DEATH OF MR GORDON FORLONG.

A NOTABLE EVANGELIST

PASSES AWAY AT RONGOTEA

There passed peacefully away at Rongotea yesterday in his 90th year, a man whose name had long been familiar through a great part of New Zealand. Gordon Forlong was born in 1819, second son of William Forlong, of Mt. Erins, Loch Fyne side. His mother was a daughter of General Gordon, of Park Hall, and Pitburg. After education at Glasgow Grammar School and Edinburgh University, Mr Forlong passed the Scotch bar about 1842, heading the list of his year, and , subsequently gaining some distinction as an advocate. During the Cotton Famine he was one of the prime movers and General-Secretary of the "Bank of Character and Skill," a Glasgow philanthropic institution which ensured employment for men and women of good character. He was an ardent student of Hebrew an<i Greek, studying the Bible in the original languages, and was one of the leaders in a great religious revival in the South of Scotland in 1859—60.

In 1868 he built the "Talbot Tabernacle," a large iron church in the West of London, and preached there for eight years, when ill-health compelled him to lay down his great work there and emigrate with his family to New Zealand. He left London in May, 1876, in the s.s. Dumbritton, reaching Wellington August 6. For some years he farmed near Bulls, but iu J BBO moved to Dunedin and took up evangelistic work, his fresh and powerful hand-

ling of BiDlical thomos drawing large congregations to the old Queen's Theatre every Sunday night. Those were days of the Freethought controversies, in which the present Chief Justice was a prominent man. Mr Forlong assailed the freethought standpoint and the members of that association were constantly among

his congregations. In 1885 the law-yer-evangelist came north again, this

time settling at Wanganui, where he remained till three years ago, when he removed to Rongotea so as to be near his daughter at Palmerston.

Mr Forlong was twice married. His first wife was Miss Laura Ansty, of Bath, whose daughters are now the relict of the late Stephen Jacob, 1.0.5., late Secretary of State of India, and Mrs Colonel Bloomfield, of Studholme, Suffolk. In 1856 Mr Forlong married again, Miss Elizabeth Anna Houltou, daughter of the late President of the Royal Philosophical Society, London. Of this marriage there wore eleven children, seven of whom survive. These are : H. G. (dentist), P. G. (land agent), and D. G. (farmer), all of Wangauui; Mrs C. D'Oyly Snow (Palmerstou); Mrs Cecil Heycock (Westport); Mrs Fred. Harrison (Waitara). There were 41 grandchildren of whom 38 survive. The eldest son, Mr Houlton Forlong, a missionary, died about three weeks ago, leaving a wife and threo young children.