Early life and education

Hart was born in a little house in Dungannon Street, Portadown, County Armagh, Ulster, Ireland. He was the eldest of 12 children of Henry Hart (1806–1875), who worked in the distilleries, and a daughter of John Edgar of Ballybreagh. Hart's father was a "man of forceful and picturesque character, of a somewhat unique strain, and a Wesleyan to the core." At the age of 12, Hart's family moved to Milltown (near Maghery), on the banks of the Lough Neagh, staying there for a year before moving on to Hillsborough, where he first attended school. He was sent for a year to a Wesleyan school in Taunton, England, where he learnt his first Latin. His father's anger that his son was allowed to return home unaccompanied at the end of the school year led him being sent to the Wesleyan Connexion School in Dublin (now Wesley College Dublin) instead.

Hart studied hard at school. By the age of 15, he was ready to leave school, and his parents decided to send him to the newly founded Queen's College, Belfast. He easily passed the entrance exams and earned himself a scholarship (he earned a further scholarship in the second year, and another in the third). He found little time for sports, but was heavily influenced by Ralph Waldo Emerson's Essays and had his first poem published in a Belfast newspaper. During his time at university, he became a favourite student of James McCosh, and they continued to correspond throughout the rest of their lives. In 1853, he took his degree examinations, and gained his B.A. at the age of 18. He also won medals in Literature as well as in Logic and Metaphysics, and left with the distinction of being a Senior Scholar. He decided to study for a master's degree but in spring 1854 was instead nominated by Queen's College for the Consular Service in China.

Consular Service in China

Hart went down to the Foreign Office in London, where he met with the Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Edmund Hammond, and left for China in May 1854. Hart took a ship from Southampton to Alexandria, then travelled to Suez, then on to Galle and Bombay, before arriving in Hong Kong. He spent three months as a student interpreter at the Superintendency of Trade, before the return of John Bowring, the Governor of Hong Kong. On Bowring's return, Hart was assigned to the British Consulate in Ningpo. In 1855, following a dispute with his Portuguese colleague, the British Consul was suspended, with Hart taking over his duties for a few months. Hart's calmness and good judgement in the face of conflict between the Chinese and Portuguese earned him favourable recommendations. Hart returned to his duties following the appointment of a new Consul, and was still resident in Ningpo during the Ningpo massacre on 26 June 1857.

In March 1858, Hart was transferred to Canton to serve as the Secretary of the Allied Commission that governed the city. In this role, he served under Harry Smith Parkes, and found the work "exceedingly interesting": Parkes often took Hart on his trips around or outside Canton. In October 1858, Hart was made an interpreter at the British Consulate in Canton under Rutherford Alcock. In 1859, the Chinese viceroy Lao Tsung Kuang, a special friend of Hart's, invited him to set up a customs house in Canton similar to the one in Shanghai under Horatio Nelson Lay. In response, Hart said that he knew nothing of customs, but wrote to Lay to explore the possibility. Lay then offered him the role of Deputy Commissioner of Customs, which he accepted, and Hart asked the British government if they would allow him to resign from the consular service. They permitted this, but made clear that he would not be allowed to return whenever he pleased: he submitted his resignation in May 1859, and joined the customs service.

Chinese customs

Upon entering the customs service, Hart began drawing up a series of regulations for the operation of the customs house in Canton. For two years, from 1859 to 1861, Hart worked hard in Canton, but never fell ill in the hot and damp climate. In 1861, facing the threat of the Taiping Rebellion marching on Shanghai, Horatio Nelson Lay sought leave to return to Britain to nurse his injuries sustained during an anti-British riot in 1859. Lay claimed that so serious were his injuries that he was forced to return to England for two years to recover. In his place, two officiating Inspectors-General were appointed: George Henry Fitzroy, a former private secretary to Lord Elgin, and Hart. Whilst Fitzroy was content to stay in Shanghai, Hart went around China establishing new customs offices. With the recent ratification of the Treaty of Tientsin, a number of new ports were opened to foreign trade, and so new customs structures had to be put in place. In 1861, Hart recommended to the Zongli Yamen the purchase of the Osborn or "Vampire" Fleet. When the proposal was adopted, Lay, on leave in Britain, set out arranging the purchase of the ships and hiring of personnel.

Inspector-General

The good relations Hart established with the imperial authorities in Peking while deputising for Lay, and conflict between Lay and Prince Gong and the Zongli Yamen over the Osborn Fleet, led them to dismiss the difficult and haughty Lay upon his return from leave. Hart was appointed in his place in November 1863, with British approval. As Inspector-General of China's Imperial Maritime Custom Service (IMCS), Hart's main responsibilities included collecting custom duties for the Chinese government, as well as expanding the new system to more sea and river ports and some inland frontiers, standardising its operations, and insisting on high standards of efficiency and honesty. The top echelon of the service was recruited from all the nations trading with China. Hart's advice led to the improvement of China's port and navigation facilities.

