Eardley was born in India in 1852, the eldest son of lawyer John Bruce Norton, who had served as Advocate-General of Madras.

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.

[9] He gave a magnificent garden party for the visiting dignitaries, as did the Governor Lord Connemara at Government House and the sheriff of Madras, S. Ramaswami Mudaliar.

[10] 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, Liberal Member of British Parliament for Northampton.

[11][12] The UK-wing, known as the British Committee of the Indian National Congress, was established in July 1889 under the leadership of Bradlaugh, who was accorded the title "Member for India".