Sir Edward Fry, (4 November 1827 – 19 October 1918) was an English
Lord Justice of Appeal (1883–1892) and an arbitrator on the
Permanent Court of Arbitration.
Biography
Joseph Fry (1795–1879) and Mary Ann Swaine were his parents. He was a
Quaker from a prominent
Bristol
Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...
family which founded and owned the chocolate firm
J. S. Fry & Sons. His grandfather was
Joseph Storrs Fry (1767–1835) and his brothers included a second
Joseph Storrs Fry (1826–1913) who ran the firm and
Lewis Fry (1832–1921) who was a politician.
He was called to the bar in 1854, took
silk
Silk is a natural fiber, natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be weaving, woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is most commonly produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoon (silk), c ...
in 1869 and became a judge in
Chancery in 1877, receiving the customary knighthood. He was raised to the Court of Appeal in 1883, and was sworn of the Privy Council. He retired in 1892. Retirement from the court did not mean retirement from legal work. He sat on some cases in the
Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. In 1897 he accepted an offer to preside over the royal commission on the
Irish Land Acts. He also acted as an arbitrator in the
Welsh coal strike (1898), the Grimsby fishery dispute (1901) and between the London and North Western Railway Company and its employees (1906, 1907).
Fry was appointed GCMG and GCB in 1907.
International legal and arbitration career
He was also involved in international law. In 1902 he acted as one of five arbitrators at
The Hague
The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...
in the
Pious Fund of the Californias dispute between the United States and Mexico, the first dispute between states arbitrated by the
Permanent Court of Arbitration. In 1904 he was the British legal assessor on the commission to investigate the
Dogger Bank incident where the Russian navy accidentally attacked a British herring fleet in the North Sea. He was involved in the second
Hague Conference (1907). In 1908/1909 he was an arbitrator between France and Germany over a case where France had seized deserters (including some German citizens) from German
diplomatic protection.
Zoological and botanical work
Besides law he was on the council of
University College London
University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...
and interested in Zoology (he was elected to the
Royal Society
The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...
in 1883).
He wrote two books on
bryophytes, ''British Mosses'' (1892) and, with his daughter Agnes, ''The Liverworts: British and Foreign'' (1911).
Suppression of opium
In his preface to the 1884 report to the Houses of Parliament titled ''The Indo-Chinese opium trade considered in relation to its history, morality, and expediency, and its influence on Christian missions'', Fry wrote:
"We English, by the policy we have pursued, are morally responsible for every acre of land in China which is withdrawn from the cultivation of grain and devoted to that of the poppy; so that the fact of the growth of the drug piumin China ought only to increase our sense of responsibility".
Judgments
Judgments of Fry include:
*''
Foakes v Beer''
884UKHL 1,
881-85All ER Rep 106, (1884) 9 App Cas 605; 54 LJQB 130; 51 LT 833; 33 WR 233 - (Fry sitting in the Court of Appeal) - a leading case from the House of Lords on the legal concept of
consideration
Consideration is a concept of English law, English common law and is a necessity for simple contracts but not for special contracts (contracts by deed). The concept has been adopted by other common law jurisdictions. It is commonly referred to a ...
.
*''
Smith v Land and House Property Corp'' (1884) LR 28 Ch D 7 -
English contract law case, concerning
misrepresentation
In common law jurisdictions, a misrepresentation is a False statements of fact, false or misleading''Royal Mail Case, R v Kylsant'' 931Question of law, statement of fact made during negotiations by one party to another, the statement then in ...
and holding that a statement of opinion can represent that one knows certain facts, and can amount to misrepresentation.
*''
Isle of Wight Rly Co v Tahourdin (1884) LR 25 Ch D 320 - a
UK company law
British company law regulates corporations formed under the Companies Act 2006. Also governed by the Insolvency Act 1986, the UK Corporate Governance Code, European Union Directive (European Union), Directives and court cases, the company is th ...
case on removing directors under the
Companies Clauses Act 1845; Fry concurring with
Cotton LJ and
Lindley LJ
*''
Edgington v Fitzmaurice'' (1885) 29 Ch D 459 - contract law case, concerning
misrepresentation
In common law jurisdictions, a misrepresentation is a False statements of fact, false or misleading''Royal Mail Case, R v Kylsant'' 931Question of law, statement of fact made during negotiations by one party to another, the statement then in ...