From the start, Hart was anxious to use such influence as he possessed in favour of other modernising steps. In October 1865 Hart submitted to Prince Gong a memorandum which caused some offence at the time. In it he advised that "of all the countries in the world, none is weaker than China" and outlined his proposals. A modern postal service and the supervision of internal taxes on trade were eventually added to the Service's responsibilities. Hart worked to persuade China to establish its own embassies in foreign countries. Earlier, in 1862, he had with the Manchu noble Prince Gong established the Tongwen Guan (School of Combined Learning) in Peking, with a branch in Canton, to enable educated Chinese to learn foreign languages, culture and science, for China's future diplomatic and other needs. (An early appointment to the school was the completely unsuitable 'Baron von Gumpach' (an assumed name) whose discharge led him to sue Hart in the British Supreme Court for China and Japan for defamation. In 1873, the case ultimately went to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council Hart v Gumpach which upheld Hart's right to make the decision.) In 1902 the Tongwen Guan was absorbed into the Imperial University, now Peking University.

Hart was known for his diplomatic skills, and befriended many Chinese and Western officials. This aided him in directing customs operations without interruption even during periods of turmoil. His American Commissioner, Edward Drew, credited him with preventing a war with Britain in 1876 (via the Chefoo Convention), and he and his London representative, James Campbell, helped bring about peace after a French attack on the Chinese navy in Fuzhou in 1884. In 1885, Hart had also been asked to become Minister Plenipotentiary at Peking, upon the retirement of Sir Thomas Wade. He declined the honor after four months of hesitation, on the grounds that his work in the Customs Service was of certain benefit to both China and Britain, but that the outcome of a change of post was unclear.

During Hart's tenure in the Maritime Customs, Prince Gong was head of the Zongli Yamen, the newly established Chinese equivalent of the British Foreign Office, and the two men held each other in high regard. Hart was so well known in the Zongli Yamen that he was affectionately nicknamed "our Hart" (wǒmen de Hèdé, 我們的赫德). He also often worked closely with the powerful Viceroy, Li Hongzhang and their final work together involved negotiating a settlement China could tolerate at the end of the Boxer Rebellion, when the Eight-Nation Alliance of Western forces took control of Peking to lift the Siege of the International Legations, after the Dowager Empress and her nephew the Guangxu Emperor had fled the city.

Hart held his post till his retirement in 1910, although he left China on leave in April 1908, and was succeeded temporarily by his brother-in-law, Sir Robert Bredon, and then formally by Sir Francis Aglen. Hart died on 20 September 1911 after a cardiac decline following a bout of pneumonia. He was buried on 25 September 1911 at Bisham, Berkshire, England.

Family life

Hart's devotion to his work played havoc with his emotional life. As a young man, in spite of his Methodist conscience, he had bouts of promiscuity. In 1857 he took a Chinese concubine, Ayaou, with whom he had three children and for whom he developed genuine affection and respect. After becoming Inspector General at the end of 1863 one of his resolutions was to set a good example to his staff. For him this included parting with Ayaou (who seems to have been still in the south) and finding a respectable British wife. In December 1864 he visited Hong Kong and Canton, and it seems that while there, he made generous arrangements for Ayaou and made plans for the removal of the children to Britain. This was delayed as it seems in saying farewell he had also made her pregnant with their third child. Also one of the key persons whose help he needed was away. As he recorded in his diary for 15 January 1865 "I had to leave undone the private business I was most anxious to have got arranged". In May 1866 he arrived in Britain for his first leave. It seems likely the three children, (Anna, Herbert and Arthur Hart), travelled on the same boat with his Chinese steward, and his lawyer immediately found them a foster home.

He was now felt free to find a respectable wife, and his aunt had already prepared the way with the daughter of her doctor. He arrived home on 25 May, and on 31 May he and his aunt called on the 18-year-old Hester Bredon and her newly widowed mother. A rapid courtship followed. On their third meeting, on 5 June, he proposed and was accepted. They married in Dublin on 22 August and in September left for Peking. With Hester he had three legal children, Evelyn, Robert and Mabel, but did not see much of them. They both made a genuine effort to make the marriage work and to find common interests, but Peking life had its difficulties. Hester returned to Britain in 1876 with their first two children. A brief reunion started on his second leave in 1878, during which he had a break down. Hester probably found out about the illegitimate children, whose education was causing expense, during this leave. She accompanied him back to Peking, where the third child, Mabel, was born, but from 1882 she and the children lived permanently in London. The relationship was maintained by letter. Hart wrote regularly to his wife and legal children. The two oldest visited him in Peking briefly in the 1890s, not very satisfactorily. He was disappointed in the adult lives of his three legitimate children, but acknowledged in a letter to Campbell that he had been a neglectful father, not being present to set an example, but China was his priority.

