寶寧

繁體中文

寶寧（John Bowring，1792–1872，又譯寶靈）係英國政治經濟學家、語言學家同自由貿易信徒，曾主編《西敏評論》，並係哲學家邊沁嘅好友同文集編者，通曉多國語言，亦曾任下議院議員。1854年4月他出任港督，任內最重大嘅事件係1856年10月「亞羅號事件」：廣州當局扣押一艘在香港註冊嘅華人船隻並拘捕船員，英方以此為由動武，成為第二次鴉片戰爭嘅導火線。1857年1月香港發生「毒麵包案」，數百名西人食用摻毒麵包後中毒，社會恐慌，華人居民大量離港。他任內亦推行牌照等規管措施，並處理英法聯軍期間嘅軍需與治安安排，惟政府與華人社會關係持續緊張。他1859年離任後返英，1872年逝世。

English

John Bowring (1792–1872) was a British political economist, linguist and free-trade advocate. He edited the Westminster Review, was a friend of Jeremy Bentham and the editor of his collected works, spoke many languages and sat in the House of Commons. He became Governor of Hong Kong in April 1854. The gravest episode of his term was the Arrow incident of October 1856, when Cantonese authorities seized a Chinese-owned vessel registered in Hong Kong and arrested its crew; Britain used the affair as a pretext for force, and it became the spark of the Second Opium War. In January 1857 the 'poisoned bread' case followed, in which hundreds of Europeans fell ill after eating tainted bread, spreading panic and prompting many Chinese residents to leave the colony. His administration also introduced licensing and other regulations and handled the military and policing demands of the Anglo-French expedition, though relations with the Chinese community remained tense. He left office in 1859 and died in 1872.