to 1870, when he was appointed Crown Prosecutor for Sydney, in succession to Mr. Butler, who had accepted the Attorney-Generalship. In Dec. 1877 he resigned this post, and became Attorney-General in the Farnell Administration, with a seat in the Legislative Council. Retiring with his colleagues in Dec. 1878, he again took office in Oct. 1881, being Minister of Justice in the Parkes Administration from that date till Jan. 1883, when the Government resigned. He retired from the Legislative Council in 1880, and was returned to the Lower House for Newtown. In 1882 he was defeated, but was re-elected in 1885, and sat in the Assembly till he retired from political life in 1888. Judge Foster was made Q.C. in 1886, and in the following January he again took office as Attorney-General under Sir Henry Parkes, but resigned in Feb. 1888, on the ground that his prior claim to the vacant Puisne Judgship had been slighted. Later in the same year he was raised to the Supreme Court Bench. Mr. Justice Foster married in 1854 Matilda Sophia, daughter of John Williams, of Landigige, Pembrokeshire. He on several occasions refused District Court Judgeships, and declined the Speakership of the Assembly in 1887.
Fowler, David, was born near Anstruther, in Scotland, in 1826, and emigrated to South Australia in 1852. He founded the mercantile firm of D. & J. Fowler of Adelaide, which city he quitted in 1873 to assume the direction of the London branch. He died at Norwood, in Surrey, on Nov. 11th, 1881.
Fowler, George Swan, a partner in the firm of D. & J. Fowler, of Adelaide and London, was member for East Adelaide from 1878 to 1881 in the Legislative Assembly of South Australia. He accepted office in the last Morgan Ministry as Treasurer, in March 1881, but in the following May he resigned. Early in 1892 he contested the seat for East Adelaide, left vacant by the retirement of Sir John Bray, but was defeated by the labour candidate.
Fox, Sir William, K.C.M.G., M.A., formerly Premier of New Zealand, third son of George Townshend Fox, J.P. and D.L. for co. Durham, was born on June 9th, 1812, and educated at Wadham College, Oxford, graduating B.A. in 1832, M.A. in 1839. He entered at the Inner Temple on Nov. 15th, 1838, and was called to the bar on April 29th, 1842. In the latter year he emigrated to Wellington, N.Z., and in 1843 succeeded Captain Wakefield as the Resident Agent of the New Zealand Company at Nelson. Early in 1848 he became Attorney-General of the Southern Province, but resigned when it appeared that no steps were to be taken to grant self-government to the colony. In Sept. 1848 he succeeded Colonel Wakefield as principal agent of the New Zealand Company. In 1850 he returned to England as honorary political agent of the Wellington settlement to assist in getting the Constitution Act through the Imperial Parliament, and travelled for a year in the United States. On May 7th Mr. Sewell formed the first responsible ministry; but on May 20th he resigned upon a want of confidence motion carried by Mr. Fox in connection with the powers of the provincial governments, which Mr. Sewell desired curtailed. But his tenure of office was as brief as that of his predecessor, as on June 2nd he also was defeated, Mr. Stafford assuming office with Mr. Sewell as treasurer. On July 3rd, 1861, Mr. Fox carried a vote of want of confidence in the ministry by 24 votes against 23, and formed a cabinet on July 12th. In 1862 Mr. Fox brought before the House a resolution affirming exclusive Ministerial responsibility for Maori affairs, and, the votes being equally divided, resigned the same year. On Nov. 2nd, 1863, Mr. Fox came into office as Colonial Secretary, Mr. Whitaker being Premier and Attorney-General. The Waikato war had now begun, and the burden of responsibility fell jointly upon the Governor (Sir George Grey) and the Fox-Whitaker cabinet. Mr. Fox carried through the Suppression of Rebellion Bill by a large majority; also the Defence Bill and the New Zealand Settlements Bill; and it was owing to difficulties with Sir G. Grey during the progress of the war (notably concerning confiscation) that the ministry resigned on Nov. 24th, 1864. Mr. Fox was not in office again till June 28th, 1869, when he once more became Premier and a member of the Executive Council, after the defeat of the Stafford Government. During his term of office in 1870 a bill was passed founding the University of New Zealand, and the Public Works scheme was inaugurated
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