It is not known when Ayaou died. His diary records letters from her in 1870 and in May 1872 "Will this never end?". While making no direct contact with them, Hart took an interest in the progress of his illegitimate children, through his lawyer and soon also via Campbell, his friend and colleague in charge of the London office. In his last decade, he was obliged to acknowledge them by legal declarations.

After 1882 he lived a celibate life, but had deep friendships with many girls and women, amongst whom were three generations of the Carrall family. Many of his male staff felt he was a supportive friend as well as a demanding superior. He got to know all his promising young men while they were students learning Chinese under his eyes in Peking, for he insisted that the ability to speak and write Mandarin Chinese was essential for promotion to Commissioner in charge of a Chinese port.

Sir Robert was survived by his wife and three children and was succeeded in the Baronetcy by his son Sir Edgar Hart, 2nd Baronet of Kilmoriarty (1893–1963). Sir Edgar was succeeded in the Baronetcy by his son Sir Robin Hart, 3rd Baronet of Kilmoriarty, who died in 1970 when the title fell into abeyance.

Archives

The papers and correspondence of Sir Robert Hart (MS 15) are held in the Special Collections & Archives of Queen's University, Belfast and at (PP MS 67) in the Archives and Special Collections of the School of Oriental and African Studies, London.

Awards and recognition

Sir Robert Hart, Bt., was highly decorated, receiving four hereditary titles, fifteen orders of knighthood (of the first class) and many other honorary academic and civic awards.

His skills as Inspector-General were recognized by both Chinese and Western authorities, and he was awarded several honorific Chinese titles, including the Red Button, or button of the highest rank; a Peacock's Feather; the Order of the Double Dragon; the Ancestral Rank of the First Class of the First Order for Three Generations; and the title of Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent in December 1901. He was also appointed a CMG, KCMG, and GCMG, and received a British baronetcy. In 1900, he was awarded the Prussian Order of the Crown (First Class), and received this in person the following year from the German Minister in China. In 1906, he was awarded a Grand Cross of the Order of the Dannebrog by the King of Denmark.

His name is still remembered through a street, Hart Avenue, in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong. There was also formerly a "Rue Hart " in the Beijing Legation Quarter (now Taijichang First Street) and a Hart Road in Shanghai (now Changde Road).

In 1935, the "Sir Robert Hart Memorial Primary School" in Portadown, Northern Ireland, was established in his name.

Hart is commemorated in the scientific name of a species of Chinese legless lizard, Dopasia harti.

He was posthumously promoted to "Minister" rank and awarded the title of Senior Guardian of the Heir Apparent according to Chinese political tradition.

Honours list

• 1870: Chevalier of the Order of Vasa (Sweden).

• 1873: Grand Cross of the Order of Franz Joseph (Austria-Hungary; Commander: 1870)

• 1875: Honorary Master of Arts, Queen's College, Belfast.

• 1881: Red Button of the First Class (China).

• 1882: Honorary Doctor of Laws, Queen's College, Belfast.

• 1885: Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour (France; Commander: 1878)

• 1885: First Class, Second Grade of the Order of the Double Dragon (China)

• 1885: The Peacock's Feather (China)

• 1885: Knight Commander of the Order of Pius IX (Holy See).

• 1886: Honorary Doctor of Laws, University of Michigan.

• 1888: Grand Cross of the Order of Christ (Portugal).

• 1889: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (Great Britain; KCMG: 1882; CMG: 1879)

• 1889: Ancestral rank of the First Class of the First order for three generations (China).

• 1893: Baronet of Kilmoriarty in the County of Armagh.

• 1894: Commander Grand Cross of the Order of the Polar Star (Sweden).

• 1897: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Orange Nassau (Netherlands).

• 1900: First Class of the Order of the Crown (Prussia).

• 1901: Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent (China)

• 1906: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown (Italy; Grand Officer: 1884).

• 1906: First Class of the Order of the Rising Sun (Japan).

• 1906: Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold (Belgium; Grand Officer: 1893; Commander: 1869)

• 1907: First Class of the Order of St Anna (Russia).

• 1907: Grand Cross of the Order of the Dragon of Annam (France).

• 1907: Grand Cross of the Order of St. Olav (Norway).

