effect of which soon become apparent, for many luke-warm persons disposed to subscribe to the general fund, found fault, some with the one and others with the second m o d e of appropriation, and so wavered between both, the consequence being that they subscribed to neither. Several liberal contributions were nevertheless received, especially for the Immigration branch. T h e Committee was enlarged, and town and country collectors were appointed. A proposition was m a d e to coalesce with a movement started at Geelong, but it fell through. The spontaneous enthusiasm so characteristic of the proceedings of the year before, were absent now, and the matter was kept dawdling for seven months, when on the ioth February, 1848, another public meeting was held for " the closing of the subscription lists, and the appropriation of the proceeds to their legitimate purposes." A statement of accounts was submitted, showing the receipts to b e — F o r Immigration, ^£830 19s. 7d. ; For Immediate Relief, .£168 is. 6d. Total, .£999 is. id. O f the Immigration item ,£97 was only conditional upon .£2000 being raised. In addition there were promises of .£313 4s. for Immigration, i.e, ^£163 4s. unconditionally, and ,£65 conditional on the raising of ,£2000, and ,£85 provided the fund realized ,£5000. With the middle and lower grades of the population, it m a y be remarked, the immediate relief proposition found most favour, and it was by their aid that the movement of 1846 was a success. As the destitution at h o m e had in a considerable degree abated, a question arose that after disposing M r . W . R, Belcher of what was in hand, what was to be done with the sums still expected. proposed that, "Inasmuch as the distress had passed away, the entire amount be handed over to the Melbourne Hospital and the other Charities," but such a preposterous notion obtained no encouragement. Mr. O'Shanassy advocated the transmission of the immediate relief portion to the Central Relief Committee in London, as it was too small to divide it as originally decided. The outcome of the Melbourne movement was to a great extent a breakdown, for the cash in hand was thus disposed of:—,£168 is. 6d. sent h o m e for immediate relief; ^£97 returned to the conditional donors; and ,£753 19s. 7d. paid in for Immigration, ordered to be returned to the contributors, less 2 ^ per cent for expenses. T h e resolution passed at the first meeting, applying the amount to Immigration, was rescinded, and another authorizing the transfer of any unclaimed balance on the termination of twelve months, to the Melbourne Hospital, was carried. That it was all claimed I believe, for I never heard of a shilling of it going into the Hospital funds.
THE GEELONG MOVEMENT
Was managed in a much more rational manner, and some substantial benefit was reaped from it, if not by Ireland and Scotland, certainly by Geelong. It was also m u c h more of a success, and for once at least the superior manner in which the Corioans transacted their charitable business should have made the Melbournians blush. T h e "Geelong and Country Fund," as it was termed, yielded ,£944 ios., of which ^£352 9 s. 8d. was for immediate relief (nearly double the Melbourne amount). T h e latter was forwarded to its destination, and the Immigration proportion entrusted to an agent in London, w h o invested it in what were known as " land orders." B y virtue of the existing Land and Emigration Regulations, he was empowered, not only to select a certain number of persons at home, and frank them with free passages to Port Phillip, but he could also take up a certain quantity of land in the colony. By this prudential management Geelong secured not only some additions to the population, but also a certain quantity of land, which was taken up under the orders. This was subsequently re-sold to advantage, and with the proceeds was founded the Geelong HospitatoBenevolent Asylum. This Institution was inaugurated at a public meeting of the Geelongites in March, 1849, with the Rev. Andrew Love, Presbyterian minister, presiding, and the interest of the occasion was m u c h enhanced by the presence of the R o m a n Catholic pastor, Dr. Geoghegan, who travelled from Melbourne to deliver one of t h n ^ tbr,n;„rr 1 , ,, ~. . Jr , • . VCI u n e or t n o s , , ,. . e thrilling, eloquent addresses upon Charity for which he was so pre-eminently distinguished. So far back as 1841 the Geelong Benevolent Asylum was founded, FT"8/0* L H " w l I reaSUI " er ' the ReV - A n d r e w L o v e ; T r u s t e e s > Messrs. Nicholas A. Fenwick, Edward B. Addis, William Roadknight, Rev. A. Love, and Dr. Foster Shaw.
