Alan Burns (governor)

Sir Alan Cuthbert Maxwell Burns GCMG
Burns c. 1928
Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom on the UN Trusteeship Council
In office 1947–1956
Governor of the Gold Coast
In office 24 October 1941 – 2 August 1947
Preceded by	Sir Arnold Weinholt Hodson
Succeeded by	Sir Gerald Hallen Creasy
Assistant Under-Secretary for the Colonial Office
In office 1940–1941
Governor of British Honduras
In office 2 November 1934 – 24 February 1939
Preceded by	Sir Harold Baxter Kittermaster
Succeeded by	John Adams Hunter
Deputy Chief Secretary to Government of Nigeria
In office 1929–1934
Colonial Secretary of the Bahamas
In office 1924–1929
Personal details
Born	Alan Cuthbert Maxwell Burns (1887-11-09)9 November 1887 Basseterre, St. Kitts
Died	29 September 1980(1980-09-29) (aged 92) Westminster Hospital, London
Spouse(s)	Kathleen Fitzpatrick Hardtman (m. 1914; d. 1970)
Children	2, Beneditca and Barbara

Sir Alan Cuthbert Maxwell Burns GCMG (9 November 1887 – 29 September 1980) was a British civil servant who rose through the ranks to become governor of several colonies, he also authored a number of books on politics and history, including a book on "Colour Prejudice".

Early Life and Family

Burns was born in Basseterre and had seven siblings. His father was James Patrick Burns and mother Agnes Zulma Delisle Burns. His father was treasurer of St. Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla and died in 1896. Amongst his siblings were brothers Cecil Delisle Burns, a secularist writer and lecturer, Robert Edward Burns, also in the Colonial Service and Emile Burns a leading British Communist. In 1901 Burns matriculated to St. Edmund's College in Old Hall Green but had to leave early as his family could not afford the fees. ^[1]. His mother died in Hertfordshire in 1914. In the same year he married Kathleen Fitzpatrick Hardtman with two daughters named Barbara and Benedicta.^[2]

Career

Burns had several posts at the Colonial Service. He served on the Leeward Islands from 1905 to 1912 and in 1912 became Supervisor of Customs in Nigeria and enlisted in the West Africa Frontier Force. He served in the Cameroons Campaign and became Adjutant of the Nigeria Land Contingent. Burns was Private Secretary to Sir Frederick (later Lord) Lugard then Hugh Clifford during their times as Governors of Nigeria. In 1924 he was appointed Colonial Secretary of the Bahamas where he served until 1929 and in which time he carried out the duties of Governor on several occasions. From 1929 to 1934 he was Deputy Chief Secretary to Government of Nigeria. Then, at the age of 47, was posted to British Honduras, where he was governor from 2 November 1934 until 24 February 1939. In 1940 he was seconded to the Colonial Office on special duty in the rank of Assistant Under-Secretary. Burns was appointed Governor of the Gold Coast in 1941. In 1942 he served for five months as Acting Governor of Nigeria. He then returned to his duties as Governor of the Gold Coast where in 1942 he persuaded the Colonial Office to admit Africans onto the Executive Council of the Governor of the Gold Coast.^[3] In 1946 he brought about the new constitution which changed the Legislative Council to consist of six ex officio members, six nominated members, and eighteen elected members, this lead to an African majority on the council. ^[4] In 1943 a ritual murder took place in Kyebi. The jury (consisting of 6 Gold Coast natives and one European) convicted 8 men of the murder, but the accused had a well funded defence with the leading lawyer a nationalist politician and relation of some of the accused. The defence launched appeals to the UK parliament and attempted to portray the trial as a case of white oppression and smear the Governor for supporting the court's decision. This got a degree of support from politicians in the UK that hadn't researched the facts of the case and didn't realise that the court and the Governor had a wide degree of support in the matter from the local population. This caused the case to drag on for years.^[5] Burns resigned as Governor shortly after the Privy Council had rejected the final appeal in the case. His exact reasons for resigning are not clear, especially considering the amount of support he had, but it is possible, that with the leading lawyer in the case using it to further his own political career, Burns felt that his continued presence may detract from peaceful progress. From 1947 until his retirement in 1956 he served as Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom on the UN Trusteeship Council.^[6] At the age of 72, in 1959 he headed the Commission of Enquiry into the Natural Resources and Population Trends of the Colony of Fiji 1959.^[7] In 1966 Burns used his contacts to ensure a safe exit for his niece Dr. Marca Burns from Ghana during the coup. Burns died at Westminster Hospital in London.^[8]

Publications

Burns wrote and number of books and an article for a journal. He was also instrumental in founding the Lagos Library in 1932. Whilst most people were excluded from the library due to the high subscription fees it differed from others by allowing Africans membership. In his book on Colour Prejudice he states:

"It [colour prejudice] is nothing more than the unreasoning hatred of one race for another, the contempt of the stronger and richer people for those whom they consider inferior to themselves, and the bitter resentment of those who are kept in subjection and are so frequently insulted. As colour is the most obvious outward manifestation of race it has been made the criterion by which men are judged, irrespective of their social or educational attainments. The light-skinned races have come to despise all those of a darker colour, and the dark-skinned people will no longer accept without protest the inferior position to which they have been relegated."

His book "Colonial Civil Servant" is a collection of reminiscences from his time as a civil servant.

Honours

Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George - 1927^[9]

Knight Commander of the Order of St. Michael and St. George - 1936.^[10]

Knight of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta - 1942^[11]

Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St. Michael and St. George - 1946

References