assemblage was to devise means for paying off certain liabilities on the building, contracted six or seven years before. The gross amount was ,£1290, viz, ,£1000 borrowed on a mortgage, and £200 balance due for the enlargement of the chapel. T h e annual income was about ,£280, and the expenditure, including interest, ,£246. T h e Rev. W . B. Boyce, Mission Superintendent at Sydney, had offered to contribute ,£500, conditional upon a like sum being raised by private liberality. T h e Rev. Mr. Hamilton, a new arrival from Scotland, was introduced by the Rev. Mr. Butters, and m a d e a powerful appeal on behalf of the church, which had the effect of opening purses to the tune of £^400. A sum of .£380 was arranged, which, with Mr. Boyce's offering added, would nearly balance matters. Another chapel (the third in the district) was opened at Brighton on the 21st September, and the Rev. W . Butters preached there. It was a smartly got up, comfortable little building of 26 feet by 30 feet, the land for which had been kindly given by Mr. J. B. Were, and the plan prepared by Mr. James W e b b , whilst Mr. James Moore supplied a quantity of bricks. It was built in a very quiet way, altogether by private contribution unostentatiously given. The year memorable for the gold discoveries was drawing to a close, and the outstanding church debt of £oo was still unpaid, and another meeting was held on the 29th December to handle the often thorny topic of "ways and means." The ,£500 promised by the Rev. Mr. Boyce was available with the amount conditionally subscribed. T h e Assembly was m u c h gratified by an announcement by the Rev. Mr. Butters, that a lucky digger had that day placed in his hands a whole pound weight of gold in ounces, but for another good purpose, and this had such an inspiriting influence upon those present that before the business closed the church was declared to be free of debt, an intimation hailed with loud cheers. The "Hallelujah Chorus" was sung, and the gathering broke up in high jubilation. In 1881 the Wesleyan population was 120,000, with 144 ministers, 912 places of worship accommodating 98,000 persons, customarily attended by 70,000, and 106,000 services annually. Mr. Hayter's tables for 1886-7 give the following numbers:—Population, 124,060;* number of ministers, 238;* number of churches, 1222*— affording accommodation for 160,850* persons; number of services, 105,123;* average attendance,76,256*. METHODIST MISSIONARY SOCIETY.
COMMITTEE.—Rev. B. Hurst, Messrs. E. S. Parker, J. E. Dredge, J. Fenton, J. J. Peers, W. Witton, and J. Smith. T R E A S U R E R S . — D r . A. Thomson, district of Geelong ; Mr. G Lilly, Melbourne. S E C R E T A R I E S . — R e v . F. Tuckfield and Mr. W . Willoughby. MISSION ESTABLISHMENT.—Rev. B. Hurst (superintendent), R e v F. Tuckfield and Rev. Sheavington (missionaries). This Society was founded on the 9th September, 1839, as auxiliary to the Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society, and established a Mission to the aborigines in the district of Geelong, near the source of the Barwon, about forty miles to the westward of the town of Geelong, on land granted for the purpose by His Excellency Sir George Gipps. T h e situation was selected chiefly because it was central to four or five considerable tribes—the Wod-dou-ro on the north-east, the Bornt-beit on the north, the Col-li-jou on the north-west, the Man-mait on the west, and the Kneer-a-Gut on the south. The Government granted annually, for the support of the Mission, a sum equal to the amount of private subscriptions.
- Including Bible Christians.
