Meanwhile efforts to raise funds for the Church in Melbourne were prosecuted so vigorously that the handsome amount of ,£800 was soon in hand, and on the 7th January, 1840, a meeting was held to consider the further course to be taken. T h e Rev. Mr. Clow presided, and Messrs. G. S. Brodie, J. 0. Denny, and Dr. Wilkie were selected managers. It was also decided to invite tenders for the building. Mr. Yaldwyn presented a valuable allotment of land at cost price, and was given a piece of plate in recognition of his liberality. During the progress of the subscription the following amusing incident occurred:—The Rev. Father Geoghegan one day, in his street ramblings, met Mr. D. C. M'Arthur, and handed him two bank notes for £6, as the donations of himself and the Rev. R. Walshe (two R o m a n Catholic priests) towards the building of the Scots' kirk. Mr. M'Arthur lost no time in advertising the fact in the newspapers, and £3 each from the priests was considered a very handsome doing of the correct thing. W h e n Father Geoghegan read of this next morning, he rubbed his glasses, and thought there must be a mistake somewhere. A s to £6 he had not such a sum to spare, as the monetary condition of himself and colleague was in no degree as flourishing as the incomes of some R o m a n Catholic clergymen since; and he wrote accordingly to the Herald, correcting what must have been, as he thought, a misprint, and declaring that instead of £6 he had only contributed £2—adding his regret that neither himself nor Mr. Walshe could afford more than £1 each. The circumstance having been enquired into, Mr. M'Arthur produced the two notes, which turned out to be a £ 1 and a ,£5 note, and the laugh was most decidedly against the reverend donor, who appeared to have been wealthier than he imagined. Mr. Geoghegan laughed heartily, too, and refused an offer to refund the ,£4, which he had so unconsciously parted with. At the close of 1840, the Presbyterian position might be thus stated:— SCOTS' C H U R C H , M E L B O U R N E .
Minister—Rev. James Forbes, A.M. Elders—Dr. David Patrick and Mr. Robert Campbell. Trustees—Messrs. S. Craig, W . Ryrie, G. S. Brodie, J. O. Denny, and J. H . Patterson. SCOTS' C H U R C H , G E E L O N G .
Minister—Rev. Andrew Love.
Trustees—Drs. A. Thomson and Jonathan Clarke, Messrs. G. D. Mercer, David Fisher, and Hugh Murray.
At Geelong sufficient funds were available for the erection of a Church, which was commenced in the early part of 1841, and opened in April of the following year. N o fees were exacted in the Presbyterian Church for the exercise of any of the functions of the ministry; indeed, the clergyman asking payment for his own benefit for Marriages, Baptisms, or Funerals, would subject himself to ecclesiastical censures. There were, however, the following fees connected with Marriages, viz :—
£ For Special License ... For Proclamation of Banns ...
... ...
... ...
... ...
s. d. 4 3 0 1 0 0
Of the former sum ,£1 n s . 6d. was paid over to the funds of the Synod of Australia, the remainder, as well as the whole amount paid for the Proclamation of Banns, was appropriated to the general purposes of the Kirk Session. T h e clergyman received no benefit whatever from these fees, which were the only charges known in the Presbyterian Church.
FOUNDATION OF THE MELBOURNE CHURCH.
This ceremony took place on the 22nd January, 1841, and though the day was excessively wet, there was no lack of Presbyterians in attendance. T h e Ministers and Elders taking part assembled at n a.m. in the school-room, which was crowded, and after singing some of Psalm cxxii, a movement was made to the ground. There was an unusually large cavity worked in the nether stone, in which was deposited a large bottle, holding the following relics, viz. : — A copy of the three papers then published in town—the Gazette, Patriot, and Herald, Kerr's Poit Phillip Directory for 1841, Arden's pamphlet giving the latest information of the district, and a parchment scroll thus written on : •
