Joseph Frost Edger was a British leading merchant in China and Hong Kong. He was one of the first Unofficial Member of the

Legislative Council of Hong Kong The Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (LegCo) is the unicameral legislature of Hong Kong. It sits under China's " one country, two systems" constitutional arrangement, and is the power centre of Hong Kong ...

. In 1843, J. F. Edger was admitted as the resident partner of the Jamieson, How & Co., one of the leading merchant houses in Hong Kong at the time. In 1849,

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

George Bonham Sir Samuel George Bonham, 1st Baronet (Chinese Translated Name 般咸, 文咸 or 文翰) (7 September 1803 – 8 October 1863) was a British colonial governor, who became the 4th Governor of the Straits Settlements and the 3rd Governor of Hong ...

proposed to

Earl Grey Earl Grey is a title in the peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1806 for General Charles Grey, 1st Baron Grey. In 1801, he was given the title Baron Grey of Howick in the County of Northumberland, and in 1806 he was created Viscou ...

, the Secretary of State, to give the local merchants the right to nominate two representatives to the Legislative Council. J. F. Edger and David Jardine were nominated by the unofficial

Justices of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

. In June 1850, Edger and Jardine were sworn in, being the first unofficial members of the Legislative Council.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Edger, James Frost Members of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong Hong Kong people of British descent British businesspeople Year of birth missing Year of death missing