The service of Bishop Hose thus corresponded with the life of the Colony of the Straits Settlements as a Colony instead of an Indian Dependency. He saw several generations of Governors and Officials come and go, and witnessed the rapid expansion of the Native States of the Malay Peninsula under British guidance, the rise and progress of British expansion in North Borneo, and the ever increasing prosperity of Sarawak in the hands of the Brooke family.
With this gradual expansion came increasing labours, and increasing responsibilities for the Bishop, and as time went on it became more and more apparent that it was not possible to combine missionary duties in Borneo with the efficient discharge of the duties of an Anglican Bishop in Malaya.
The division of the Diocese so strongly urged by the Bishop himself has already been carried out and the first Bishop of Singapore and Sarawak is thus also the last.
The life of the Bishop as Chaplain in Malacca during his first 5 years of Eastern service was uneventful. It was there that he commenced his studies in Eastern botany and the Malay language which continued to be a lasting interest to him throughout his career. His contributions to our Botanical knowledge have been considerable and will be separately noticed. As a Malay scholar he was not only able to serve the Church by translations of the Scriptures but also the whole community by founding (November 1877) the Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society for the promotion of interest in the science and literatures of Malaya.
As its Founder and President, Bishop Hose has taken a warm interest in the Society for nearly 30 years. He has been in touch with all that is best in the life and thought of Malaya for this long period and will be remembered with affection and respect.
To those who know him, the departure of Bishop Hose is a personal loss. He was of a retiring disposition, but his broad-minded views, and Christian charity, and his fund of reminiscences of the old times made him a delightful companion. Not only will be be long remembered by the Church, and by the