Arms

出身及學歷

1835年2月20日，赫德出生于英國北愛爾蘭阿馬郡鎮頓格農街的一幢小房子裏。赫德的父親亨利·赫德（1806-1875）在蒸餾酒廠工作，母親是拜理布雷（Ballybreagh）的約翰·埃德加之女。亨利·赫德據稱「具有有力生動的性格，一定程度上是獨一無二的，及發自內心的衛斯理宗教徒性格」。赫德十二歲時，隨家人搬遷至內湖畔的米爾頓（靠近馬格里），在此居住一年後又搬遷到唐郡的希爾斯堡鎮，並在此地入學。他被送入位於英格蘭湯頓的衛斯理宗學校，開始學習拉丁語。但由於年底學校允許他獨自一人回家，赫德的父親一怒之下將他轉送位於都柏林的衛斯理聯係學校（現）。

少年赫德學習勤奮，因此被冠以「燜燒鍋」（Stewpot）和「遠大屁股」（Consequential Butt）的綽號。15歲時赫德的學校課程結束，他的父母決定送他入讀當時新創立的貝爾法斯特女王學院。他輕鬆通過了入學考試，並贏得獎學金（大學第二及第三年又分別贏得獎學金）。他很少有時間參加體育活動，但受到拉爾夫·沃爾多·愛默生的《散文集》的深刻影響，並有詩作在貝爾法斯特報章發表。他成為的得意門生，兩人畢生保持書信聯絡。1853年他完成學位考試，在18歲的年紀獲得文學士學位，在文學、邏輯及形上學科目獲得獎牌，並以資深學者身份畢業。他決定繼續攻讀碩士學位，但在1854年春被女王學院提名加入駐中國的領事團隊。

駐華領事經歷

19歲的赫德來到倫敦的外交部，同外務常務次長會面後，在1854年5月（咸豐四年）離開英國赴中國。赫德從南安普頓出發，經亞歷山大港、蘇伊士、加勒、孟買，抵達香港，在港督寶寧離港期間在英國駐華商務總監署擔任見習翻譯三個月。寶寧回到香港後，即派赫德赴寧波英國領事館任翻譯官。1855年，英國駐寧波領事與葡萄牙領事發生衝突因而被暫時停職，赫德臨時充任領事數月，在工作中處事不驚及善於判斷因而得到贊賞。赫德在新領事上任後回到原職，但在1857年6月26日寧波發生時赫德仍在寧波。

1858年3月，赫德被調到英法聯軍占領下的廣州擔任大英法會理華洋政務總局（Allied Commission）書記官，又被充作香港督署書記官。赫德在政務總局的上司是巴夏禮，赫德對工作「極度的感興趣」。巴夏禮在廣州城內外巡訪時經常帶著赫德一起出行。1858年10月，赫德改任英國駐廣州領事館阿禮國手下的翻譯官。1859年，與赫德熟識的兩廣總督勞崇光請赫德出面在廣東建設類似於李泰國的上海江海關的新式海關。赫德自認對海關事務一竅不通，但去信李泰國詢問在廣州設立海關的提議。李請赫德出任大清皇家海關副稅務司，赫德接受邀請，並詢問英國政府是否同意他從領事隊伍辭職。英國政府回復准許赫德辭職，但告誡赫德不會允許他隨意回到英國領事隊伍。赫德在1859年（咸豐九年）5月向英國遞交辭呈，入職中國海關。

海關生涯

署任稅務司

1859年（咸豐九年），赫德辭去領事館職務、加入中國海關後，擔任粵海關副稅務司。1861年（咸豐十一年），在太平軍逼近上海的同時，李泰國向清廷請病假，稱其1859年7月在一次反英抗議期間受的傷需要返回英國治療。李泰國離滬期間清廷任命兩名署理總稅務司：喬治·亨利·菲茨羅伊（曾任額爾金伯爵的私人秘書）與赫德。菲茨羅伊願意留在上海，而赫德則走訪全國各地籌辦海關。隨著天津條約的簽署，中國通商口岸迅速增加，海關系統急需擴張以管理日益增多的國際貿易。1861年，赫德建議總理衙門購買阿思本艦隊，此建議獲採納後在英國的李泰國著手購置艦船及招募人手。

1862年（同治元年），在赫德與恭親王的倡議下中國第一所新式學校—京師同文館成立，並在廣州設分部。同文館旨在培養中國未來的外交及其他人才，學生學習外語、外國文化以及科學，經費來自海關稅收，分責人也由總稅務司推薦。同文館的早期教職人員包括一個所謂「」（假名），赫德對方根拔不滿意因此將其解僱，方根拔在英國在華最高法院提起訴訟控告赫德誹謗，此案一直上訴到英國樞密院司法委員會 （赫德訴方根拔 ），最終法院裁定赫德有權決定解僱方根拔。同文館後來併入京師大學堂，今北京大學。

