In 1854 he was the deputy collector of customs in the western and north-western province of Ceylon.
[2] Vane served as superintendent of fisheries from 1855 to 1860 and was primarily responsible for administering pearl fishing in the Gulf of Mannar, during that time.
[3] In 1887 a report he prepared on the Ceylon pearl fisheries was published by the Royal Asiatic Society.
[4][5][6] On 1 September 1865 he was appointed as Treasurer of Ceylon by Governor Hercules Robinson, replacing Frederick Saunders.
1852), served on numerous occasions as acting Postmaster-General and Director of Telegraphs, Controller of Government Stores and Secretary, Savings Bank for Ceylon,[10] his daughter Alice Emma (1859-?