Regiment in Clonmel . In 1899, he was sent to West Africa . In February and March 1900, Morris led two expeditions against the tribes of the Northern Territories - and Dagomba , for which he was twice mentioned in the reports. During the Ashantine expedition of 1900, Morris commanded a convoy that made a march 238 miles to Kumashi . Having captured the city after three days of fighting, the seriously wounded Morris led the city garrison. Having defended Kumashi during an enemy siege, he also successfully removed the convoy from the city. For his actions during the Ashantine operation, Morris was awarded a buckle , mentioned in the reports, and also promoted to lieutenant colonel. In March 1902, he led an expedition against , for which he was mentioned in reports. In 1903 he was temporarily promoted to colonel ^{[5] [1] [6] [2] [7] [11] [4] [12] [13]} .

From June 1899 to December 1904, Morris served as the Northern Territories of the Gold Coast under the and ^{[5] [1] [6] [7] [14 ]} . In this post, he followed the path of the first Commissioner of the Northern Territory, Henry Northcott , as well as his follower and his short-lived predecessor . Their strategy was to co-opt local small tribes into the political structure of large centralized state formations as much as possible, for which Morris issued several decrees ^[15] . Since the Northern Territories were formally an independent protectorate, although under the jurisdiction of the Governor of the Gold Coast, Northcott, Morris and Waterston stated that their main goal was “to open the country and promote commercial communication”. The necessary conditions for this were the pacification of the region and the mobilization of labor for the transport of goods and the construction of roads, and in this context, tribal leaders were to become the basis of the “government scheme of the simplest and most economical form” ^[16] . At the same time, Morris rejected Northcott’s idea of ​​direct taxation of subordinate territories, supporting the proposal of Joseph Chamberlain , then , to introduce “free” (forced) labor, according to which the “chief leader” forced the northern leaders as "contractors" themselves find labor resources for public works ^{[17] [18]} . As Chief Commissioner, Morris was replaced by Alan Waterston , who was closely engaged in the issue of training future leaders and tribal leaders ^[19] .

On June 24, 1904, the King elevated Morris to the rank of Cavalier of the Order of St. Michael and St. George ^[20] .

In 1905, Morris returned to India. From June 1906 to January 1909 he was the commandant of the School in India. On November 23, 1908, Morris was promoted to colonel. From July 1909 to July 1913, he served as commandant of the . In July 1913 he resigned ^{[5] [1] [6] [4]} .

On October 25, 1915, at the age of 54, Morris was again called up for military service, but this time to the ^[3] . In the same year, he became commandant of at Amherst ( Nova Scotia ) ^[5] . Among the prisoners in the camp for some time was the Russian revolutionary Lev Trotsky , whom Morris considered "dangerous for the Allies in general" ^[21] . Trotsky subsequently wrote that he was talking “without due respect” with Morris - “he growled behind me:“ He would have caught me on the South African coast ... “. It was generally his favorite saying ” ^[22] . Trotsky caused a lot of trouble to the camp leadership, carrying out communist propaganda among German prisoners, for which commandant Morris put him as a solitary confinement in an old foundry furnace blast furnace ^[23] . After the end of World War I, Morris resigned again ^{[5] [1] [2]} .

Personal life

In 1902, Morris married Dorothy Mary Wilkie, niece and adoptive daughter of Walter Laverton of Manchester . The Morris couple had one son - John Henry Morris (born October 4, 1908) ^[1] .

Retired

In 1927, Morris moved to Victoria and settled on 2100 Brighton Avenue ( ), where he lived quietly, fond of shooting, hunting and fishing ^{[5] [1] [2]} .

On September 15, 1929, wrote a letter called The Swift Situation, in which Morris defended the policies of the Coldwood Parks Association, which he was managing at that time ^{[5] [24]} . On August 11, 1933, another of his letters, entitled "In the Great War," was published there, which rebuked Mr. Martin of Oak Bay, who claimed that the British did not even make up 50 percent of the First Canadian Division . Morris cited official data showing that out of 54,673 soldiers in the unit, 42,195 were from the UK, and only 12,418 were born in Canada, representing 77 percent of the British and 23 percent of Canadians, respectively ^{[25] [26]} . On June 12, 1934, The Colonist published another Morris letter in which he spoke of his career in response to a publication by on a trip to West Africa ^{[27] [28] [29]} :

Sir - Being the chief commissioner of the northern territories of the Gold Coast, extending 100,000 square miles in depth, for five years, I know something about West Africa and ask for permission to express a strong protest against that absolute nonsense expressed by Mr. Gordon Sinclair. Judging by his description of the Crown Colonies of the Gold Coast and Nigeria , it could be assumed that in these colonies there is no one but shamans and their victims, and most of the inhabitants are Mohammedans. Both colonies are the most valuable possession of the British Crown, as evidenced by the following figures taken from Affaiss of West Africa by Mr. E. D. Morel : the total value of British products and products sent by British possessions in West Africa over five years in the period 1896 —1900 amounted to almost £ 10,000,000, and the total value of raw materials imported by Great Britain from British West Africa over the same period amounted to more than £ 11,000,000. Since then, both exports and imports have increased significantly. Mr. Sinclair really believes that people will believe that 200,000 people die each year from the Voodoo curse in West Africa, as stated in The Colonist on June 9 "? Such statements can only exist in his own imagination, or come from the tipsy he also seems unaware of the fact that Lagos is the capital of British Nigeria, and not French, as he claims.

Original text

Sir - Having been five years the chief commissioner of the northern territories of the Gold Coast, a hinterland of nearly 100,000 square miles, I have some knowledge of West Africa, and would ask to be allowed to stoutly protest against the unmitigated nonsense talked by Mr Gordon Sinclair. Judging from his description of the Crown colonies of the Gold Coast and Nigeria, one would imagine that these colonies contained nobody except witch doctors and their victims, whereas a large proportion of the inhabitants are Mohammedans. Both colonies are most valuable possessions of the British Crown, and the following figures may be of interest, taken from Affaiss of West Africa by Mr ED Morel: The total value of British produce and manufactures shipped to the British possessions in West Africa in the five years 1896-1900 concluded to nearly £ 10,000,000 while the total value of raw produce imported by Great Britain from British West Africa during the same period indefinitely to over £ 11,000,000. Since that time both exports and imports have increased enormously Does Mr Sinclair really suppose that people are going to believe that 200,000 persons die every year under the Voodoo curse in West Africa, as stated in The Colonist of June 9? Such a statement as this can exist in his own imagination only, or come from the lips of a drunken beach comber. He also does not appear to be aware that Lagos is the capital of British Nigeria, not French, as stated by him.

Death and funeral

Arthur Henry Morris passed away on December 13, 1939, at the age of 77 after a short illness at the in Victoria, leaving behind a widow and son in Nanaimo , as well as two brothers and three sisters in England. Farewell to Morris took place on December 16 at the funeral home of SJ Curry & Son . Among those at his funeral was the former Canadian Army commander, Lieutenant General Sir Percy Lake ^{[27] [30] [31] [32]} . He was buried in ^[33] .

• Arthur Henry Morris (Neopr.) . AngloBoerWar.com. Archived on June 13, 2017. (eng.)