總稅務司

1863年（同治二年），李泰國回到上海銷假，但在阿思本艦隊問題上與恭親王及總理衙門發生矛盾，加上中方認為李泰國傲慢且難與共事，因而李泰國被解職，11月30日李泰國去職，同日赫德正式接替擔任海關總稅務司，徙駐上海。赫德的任命也獲得英國贊許。

作為大清皇家海關總稅務司，赫德的主要職責是為中國政府收取關稅，同時負責將新式海關制度推廣到帝國各處的海、河港口及內陸關口，將海關的運作制度化，並提高海關的效率和誠信度。赫德任內建立的新式海關包括1864年（同治三年）所置台灣南北新關、1899年（光緒二十五年）與德使籌置的膠海新關、1886年（光緒十二年）赴香港、澳門，置關九龍、拱北、1905年（光緒三十一年），尋與日使籌置大連灣新關、1907年（光緒三十三年）東三省度地置關等。

赫德從中國的各貿易夥伴國招募海關的高層。赫德對清廷提出的建議改進了中國的諸多港口和航運設施，包括自1869年（同治八年）起赴緣海各地度置鐙樓塔表。

1864年（同治三年），赫德還駐京，加按察使銜，成為清朝的正三品大員。1865年（同治四年），總稅務署從上海遷到北京。從此，赫德居住在北京40多年。1869年（同治八年），晉布政使銜，官階從二品。

在海關任內赫德一直利用他對清廷的影響推動本職外的近代化改革。赫德在任內創建了稅收、統計、浚港、檢疫等一整套嚴格的海關管理制度，新建了沿海港口的燈塔、氣象站，為北京政府開闢了一個穩定的、有保障的、並逐漸增長的新的稅收來源，不但比舊式衙門清廉，甚至也是當時全球最清廉的海關；赫德主持的海關還創建了中國的現代郵政系統。1865年赫德回國完婚時上書恭親王，題為《局外旁觀論》，列舉改革建議，並且勸說清政府第一次派員出國考察。清廷上諭將赫德文與署理英國駐華使臣威妥瑪的《新議略論》交各地督撫詳慎籌劃。赫德文中對中國積弱狀況表述率直，例如「自四海各國觀之，竟莫弱於中國」，因此引起廣汎爭議。最終清廷將建設現代郵政系統及監督國內稅收也加入赫德的職責之內。在此文中赫德也寫到：「止有國政轉移，無難為萬國之首，若不轉移，數年之內，必為萬國之役。」雖然此文經過與總理衙門討論才定稿，因此反映了清朝高層的改革意願，但許多建議要到30年後才引起中國改良派的共鳴。他還利用關稅的抵押擔保，直接參與中國舉借外債的活動。

在外交方面，赫德鼓勵清朝在其他國家設立使領館。赫德本人也富有外交才能，與中西官員建立友好關係，並利用這些關係來保證海關在風波中繼續運作。由於中國各處被列強割據，赫德時常需要利用他的外交能力與列強使節協商設立海關和徵收關稅事宜，並在本職工作之外為中國外交服務。1876年（光緒二年），赫德協助簽訂《煙臺條約》，其美國籍稅務司認為赫德阻止了一場中國與英國之間的戰爭。1884年（光緒十年）中法越南衝突爆發後，赫德赴金陵與法使議越南案。不久，法國轉而攻擊臺灣，海關關艦「飛虎」號在臺灣海域為燈塔補時被俘。赫德派遣駐倫敦的中國海關官員金登幹（James Duncan Campbell）赴巴黎協商釋放關艦，同時試探議和解決衝突，1885年初金登幹會見法國總理茹費理，同時赫德說服總理衙門同意在賠款和越南問題上做出讓步，最終由金登幹代表中國與法國議定合約，中法雙方在天津簽署《中法新約》。

赫德同時身為英國人和中國官員，力求平衡雙方利益。對於英國在中國的利益，赫德力求維持19世紀中的「利益均沾」局面，對19世紀末英國隨同其他列強開始謀求更大的權利感到憂慮，因此與英國駐華使節關係並不完全良好，在《煙臺條約》談判中與英國使臣威妥瑪發生衝突，而英國在租借九龍新界後亦關閉了赫德的新關。赫德認識到自己中國雇員的身份，「從某種意義上講」，是中國人民的「同胞」，是中國政府用來對付外國商人的外籍雇員。1885年威妥瑪退休，英國政府請赫德出任駐華、韓公使，在猶豫四個月後赫德拒絕了任命。他對外交大臣格蘭維爾勛爵說他在中國海關的工作在一定程度上對中國和英國都有好處，而轉換職位的結果卻不清楚。而他對同文館總教習丁韙良則說由於他與中國政府的密切關係，作為公使任何決定都會被英國輿論視為袒護中方、姿態軟弱。1886年（光緒十一年），赫德獲賞花翎、雙龍二等第一寶星。1889年（光緒十五年），升為正一品，1893年（光緒十九年），賞三代一品封典。

