Career
He was the Commissioner in Sind from 1891 to 1900. He formally opened Dayaram Jethmal Sind College on October 15, 1893 in Karachi. After stepping down as Commissioner, he was knighted as a Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire (KCIE) in the 1901 New Year Honours List.
In 1886-1887 H. East. M. James used a two-year leave to travel to China.
Together with two younger Brits, the officer Francis Younghusband and the diplomat Harry English Fulford, he explored Manchuria, travelling through the frontier areas of Chinese settlement in the region and to the Changbai Mountains. He published his travel notes, and a solid dose of background information, in a book, The Long White Mountain, or, A journey in Manchuria.
Over a century later, the factual material contained in a work still served as a major source for the historians of the region. The town of Jamesabad in Thar and Parker District of Sind was named after him.