Eardley John Norton (19 February 1852 – 13 July 1931) was a

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

, Coroner and politician of British origin. He was also one of the earliest members of the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...

and a champion of civil liberties and rights of the Indian people.

Early life

Eardley was born in India in 1852, the eldest son of lawyer John Bruce Norton, who had served as Advocate-General of Madras. He received his education in Rugby School, England. He matriculated on 15 October 1870 at the age of 18 and graduated in arts from

Merton College Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, ch ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. He read law at Lincoln's Inn and was called to bar in 1876. In 1879, he set sail to India to practice in the

Madras High Court The Madras High Court is a High Court in India. It has appellate jurisdiction over the state of Tamil Nadu and the union territory of Puducherry. It is located in Chennai, and is the third oldest high court of India after the Calcutta High C ...

Practice in Madras

Eardley Norton practised as a lawyer in Madras from 1879 to 1906. Norton was elected to the

Imperial Legislative Council (India) The Imperial Legislative Council (ILC) was the legislature of the British Raj from 1861 to 1947. It was established under the Charter Act of 1853 by providing for the addition of 6 additional members to the Governor General Council for legislativ ...

in 1894 but had to resign within a month due to an adultery suit against him. In 1897, a furor was raised over the appointment of a lawyer V. Bhashyam Aiyangar as Advocate-General of the Presidency. Norton suggested that it was better to seek the opinion of the Bombay Bar over it and his suggestion was implemented. Norton was a close friend of

G. Subramania Iyer Ganapathy Dikshitar Subramania Iyer ( ta, கணபதி தீக்ஷிதர் சுப்பிரமணிய ஐயர்) (19 January 1855 – 18 April 1916) was a leading Indian journalist, social reformer and freedom fighter who f ...

, who founded ''

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...

''. He wrote a column in ''The Hindu'' called "Olla Podrida" under the pseudonym Sentinel. This column ran from May 1889 to December 1889. Norton started the Indian Aluminium Company for the manufacture of utensils in 1900.

Indian National Congress

Norton was associated with the Indian National Congress for about seven years from 1887 to early 1895. He participated in the 1887 session at Madras in the course of which he made a much acclaimed speech defending his support for Indian nationalists and association with the Congress. Besant, Pg 40 He also gave a magnificent garden party for the visiting dignitaries, as did the Governor

Lord Connemara Robert Bourke, 1st Baron Connemara, (; ; ; ; 11 June 1827 – 3 September 1902) was a British Conservative politician and colonial administrator who served as Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (1874–80, 1885–86) and Governor of ...

at Government House and the

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

of Madras,

S. Ramaswami Mudaliar Raja Sir Savalai Ramaswami Mudaliar (1840–1911) was an Indian merchant, d''ubash'', politician and philanthropist who was known for his wealth. He was also one of the early leaders of the Indian National Congress. Early life Ramaswami Mud ...

. Besant, Pg 51 Norton attended the Allahabad Congress of 1888 and moved a resolution for simultaneous Civil Service examinations in England and India. He campaigned in England along with Dadabhai Naoroji and W. C. Bonnerjee for greater political rights for Indians and there they enlisted the support of

Charles Bradlaugh Charles Bradlaugh (; 26 September 1833 – 30 January 1891) was an English political activist and atheist. He founded the National Secular Society in 1866, 15 years after George Holyoake had coined the term "secularism" in 1851. In 1880, Brad ...

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

Member of British Parliament for

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...

. The three said Congressmen, along with William Digby created a UK chapter of the Indian National Congress.

Indian National Evolution Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asi ...

, Pg 127

, Pg 137 The UK-wing, known as the

British Committee of the Indian National Congress The British Committee of the Indian National congress was established in Britain by the Indian National Congress in 1889. Its purpose was to raise awareness of Indian issues to the public in Britain, to whom the Government of India was responsible ...

, was established in July 1889 under the leadership of Bradlaugh, who was accorded the title "Member for India".

, Pg 128 Norton was also part of the Congress' first deputation to England in 1889.

, Pg 136 Norton attended the Bombay Congress of 1889 which came to be popularly called 'Bradlaugh Congress' because Bradlaugh attended it. In that Congress, he introduced the Madras scheme for reform of the Indian Legislative Councils and that scheme, due mainly to the efforts put by Bradlaugh and the Indian Congressmen, metamorphosed into the

Indian Councils Act 1892 The Indian Councils Act 1892 was an Act of British Parliament that introduced various amendments to the composition and function of legislative councils in British India. Most notably, the act expanded the number of members in the central and ...

. Norton also participated in the tenth session of the Indian National Congress held in Madras in 1894. Besant, Pg 187 A scandal of his adulterous affair with a married woman, who he married after her divorce from her husband, wrecked his Congress career. After resignation from the Congress in 1895, he only attended one Congress, the Madras Congress held in 1903, in which his participation was hardly significant.

Death

Eardley died on 13 July 1931 at Bexley in Kent.

Legacy

Norton lived in Dunmore House in Alwarpet, Madras. He moved to Calcutta in 1906. When he was called a 'veiled seditionist' for his association with the Indian National Congress, he responded to the charge in a hard-hitting speech in the Madras Congress of 1887:

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Norton, Eardley 1852 births 1931 deaths British people in colonial India Alumni of Merton College, Oxford Members of the Imperial Legislative Council of India