赫德在中國任官長達五十年，頗與士大夫往還。赫德與掌管總理衙門的恭親王奕訢合作密切，擅長幕後的「業餘外交」，是總理衙門「可以信賴的顧問」，「不但在稅務和商務問題方面，而且在外交和內政方面」，都有其不可忽視的影響力。甚至封疆大吏的人事任命，有時也要諮詢他的意見。恭親王奕訢說：「赫德雖系外國人，察其性情，尚屬馴順，語言亦多近禮…」。同時也與李鴻章合作，在1900年（光緒二十六年）八國聯軍入京鎮壓義和團運動後，赫德與李配合參加《辛丑條約》談判，盡力維護中國利益以求達到中國能夠承受的議和條件。此後晉太子少保。1902年（光緒二十八年），召入覲，賜「福」字。

赫德的其他外交成就包括：

• 1886年（光緒十二年）赴香港、澳門，條議洋藥稅釐並徵

• 1887年（光緒十三年），葡萄牙使節來到中國，為解決走私問題，勸說中葡兩國簽訂《里斯本會議草約》，由葡萄牙「永據」澳門，換取澳葡當局協助海關徵收鴉片稅。

• 1889年（光緒十五年），藏兵在哲孟雄作亂，英軍乘勢介入，赫德遣其弟稅務司赫政馳往，與駐藏大臣會籌劃界諸事，談判1890年《中英會議藏印條約》。

• 1905年（光緒三十一年），與德使更議膠關章程，改行無稅區地法。尋與日使籌置大連灣新關，徵榷一如膠海。

海防事務

1874年，中國開始建設新式海軍，總理衙門委託赫德通過金登幹購買四艘艦艇，1879年（光緒五年），赫德又協助清帝國購買八艘軍艦，後來成為北洋水師的起源。1879年赫德向總理衙門提議試辦海防條例，組裝南北兩洋海軍，並自薦出任總海防司，總理衙門決定任命赫德出任此職。但李鴻章幕僚、道員薛福成向李呈文反對，稱赫德「陰鷙而專利」、「內西人而外中國」，認為如授赫德予海防司職權，「數年之後，恐赫德不復如今日之可駑也」。受此影響，總理衙門要求赫德在總稅務司與總海防司之間選擇其一，赫德選擇繼續擔任總稅務司、放棄總海防司職位。

退休及去世

1908年4月13日上午7時，73歲高齡的總稅務司赫德因病休假離職回國，並在辦公室留下一張意味深長的便條：「1908年4月13日上午7時，鷺賓·赫德走了。」此後他仍然挂著總稅務司的頭銜直到1910年。離開中國三年後，1911年9月20日赫德因肺炎發作後心臟衰竭病逝於英國白金漢郡芬格斯特。清廷追賜優恤、加尚書銜、太子太保。赫德離開中國後由妻弟、副總稅務司裴式楷代理總稅務司一職，1910年由安格聯接任。

個人生活

赫德工作勤奮，但在感情生活方面並不完美。赫德年輕時，雖然受衛斯理宗教義薰陶，但不時發生雜亂感情。1857年他在中國納了妻妾「阿姚」，並與她生了三個兒女，兩人之間有「真誠的感情和尊重」。1863年出任總稅務司後，赫德決定要為他的屬下樹立良好榜樣，他認為為此需要與（留在南方的）阿姚分離，並找一個符合身份的英國妻子。1864年12月他到訪香港及廣州，為阿姚作了慷慨的安排，並準備把兩個孩子送到英國，但這一計劃顯然被推遲，因為在進行道別時他又使阿姚懷上第三個孩子，同時他尋求幫助的一個人當時離開了廣州。赫德日記1865年1月15日篇：「我最焦急想要安排的私人事物未能瞭解，衹好放下。」1866年5月他第一次休假赴英，似乎由隨身的中國副官帶了三個孩子（安娜、赫伯特、亞瑟）同船赴英，並由他的律師為他們找到了寄養家庭。

