Forres, Scotland. The High Street, with the Court House, 

 built 1839, and, in front of it, the Market Cross, 1844 



Valentine 



a royal residence in the 12th cen- 

 tury. Footwear, woollen goods, and 

 chemical manures are manufac- 

 tured. Forres is in a sheltered posi- 

 tion at the foot of the Cluny Hills, 

 and near by is the Cluny Hill 

 hydropathic. Pop. 4,932. 



Forrest, JOHN FORREST, BARON 

 (1847-1918). Australian states- 

 man and explorer. Born near Bun- 

 bury, W. Aus- 

 tralia, Aug. 22, 

 1847, and edu- 

 cated at Perth, 

 he became a 

 state surveyor, 

 1865, and ex- 

 plored the in- 

 terior of the 

 continent. Sur- 

 veyor-general 

 of W. Australia 

 in 1883, he 



3260 



Kent, and was a 

 lord commis- 

 sioner for the 

 treasury, 1902-5. 

 In 1915 he be- 

 came financial 

 secretary to the 

 war office in the 

 Coalition govern- 

 ment, in 1917 a 

 privy councillor, 

 and in Dec., 

 1919, when he 

 resigned, was 

 created a baron. 

 He had sat for 

 Bromley since 

 1918. In June, 

 1920, he was appointed governor- 

 general of Australia. 



Forster, JOHN (1812-76). Bri- 

 tish historian and biographer. 

 Born at Newcastle, April 2, 1812, 

 fMj^MBMB^HBHM an< ^ educated 

 1 at Newcastle 

 I grammar 

 I school and Uni- 

 1 versity College, 

 I London, he be- 

 came, in 1833, 

 the literary 

 and dramatic 

 critic of The 

 Examiner, and 

 edited The 

 Daily News 



John Forster, 

 British historian 



Baron Forrest, 

 Australian statesman 



Elliott & Fry 



became its first premier in 1890, a 

 post which he held until 1901. He 

 was knighted in 1891. He took 

 part in the negotiations leading to 

 the formation of the Common- 

 wealth, and in 1901 became its first 

 postmaster-general. He was min- 

 ister of defence, 1901-3, of home 

 affairs, 1903-4, and treasurer for 

 four periods. He resigned in 1918, 

 and was created a peer, the first 

 Australian so honoured. His title 

 lapsed on his death, Sept. 3, 1918. 



Forst. Town of Prussia, in 

 Brandenburg. It stands on the 

 Neisse, 44 m. S. of Frankfort- on- 

 Oder. The main industry is the 

 weaving of cloth. Pop. 33,875. 



Forster, HENRY WILLIAM FORS- 

 TER, IST BARON (b. 1866). British 

 politician. Born Jan. 31, 1866, he 

 was educated 

 at Eton and 

 New College, 

 Oxford, and 

 represente 

 both schoc 

 and university 

 at cricket. In 

 1892 he was 



f e or C Se d ven^aks ^^oSSS* 

 division of Russell 



After C. E. Perugini 



during 1846. From 1847-55 he 

 edited The Examiner, resigning 

 this post on his appointment as 

 secretary to the commissioners of 

 lunacy. From Nov., 1861, to 1872, 

 he was commissioner of lunacy. 



In addition to the two works by 

 which he is best known, The Life 

 and Times of Oliver Goldsmith, 

 1848, and The Life of Dickens (with 

 whom he was most intimate), 

 1872-74, he wrote Lives of the 

 Statesmen of the Commonwealth, 

 1836-39, Arrest of the Five Mem- 

 bers, 1860, a Life of Sir John 

 Eliot, 1864, and vol. i of a Life of 

 Swift, 1875. His collection of MSS., 

 books, and pictures forms the For- 

 ster bequest at the S. Kensington 

 Museum. He died Feb. 1, 1876. 



Forster, WILLIAM EDWARD 

 (1818-86). British politician. Born 

 at Bradpole, Dorset, July 11, 1818, 

 his parents 

 were Quakers, 

 and he was 

 educated at a 

 Quaker school 

 at Tottenham. 

 He entered 

 business in 

 Bradford and 



soon became a w. E. Forster, 

 successful British politician 

 woollen manufacturer there. He 

 found time also for public work ; 

 writing and lecturing made him 

 known, and in 1859 he was par- 



FORT 



liamentary candidate for Leeds. 

 He was unsuccessful, but in 1861 

 he was returned as Liberal M.P. 

 for Bradford. He retained the 

 seat throughout his life. 



In 1865 Forster joined the Libe- 

 ral ministry as under-secretary for 

 the colonies, but he was soon in 

 opposition. In 1868 he became 

 vice-president of the council in 

 Gladstone's first ministry. He had 

 already shown a lively interest in 

 popular education, and it fell to him 

 to frame and introduce the impor- 

 tant Education Act of 1870. He 

 showed great perseverance in get- 

 ting it through the Commons, for 

 the religious question aroused acute 

 controversies and both sides criti- 

 cised him for steering a middle 

 course. He remained in office until 

 1874, and in 1880 returned thereto, 

 this time to the difficult position of 

 chief secretary for Ireland. He 

 introduced a Coercion Act, and 

 though his life was constantly in 

 danger carried on his duties with 

 absolute fearlessness. 



In 1882 he resigned, as Gladstone 

 released the political prisoners from 

 Kilmainham. Henceforward his 

 attitude towards Irish policy was 

 critical, and it was not surprising 

 when he declared against Home 

 Rule. On April 6, 1886, he died at 

 his London residence. 



Forster was a convinced but in- 

 dependent radical, early urging 

 reforms afterwards adopted, but 

 he was never very.docile in follow- 

 ing others. He was something of an 

 imperialist, and was never afraid of 

 expressing his views. He married, 

 in 1850, Jane Martha, eldest 

 daughter of Dr. Arnold, and he 

 adopted four children, his wife's 

 nephews and nieces, who were 

 known as Arnold-Forster. See Life, 

 Sir T. Wemyss Reid, 1888. 



Forsterite. Light - coloured 

 variety of mineral olivine. It con- 

 tains a small proportion of silicate 

 of lime, and occurs in limestones 

 altered by intrusion of igneous rock. 

 See Olivine. 



Forsythia. Genus of shrubs of 

 the natural order Oleaceae. Natives 

 of Japan and China, they have 

 smooth, simple, or trefoil leaves, 

 and scattered yellow flowers, 

 abundantly produced in early 

 spring, which makes the two 

 species, F. suspensa and F. virid- 

 issima, favourites in European 

 gardens. The genus is named 

 after William Forsyth, an 18th 

 century gardener. 



Fort (Lat. fortis, strong). Dim- 

 inutive of fortress. It was com- 

 monly used for fortified trading 

 stations, and there were hundreds 

 of these in N. America.and in India. 

 Some of these, e.g. Fort Duquesne, 

 still retain the prefix, but others. 



