John Forbes (died 1734)

John Forbes (c. 1673–1734), 4th of Culloden, Inverness, was a Scottish politician who sat in the Parliament of Scotland from 1704 to 1707 and in the British House of Commons from 1713 to 1727.

[1] Forbes succeeded his father to the Culloden estate in 1704 and became Shire Commissioner for Nairnshire in the Scottish parliament.

Some of these may have been the result of Presbyterian scruples; but he had a material concern that the Union might end a lucrative excise exemption which he had, and he became involved in a lengthy legal dispute.

[1] Forbes did not stand at the 1708 British general election, but his subsequent maneuvering shows that he wanted to increase his political influence by gaining a seat in the House of Commons.

[1] Forbes worked hard in the Whig interest at the 1715 British general election when he was returned as MP for Inverness-shire.

He took part in the defence of the northern counties during the 1715 Jacobite rebellion but deprecated the harsh treatment of the rebels, especially with regard to forfeitures.