赫德安頓完孩子們覺得可以自由尋覓符合身份的英國妻子。他的姑媽為他聯係了她的醫生的女兒。赫德在5月25日到達，31日隨同姑媽去探訪18歲的海斯特·布萊頓（Hester Bredon）和她新近喪偶的母親。赫德對她快速追求，6月5日兩人第三次見面時赫德就向她求婚並獲接受。他們在8月22日在都柏林結婚，9月離開愛爾蘭赴北京。赫德與海斯特育有三個子女：伊芙琳、羅伯特和梅貝爾，但並不經常見到他們。赫德嘗教其子習製藝文，擬應試，未許。赫德夫婦兩人都嘗試維持良好婚姻關係並找到共同興趣，但北京生活有其難處，最終海斯特在1876年攜兩個大兒女回到英國。1878年他第二次休假返英時兩人團聚，但赫德經受了一次崩潰。海斯特估計發現了赫德的私生兒女，以及為他們的教育花費的費用。她隨赫德回到北京，並生下兩人的第三個孩子梅貝爾。慈禧太后曾送給赫德小女兒一枚戒指。但1882年起海斯特和三個孩子長期住在倫敦。兩人之間的關係通過書信維繫。赫德經常寫信給妻子和他的婚生兒女。兩個大兒女在1890年代短暫赴京探望赫德，但此次訪問並不令他滿意，他對三個婚生兒女的成人生活表示失望，但在寫給金登幹的信中也承認他是疏忽的父親，沒有在他們的生活裏竪起榜樣，但說中國是他的首要職責。

阿姚何時去世並不清楚。赫德日記在1870年和1872年5月記錄收到她的信，並寫道「這難道不會終止嗎？」雖然赫德與三個私生兒女並無直接聯係，但他通過他的律師以及朋友和同事金登幹對他們的成長保持關切。在生命的最後十年裏，赫德通過法律文件承認了他們是他的兒女。

1882年後赫德維持獨身生活，但與許多女性有過深刻的友誼，其中包括卡拉爾（Carrall）家族的三代女性。他的男性下屬認為他既是嚴格的上司也是支持的朋友。他與所有在北京在他眼前學習漢語的有希望的青年，他認為說寫漢語的能力是擔任各埠稅務司的必要條件。

赫德身後留下妻子和三個婚生子女，他的從男爵勛位由兒子埃德加·赫德爵士，第二代基莫里亞蒂從男爵（1893-1963）繼承，埃德加死後勛位傳到其子羅賓·赫德爵士，第三代基莫里亞蒂從男爵，羅賓1970年去世後勛位中止。

紀念

由於赫德對中國海關和中外外交的貢獻，赫德成為了世界近代史上獲各國勛賞最多的個人之一，共受封四個世襲勛位、十五個一等騎士（爵士）勛位，及衆多其他名譽學術及市政榮譽。赫德所受封賞包括中國政府授予的一品頂戴、花翎、雙龍二等第一寶星、三代一品封典、太子太保銜；英國授予的聖米迦勒及聖喬治同袍勳章、爵級司令勳章、爵級大十字勳章、從男爵位（封邑是阿馬郡的基莫里亞蒂（Kilmoriarty））；普魯士的一級皇冠勛章、以及丹麥的丹尼布洛大十字勳章等。

紀念赫德的事物包括：

;銅像

• 赫德銅像，英國駐上海總領事館及公共租界工部局決議於1914年起於上海外灘樹立赫德銅像，以示紀念，1941年被日軍拆除。

;道路命名

為了紀念赫德，在中國一些地方有以他命名的道路。

• 北京赫德路（Rue Hart），今台基廠頭條。赫德路海關舊址已成為外貿部宿舍。

• 上海赫德路（Hart Road），今靜安區常德路。

• 香港赫德道（Hart Avenue），位於九龍尖沙咀，至今仍存在。

;學校

• 在其故鄉北愛爾蘭波特唐有赫德爵士紀念小學（Sir Robert Hart Memorial Primary School），1935年建立。

著作

《"These from the Land of Sinim.": Essays on the Chinese Question》由英國《》雜誌刊登，1901年4月3日成書出版，1903年再版。收錄了6篇文章：

• The Peking Legations: A National Uprising and International Episode(《北京使館：一次全國性的暴動和國際插曲》)，發表于 The Fortnightly Review（《雙周評論》）1900，11； Cosmopolitan（《世界雜誌》）1900，12

• China and Her Foreign Trade (《中國和她的對外貿易》)，North American Review (《北美評論》)1901，1；