*''
Falcke v Scottish Imperial Insurance Co'' (1886) 34 Ch 234 - an
English unjust enrichment law case, also concerning
English contract law, and setting out some fundamental principles of construction of obligations, as viewed to exist by the late 19th-century English judiciary; Fry concurring with
Bowen LJ.
*''
In the Arbitration between Secretary of State for Home Department and Fletcher'' (1887) - upholding a Queens bench decision supporting the authority of the Inspector of Mines to require the use of
safety lamps;
Bowen LJ dissenting.
*''
Mogul Steamship Co Ltd v McGregor, Gow & Co''
892AC 25, (1889) 23 QBD 598, (1888) LR 21 QBD 544 - (Fry sitting in the Court of Appeal) - an
English tort law
English tort law concerns the compensation for harm to people's rights to health and safety, a clean environment, property, their economic interests, or their reputations. A "tort" is a wrong in civil law, rather than English criminal law, crimi ...
case concerning the
economic tort of
conspiracy to injure. A product of its time, the courts adhered to a ''
laissez faire'' doctrine allowing firms to form a cartel.
*''
British South Africa Co v Companhia de Moçambique''
893AC 602 (Fry sitting in the Court of Appeal) - the House of Lords overturned Fry's Court of Appeal decision and by so doing established the ''Mozambique rule'', a
common law
Common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law primarily developed through judicial decisions rather than statutes. Although common law may incorporate certain statutes, it is largely based on prece ...
rule in
private international law that renders actions relating to title in foreign land, the right to possession of foreign land, and
trespass to foreign land non-
justiciable in common law jurisdictions.
Family
Edward Fry married in 1859 Mariabella Hodgkin (1833–1930), daughter of
John Hodgkin, granddaughter of
Luke Howard, and sister of the historian,
Thomas Hodgkin: and they were the parents of seven daughters, one dying young, and two sons. They lived in
Highgate
Highgate is a suburban area of N postcode area, north London in the London Borough of Camden, London Boroughs of Camden, London Borough of Islington, Islington and London Borough of Haringey, Haringey. The area is at the north-eastern corner ...
at 5
The Grove, a house later owned by the singer
George Michael.
* Edward Portsmouth Fry (1860-1928)
* Mariabella Fry (1861-1920)
*
Joan Mary Fry (1862–1955) Quaker social reformer
*Elizabeth Alice Fry (1864-1868)
*
Roger Eliot Fry (1866–1934) – Artist, member of the
Bloomsbury Group
*
Agnes Fry (1869–1957) – co-writer with her father on several scientific treatises and later wrote a biography of him; and her twin sister
Isabel Fry (1869-1958), educator
*
(Sara) Margery Fry (1874–1958) – penal reformer, principal of
Somerville College (1926–1931), founder of the
Howard League
*
(Anna) Ruth Fry (1878–1962) – pacifist and Quaker activist.
Notes
References
A Social and Biographical History of British and Irish Field-Bryologistsby Mark Lawley, 2006. Contains information on Edward Fry's interest in Bryology.
AIM25: Institute of Education: Fry, Isabel (1869–1958)– contains information on her siblings also
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fry, Edward
1827 births
1918 deaths
English barristers
19th-century English judges
English King's Counsel
19th-century King's Counsel
Lord justices of appeal
Knights Bachelor
English Quakers
Fellows of the Royal Society
Edward
Edward is an English male name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortunate; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”.
History
The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-S ...
English botanists
British bryologists
People associated with University College London
Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George
Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Members of the Permanent Court of Arbitration
Fellows of the British Academy
Members of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council
British judges of international courts and tribunals
Chancery Division judges
19th-century English businesspeople