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Street auctioneer, brought them to the hammer, and m a d e ,£20 out of them. Mr. Marsden was assisted by Messrs. John Jones and G. Wharton, Messrs Thwaites and Sons, Roycraft, Secretary of the Mechanics' Institution, N . Guthridge, T. Dredge, Morrow, Rule, and R. Mouat. Deducting the proceeds of the " Fair," there remained .£1500 still owing, and to further lighten this pecuniary pressure, an appeal was m a d e through the public press " to the Christian community of Melbourne," and a committee was appointed to collect through the town and neighbourhood. At the Wesleyan anniversary meeting, held on the 23rd September, 1844, it was stated that the liabilities had increased to ,£1628 3s. 5d, and upon some of this (borrowed money) 20 per cent, interest was being paid. Amongst the items of outlay were an organ, .£400 ; freight, ,£84 ; andfittingup, ,£34. T h e cost of the Wesleyan Chapel was given at ,£3648 n s . n d , and resolutions were passed indicating as the most practical m o d e of diminishing the d e b t — a lessening of the rate of interest, increasing the seat accommodation, and establishing a sinking fund. T h e foundation-stone of a chapel was laid at Brighton on the 6th April, 1845, and in August of the same year the Rev. Mr. Schofield was translated to Sydney, and succeeded by the Rev. E. Sweetman; whilst the Rev. Mr. L o w e arrived at Geelong. In September, an important gathering was held in the Wesleyan Chapel, to commemorate thefifthanniversary of its opening, when Captain M'Crae presided; and afinancialstatement was submitted, showing the ,£1500 liability still remained, notwithstanding all the efforts m a d e to curtail its proportions. A proposition was offered for its liquidation, which was spiritedly responded to by twenty-four gentlemen subscribing ,£25 each, and several others promising severally to raise £ 1 0 . T h e bazaar expedient, which had worked so well on a previous occasion, was again resorted to, and "Big Marsden" was again the " M a n at the Wheel." Bazaar N o . 2 was held at the Mechanics' Institute, on the 22nd December, 1845, and was a great success, though not so m u c h so as was expected. According to a newspaper of the day, " the attendance was numerous and highly respectable." His Honor the Superintendent, the Mayor and the Mayoress, being present. T h e articles for sale being the offerings of the " softer sex," reflected no little credit on the generosity that called them forth. O n e of the most interesting donations was the branch of a plum tree, in full bearing, contributed by M r . Wills, a mechanic, residing at Newtown, the fruit of which sold at one penny each. Dr. M'Arthur, Captain Foxton, and a gardener on the Merri Creek, m a d e extensive presents offlowers,and about ,£100 reaped as clear profit on the speculation. Mr. T h o m a s having given a chapel site at Little Brighton, a place of worship was opened there in December. There was a liberal spread of buns and tea for 120 persons in a tent pitched for the occasion, at which Mr. J. A. Marsden presided. O n the ioth February, 1846, there was to be a grand soiree in the Collins Street Chapel, but the dust swept the streets with such fury, that not more than fifty persons mustered courage enough to put in an appearance. It came off, nevertheless, under the chairmanship of the Rev. Mr. Sweetman, and though the numerical smallness of the attendance forboded a financial failure, an agreeable surprise was created by the golden fact that two hundred guineas were contributed to the Building Fund. Richmond had the satisfaction of witnessing the laying of a chapel foundation on the 16th March. In the course of the year the sad intelligence was received of the death, at sea, on the 3rd May, of the Rev. James Dredge, w h o had ministered at Geelong for between three and four years. Falling into bad health, he sailed for h o m e in the " Arab " in January, and, though living over most of the voyage, never saw the end of it. Dying only two days before the ship arrived at its destination, his body was taken to London, and buried at Globe Road, Mile End. H e had m a d e m a n y friends in the colony, and was m u c h regretted. T h e Wesleyans at Geelong were so far from idle all this time that they had erected a neat stone chapeledifice, and this was opened on Sunday, the 25th October, by the Rev. Messrs. Sweetman, Love, and Tuckfield, when the collection amounted to ,£33 u s . iod. T h e following Tuesday there was a soiree, which yielded ,£23 18s. iod. T h e total expenditure on the building was .£463 5s. 2d, and the original debt was reduced to ,£93 ios. 6d. T h e Rev. Mr. Boyce, the Superintendent of Wesleyan Missions in Australia, arrived on a visitation to Melbourne on the 6th November, and preached eloquent sermons at Melbourne and Richmond, where