• China and Reconstruction （《中國與重建》），《雙周評論》1901，1；

• China and Non-China(《中國與非中國》),《雙周評論》1901，2；

• The Boxers:1900（《義和團：1901》）,《德國評論》《世界雜誌》1901，3；

• China,Reform and the Powers（《中國，改革和列強》），《雙周評論》《當代評論》《巴黎周報》《德國評論》1901，5

關于這些文章的內容，赫德自己做過這樣的概括：「第一篇文章是呼籲人們注意：將來會有一天，武裝起來的中國會成為一個強國；第二篇文章是請大家在進行商務談判時，更加注重各省的政府；第三篇是建議在解決現存問題時，要慎重從事，以使中國將來念及我們的好處，而不是進行報複；第四篇談的是治病的問題，提出了醫治的方法，不論人們是否同意，早晚不得不使用這個方法；第五篇是第四篇的摘要展開。」第六篇，是「用另外一種方式，把我曾寫過的內容歸納一下，給那些可能不完全理解我的文章的批評家們，提供一把正確理解的鑰匙。」該書中譯名為《這些從秦國來——中國問題論集》。

在此書中，1900年的赫德如此描寫與預言中國的未來：

今天的這一事件（義和團運動）不是沒有意義的，它是一個要發生變革的世紀的序幕，是遠東未來歷史的基調：2000年的中國將大大不同于1900年的中國！民族感情是一個永久性的因素，這是必須承認的，在研究一個民族世紀狀況時，決不能排除這個因素，而在中國，唯一普遍存在的感情就是對中國制度的自豪和對外國一切的蔑視 .......

中國人是一個有才智、有教養的種族，冷靜、勤勞，有自己的文明，無論語言、思想和感情各方面都是中國式的，人口總數約有四億，生活在自己的疆域內，在他們所繁衍的的國度里有肥沃的土地和眾多的江河，有千姿百態的高山和平原、丘陵和溪谷，有各種各樣的氣候和條件，地面上生產著一個民族所需要的一切，地底下埋藏著從未開發過的無窮的寶藏，這個種族，在經過數千年唯我獨尊與閉關自守之後，已經迫于形勢和外來者的巨大優勢，同世界其餘各國發生了條約關係，但是他們認為那是一種恥辱，他們知道從這種關係中得不到好處，所以正在指望有朝一日自己能夠十足地強大起來，重新恢復昔日的生活，排除同外國的交往、一切外來的幹涉和入侵，用睡眠來形容，這個民族已經酣睡了很久，但現在他已經甦醒，他的每一個成員身上都激蕩著一種中國人的情感「中國人是中國的，把外國人趕出去！」

義和團無疑是官方煽動的產物，但是這個運動已經吸納了群眾的想象力，將會像野火一樣燒遍中國各個角落。簡單說來，它是一個純粹的愛國的自發運動，其目標是使中國強盛起來--以實現中國人的計劃。通過武力來達到它所預期的目的，即根除外國宗教和驅逐外國人的目的，它的第一次實驗並不是十分成功，但是，作為一次對志願行動是否可行的試探，或者作為將來所要採取的途徑和手段的一次試驗，它並不是一次失敗。他証明了廣大民眾會如何齊心協力的響應號召，也進一步表明原來謹小慎微的官方有意限制義和團只使用大刀長矛，這是不夠的，必須要用毛瑟步槍和克虜伯大炮來代替他，將來的愛國者將擁有金錢所能買到的最好武器" ..........

"危及世界未來」這幾個字無疑將引起哄堂大笑，好吧，讓他們去笑吧，但願他們會一直笑下去，兩千萬或兩千萬以上武裝起來的、訓練有素、紀律嚴明而又被愛國（即使是被誤解了）動機所激勵的團民，將使外國人不可能再在中國住下去，將從外國人那裡收回外國人從中國拿去的一切，將額外加價的報複舊日的怨恨，將把中國的國旗和中國的武器帶到許許多多現在連想都想不到的地方去。

五十年以後，就將有千百萬團民排成密集隊形，穿戴全副盔甲，聽候中國政府的號召，這一點是不用懷疑的！如果中國政府繼續存在下去，它將鼓勵（而這樣鼓勵是很對的）支持並發展這個中華民族運動；這個運動對世界其餘各國將是不祥之兆，但是中國有權這樣做，中國將貫徹她的民族計劃！" ..............

「中國將會有很長時期的掙扎，還會做錯很多的事情和遭受極大的災難，但或遲或早，這個國家將會以健康的、強大的、經驗老到的姿態呈現于世界，並擁有這個世界強加給它的軍事力量，而且，既然它必須擁有，它必將擁有最好的--最好的武器，最適當的訓練，最高級的教育，士兵的數量將視人口的允許和情況的需要而定，士兵的質量將會一代勝過一代，今天，為了義和團在去年的所作所為而懲罰中國，西方在禁止向中國出口的物品中包括武器，關于這一點，一位貴胄子弟曾對我說：」很好，這將迫使我們成為生產者，且請記住我的話，總有一天我們會成為出口商，不僅那樣，而且還會比現在的製造商賣的更便宜。

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