#15405, Henry Brougham LOCH

Henry Brougham Loch (1827-1900), public servant and governor, was born on 23 May 1827 in Edinburgh, the seventh son of James Loch, M.P., of Drylaw, and his wife Ann, née Orr. After service in 1840-42 as midshipman in the navy he was commissioned in the Bengal cavalry in 1844 and was A.D.C. to Lord Gough in the Sutlej campaign in 1845. In the Crimean war Loch helped to organize irregular Turkish cavalry, and in 1857-58 accompanied Lord Elgin's mission to China. In 1860 he returned as private secretary to Elgin on his second mission and negotiated the surrender of the Taku forts on the way to Peking, but Loch and his small party were then taken prisoner and suffered from ill treatment*. Back in England he was appointed a C.B. and left the army but furthered his connexion with the Whigs by acting as private secretary to the Home secretary, Sir George Grey, in 1861-63, and marrying in 1862 Elizabeth, daughter of the Hon. Edward Villiers and niece of the Earl of Clarendon and of C. P. Villiers. In 1863-82 he was lieutenant-governor of the Isle of Man, where he was popular but took little part in affairs outside his satrapy save for publishing in London a Personal Narrative of Occurrences During Lord Elgin's Second Embassy to China (1869), and a Memorandum Upon the Present Military Resources of England, with Suggestions as to the Manner in Which They may be Strengthened (1870). Created K.C.B. in 1880, he became a commissioner of woods and forests and land revenue in 1882 and was appointed governor of Victoria in 1884.

Like other governors, Loch took little part in political affairs, though his regular receptions were said to have helped to 'soften the asperity of political conflicts'. As a channel of communication with the Colonial Office he was replaced by the agent-general; with little confidential information at his disposal, his reports became somewhat infrequent and superficial. He was by-passed in the negotiations over the New Hebrides and New Guinea, and when Victoria's defence forces were being reorganized, Loch's support of the claims of the commandant, Colonel Disney, for independence from the minister, F. T. Sargood, was fruitless. However, Loch was more active and useful in discussions with Britain on naval affairs and Chinese immigration, though his influence on policy was slight. More important was his social success, particularly when irritation was aroused in some quarters by a variety of differences of opinion with Britain. He was favourably contrasted with his predecessor, the Marquis of Normanby. Loch appears to have been esteemed by more than the few who normally heed activities at Government House. His wife was active in philanthropic works and in 1887 helped to organize the Queen's Jubilee fund for 'the relief of suffering womankind'.

On leave in England in 1889 Loch was appointed high commissioner for South Africa and governor of Cape Colony but before taking office he briefly returned to Melbourne. Promoted G.C.M.G. in 1887 and G.C.B. in 1892, he was appointed P.C. and created baron on his return to England in 1895. In the House of Lords he sat with the Liberal Unionists; he intervened in debates on African questions, and amongst other things demanded greater government control over chartered companies. He died on 20 June 1900 survived by a son and two daughters.

Loch was widely declared to have been the most popular and respected governor in Victoria. He and Lady Loch left behind nothing but pleasant memories, and received more than the usual quota of farewell addresses, mementos and presentations from the community.

*In April 1860, Loch accompanied Lord Elgin to China again, as secretary of the new embassy sent to secure the execution by the Chinese Qing Empire of its treaty engagements. The embassy was backed up by an allied Anglo-French force. With Harry Smith Parkes (1828-1885) #849 he negotiated the surrender of the Taku Forts (Dagu Forts). During the advance on the Qing capital, Peking (Beijing), Loch was chosen with Parkes to complete the preliminary negotiations for peace at Tungchow (present-day Tongzhou District, Beijing). They were accompanied by a small party of officers and Sikhs. It having been discovered that the Chinese were planning an attack on the British force, Loch rode back and warned the outposts. He then returned to Parkes and his party under a flag of truce in the hope of securing their safety. However, they were all taken prisoner by the Qing general Sengge Rinchen and incarcerated in the Ministry of Justice (or Board of Punishments) in Beijing, where the majority of the group died from torture or disease. Parkes and Loch were treated less barbarically after Prince Gong intervened. After three weeks, the negotiations for their release were successful, but they had only been liberated ten minutes when orders were received from the Xianfeng Emperor, who was then taking shelter in the Chengde Summer Palace, for their immediate execution.

Anthony Cobbold, Australian DNB and Wikipedia.